Thread by @MotionWorksPT

1/12 Thread: Imagine sitting in a doctor's office/hospital room & being told by a random person there is nothing wrong with you. Now imagine that the person telling you this has an MD after their name. Next, consider that this is not the first time you have heard this message...

2/12 What would you be thinking? What would be going through your mind? You know how you have been feeling. You know your symptoms, your functional limitations created by those symptoms. You know how you felt and how you were functioning prior to a drastic change...

3/12 The test results you have had definitely do not say there is nothing wrong. They say something is off. It could be this or that. It most certainly is not in your head. So why would someone with MD after their name even try peddling such nonsense?
#nomoreblindtrust

4/12 What if it's not YOU at all? What if the problem w this entire scenario is the MD standing in front of you? When you consider that up to 15% of general population suffers from narcissism as a personality disorder & powerful positions tend to attract those...

5/12 ...who seek such power (narcissists), it should be no surprise that they will be encountered when seeking medical opinions from medical providers.
In a study by Alexander, et al in 2010 entitled "Brief Report: Physician Narcissism, Ego Threats, & Confidence...

6/12 ...in the Face of Uncertainty," the authors conclude that there is a different, but potentially related phenomenon: the ways that subtle events that shake a physician’s confidence (e.g., a new piece of evidence in a complex diagnostic dilemma) may fail to be...

7/12 ...appropriately incorporated because of the threat that they may pose to a physician’s ego. Numerous clinical instances abound in which physicians must navigate uncertainty, such as when to refer a patient for a second opinion, when to pursue an additional test...

8/12 ...or when to change the course of treatment, implicitly or explicitly acknowledging a prior decision. In each case, MDs must manage potential threats to their own self-esteem & common pitfalls of clinical reasoning (Redelmeier, 2005) while serving the interests of Pts...

9/12 Our findings raise the question of whether, in these settings, some physicians manage threats to their self-esteem by reacting w greater confidence than is appropriate, given available clinical evidence.

The next time you seek medical care, it is advisable to question...

10/12 ...not only the motives but also the psyche of the MD/PA/NP standing before you. To take his or her opinion w a large grain of salt, understanding that theirs is simply one opinion, & may or may not be accurate. Ask questions, seek answers, but never settle...

11/12 ...for anything less than that which is conceivable, logical, rational, & completely and thoroughly addresses all of the Sxs & test results, & is supported by factual research. This is how you survive the pitfalls of a medical system...
#nomoreblindtrust #doctorhealthyself

12/12 ...run by fallible humans who many times fail to acknowledge their own biases and inadequacies.
#nomoreblindtrust #patientadvocacy #rarediseases #patientcenteredcare #doctorhealthyself
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