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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums6 in 10 doctors report abusive remarks from patients, and many get little help coping with the wound
Most doctors have absorbed racist, sexist, and other bigoted verbal remarks from patients under their care, according to a new national survey. And in interviews, physicians say these ugly incidents, while not frequent, can leave lasting scars.
African-American doctors told STAT they had been called racial epithets and been asked to relinquish care for white patients by family members and even colleagues. Asian-American physicians reported being demeaned with longstanding cultural and racist stereotypes, and female doctors being sexually harassed by patients during physical exams.
A wide-ranging survey of more than 800 U.S. physicians, conducted by WebMD and Medscape in collaboration with STAT, found that 59 percent had heard offensive remarks about a personal characteristic in the past five years chiefly about a doctors youthfulness, gender, race, or ethnicity. As a result, 47 percent had a patient request a different doctor, or ask to be referred to a clinician other than the one their physician selected.
Fourteen percent said they had experienced situations in which the patient complained, in writing, about the doctors personal characteristics.
African-American and Asian-American physicians were more likely to face such attacks, and female doctors were more often the victims of bias than males. But patients found targets in every imaginable corner: 12 percent of physicians, for instance, endured offensive remarks about their weight.
https://www.statnews.com/2017/10/18/patient-prejudice-wounds-doctors/
This seems low for service occupations which come into contact with the general public.
I'd bet 10 of 10 female bartenders have been sexually harassed and 10 of 10 DMV clerks threatened with violence.
exboyfil
(17,862 posts)My daughter has just finished her fourth week as a mental health nurse in a hospital (her first job after college). She seems very excited by her job, but abuse is a regular occurrence.
My Bible reading Christian grandma said some awful things about her African American CNAs towards the end of her life when she was in a nursing home. We definitely don't pay CNAs enough.
Snackshack
(2,541 posts)Behaved the same way towards a nurse who provided care during the day for her while I was at work. When the nurse reminded her that she was free to go to an assisted living establishment her outlook changed considerably.
Response to exboyfil (Reply #1)
blueinredohio This message was self-deleted by its author.
dalton99a
(81,386 posts)The stakes are high, said Dr. Brian McGillen, Penn State Healths director of hospital medicine. You come here and pour your blood, sweat, and tears for your patients, and then to have that stuff come up, absolutely itll lead to burnout, he said. Theres no doubt in my mind.
Snackshack
(2,541 posts)As a first responder I have had people like this. Sometimes it is just the stress of situation, thinking you are having a heart attack can bring out a particular rudeness/ frustrations with the healthcare system can do this also. I dont take it personally, if I did I would stop being a first responder.
Bayard
(21,996 posts)"I'd bet 10 of 10 female bartenders have been sexually harassed and 10 of 10 DMV clerks threatened with violence."
And they're not getting paid millions of dollars to take it.
DFW
(54,268 posts)People expect good service, and that's reasonable. But some are quick to complain, often for legit reasons, often for stupid trivial reasons.
There's a hotel I often stay at in Brussels, and a lot of Americans come through there (Asians and Brazilians, too). The employees there REALLY go the extra mile, from the manager down to two guys who make the omelets at the breakfast bar (one from Congo, one from Algeria). I often hear businessmen checking in trying to put the make on the women at the reception desk, and I marvel at the women's patience. I know the hotel gets nasty complaints every time the shower water doesn't heat up fast enough for a guest's liking, so I wrote a letter to the hotel's central office telling them how much I appreciated their service, and mentioned specifically about 15 different people who work there. It must have been passed on quickly, too, because the next time I stayed there, I got smiles and personal greeting from every worker at the hotel (got upgraded to a suite for free, too!).
If a hotel worker, or a doctor or a bus driver, or whoever goes a little out of their way to be friendly or helpful, please consider writing to them (if self-employed) or to their employer (if not) and tell them you appreciated it. In this world where so many are quick to complain if their every whim (often unrealistic) is not fulfilled, it makes their jobs just that little bit easier.
GeorgeGist
(25,311 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(22,304 posts)But then, it's hard to have productive relationships in a system built on capitalism and other oppressive institutions, which our healthcare industry is.