Doctors attitudes

For those that have had a few different doctors there in the UK, did you notice a difference in their attitudes compared to US?

It totally depends on the GP.

There are three at my surgery one is all hippy dippy and wants your whole life history and takes 45 minutes (they only are supposed to use 10) so you need to get there early or be willing to wait forever.
#2 is a guy who is always like, I don't know let's send you to the hospital.
#3 is the worst no matter what she doesn't think it is an issue (I was fainting while running) and no matter what you have already tried she'll make you do it for months even if it isn't working. 
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They are different here in that you go in for a specific complaint. They don't check your blood pressure; they don't weigh you; they don't take your temperature.  You tell them why you are there and they deal with that issue.

I haven't really noticed much of a difference between doctors in the States and here. It just depends on who you get really. I had some medical problems my first year here and then my second also. I had some terrible experiences with doctors with bad attitudes, but I also had some great experiences with doctors who went out of their way to help me. One doctor at the hospital even gave me her personal mobile number to call if I was feeling any unusual pain. On the other hand, I saw a doctor a couple weeks ago to complain about some abdominal pain I'd been having and he completely blew me off. I couldn't believe it.

Thanks. I retrain every doctor if I need to. I grew up with the medical professions plus know oodles of nurses. If they can't work with me as a partner I move on. They give me their advice, info, listen patiently to my questions, then I decide if and how to apply it.

Unfortunately you may not ave that luxury when you move to the UK. Depending on which surgery you are assigned to, you may not have much choice of doctors.

Unfortunately you may not ave that luxury when you move to the UK. Depending on which surgery you are assigned to, you may not have much choice of doctors.

Poor doctor!

Main difference that I have found:

US - test for every possible thing that could be wrong with you, once everything is ruled out, tell you to rest, take pain killers, etc.

UK - don't test for anything, assume it's not serious, tell you to rest and/or take pain killers. If it gets worse, you have to go back and may eventually get sent to see a specialist or have to go to A&E.

There are pros and cons to both methods. With the US method, you can end up spending a lot of money and time unnecessarily.

With the UK method, conditions can get worse because they aren't treated early enough.

Also in the UK, doctors will only ask you about your specific complaint, while in the US, doctors will ask you how you are feeling generally, (how's your appetite, how have you been sleeping, etc.) to see if there is anything wrong with you that could be related to your complaint. 

This is only my experience, though. I'm sure it varies from doctor to doctor.

Sweetpeach, I agree with what you have said here.

Normally, things are fine so the UK attitude is fine.  But it seems like it can take a long time to get an answer when things aren't fine and once a GP has decided you have X or need X treatment it can be really hard to change their mind.

Unfortunately you may not ave that luxury when you move to the UK. Depending on which surgery you are assigned to, you may not have much choice of doctors.

Or depending on WHERE you are, the surgery you attend might be the only one in the area... Though most surgeries will let you request a specific Dr, the waiting time for an appt might be longer than just being seen by the first available one.

Ive found the ones Ive encountered to be okay. Just be warned if youre on the pill, everytime you see them theyll ask you to move to some sort of implant, regardless of what you said the previous time. Why? Thye get paid an amount to do this. Same thing if youre overweight.

Oh and if youre overweight, expect a lazy GP to blame health issues on that and only that.

The best GP Ive had while living abroad was when we were in Dublin - Dr Mary Condren at the Temple Bar Medical Centre. She was amazing and VERY forward thinking.

I've had mostly very positive experiences here. Especially with the nurses at my GP's practice. They've worked with me to track various vitamin/mineral level issues I've had and to sort out my birth control. I must also say that I've *never* been asked to go on an implant, so that may be an area where it is different from practice to practice.

I only had one issue when I first came, as the GP was hesitant to pull blood to test my vitamin d levels (it had become a bit of a fashionable deficiency, I think), but once I showed him my medical records from the US (which showed I acutally WAS deficient), he did the tests with no trouble.

We do have one GP we avoid at the practice, but that's because she does a side business of private botox injections and the like and constantly mentions it. Not really what DH or I are interested in.

Sweetpeach, I agree with what you have said here.

Normally, things are fine so the UK attitude is fine.  But it seems like it can take a long time to get an answer when things aren't fine and once a GP has decided you have X or need X treatment it can be really hard to change their mind.

It is also very difficult to get a correct diagnosis if you have something that isn't very common or obvious. This complaint comes from several people I know who were born in the UK. The tendency is to assume you have something that is easily recognizable and easy to treat.  

Because of this, it is very important to do your own research and to be assertive.

As an example, DH spent years trying to get treatment for a condition which doctors told him didn't exist - until I found an entire internet forum of people who suffer from that condition and had DH print out a page and bring it to the GP.

I've never been really sick in either country (touch wood) but I do see a difference in routine care. As in, there's less of it here.

In the States, my doctor checked my bloodpressure every four months or so. I had an annual hands-on checkup with a range of bloodwork, a pap smear and a mammogram. If I missed an appointment or my numbers were high or I did something else against doctor's orders, my doctor in the States acted like it was a personal affront and he was really hurt and disappointed in me.

Here, I see the doctor once a year for ten minutes and a bloodpressure check. I've had bloodwork done twice. He's very clipped and professional.

To be honest, I much prefer the less intrusive British approach, but I'm not sure it's better for me.

This is all interesting and I look at it from patient and doctor perspectives. Many people don't know how to work/partner with a doctor and that often leads to dissatisfaction. My husband and I "request" things from doctors (like tell them what blood tests etc) Good doctors understand where we are coming from and are humble. The ones who are patronising and demeaning I tell off. Labelling me and my body aloud when they stand there with obvious "flaws" will result in my observations of them aloud. I lived with the demi gods (in their minds)all of my life. I'm not a specimen or a diagnosis.

I have the assertive part down. I do patient advocacy most of the time for free.

So do they like having US medical records, pay attention to them?

Ha! I had my annual checkup right before I moved over...and I had to have the bloodwork redone. They use different metrics, I guess.

In the UK, I have not had annual checkups.

When I moved to the UK, I had an interview with a nurse and we reviewed my medical history, family history and the medications I take. (I didn't need to have my medical records sent over; they took me at my word - that decision is up to you.)

I went through a similar (though shorter) review when I moved and changed to a different surgery.

I was on the pill for a very short time when I was first living in the UK and had my blood pressure checked when I needed a new prescription. I think that when I switched to my new surgery, the nurse may have checked my BP when I was gettig my introductory review, but since then I have never had my BP checked.

Because I have asthma, I get a yearly asthma review, which consists of the nurse measuring my airflow using an old style cardboard meter, telling me that the measurements aren't always accurate, and then asking me how I feel. At my old surgery, I used to get weighed during my asthma review, but they don't weigh me at this surgery.

Other than that, I only see a doctor when there is something wrong with me.


ETA: Oh, another important difference is that I find that in the UK, it is very rare for a GP to give you an actual physical examination.

You usually sit in a chair and tell the GP your symptoms, and the GP diagnoses you based on what you tell them.