Question

Opening Case Study Beatrice completed her medical assistant education near her hometown in rural Wisconsin and, because of better opportunities for employment, moved to Newark, New Jersey, to follow her career goal of becoming a physician assistant. She was hired as an MA in a clinic in a predominantly middle-class, working neighborhood populated primarily by families who are Puerto Rican and African American. While Beatrice was preparing a client for examination, the client said she thought her previous doctor was very "bad." Beatrice was shocked and did not know what to say or do about this statement. Stop and Consider 2.1 1. What do you think the client means by the statement "my previous doctor was very bad"? 2. What response would you make?

Answer 1

1)By the statement that her previous doctor was very bad, she meant that the doctor was either unable to treat her properly or he was not respectful towards her.He may not be following medical ethics .He may not have attended properly to the needs of the patient, whether physical or emotional.

2)According to medical ethics, no medical professional should speak badly of his or her colleague.So we should not agree with the patient about the statement.Instead we should make the patient realize that her previous doctor may not have been able to perceive her problem completely but that doesn't mean he is a bad doctor.