you Yanks entertain me. you cannot imagine how scary it must have been to have a small child so ill. Meems, 4 year old kids barf from time to time. so do 14 year olds. and 40 year olds. it is no biggie. at least not to us denizens of the third world.
- Thread starter beeza
- Start date
How does one cure a Dominican from Doctors?
you Yanks entertain me. you cannot imagine how scary it must have been to have a small child so ill. Meems, 4 year old kids barf from time to time. so do 14 year olds. and 40 year olds. it is no biggie. at least not to us denizens of the third world.
I have also had some unbelievable Doctor experiences here as well that align with Beeza' sentiments. Things that bring the word malpractice up, but as we know that word is ignored here! I too question the competence of even many high level physicians here because of personal experience yet of course exceptions always exist. It again can be looked at by locals as finger pointing, bias etc. but truth be told, it is bad because of the culture of 'no es mi culpa" that mindset is spread throughout every profession from construction/engineering, lawyers, employees, doctors etc etc. so to feel offended and shocked that statements like these occur is just an example of not looking at or accepting the underlying problem. People who throw garbage on the streets blame the government for gods sake!
I am a parent. I know all about barfing and crapping and dehydration. And for a New Yorker like me, I was in a country as foreign as Iowa. There is barfing and then there is BARFING. I don't think Yank parents have the market on hysteria all to ourselves. And FYI, I have been a citizen of the 2.5 world for a while. Back off!
When one tries to demonstrate empathy....this is a hard, hard crowd here on DR-1.
not true, Meems. i raised two kids, and i have 2 grandkids. they are tough little things.
I adree. Kids are tough. For me, being a parent: not so much. My heart just explodes every time I see my milagro, now 21. Not to say I wasn't tough with him: ask him. He still bears the scars of Hebrew homework.
Am I missing out on the sarcasm in this post or didn't you actually read the OP?
On doctors: I fully agree that many and maybe most doctors see their practice first as a business and second as a calling / honor / duty / whatever you want to call it. On the other hand it seems to me that the quick resort to doctor visits , anti biotics, or hospitalization because of the many more viruses / bacteries present here and the much faster way a person and especially a child can dehydrate. We have weeks that my wife is at the pediatrician three times a week and often for things that I think: let him or her recover alone, but I let her decide most of the time.
In the past many of the deaths here were do to poor sanitation, bad water, lack of vaccinations, un-educated doctors, no medicine,....etc. Some of those conditions still exist. My wife was ill just after new years and off to the clinic for her. The emergency room was filled and it's a bit disconcerting to be placed on a bed that has body fluid stains on the sheets and residual used medical items not placed in a garbage can, how ever the nurses did change their gloves as they should and the doctor as well. I hate hospitals, especially when they have sick or in pain little kids. I drive the occasion kid from the schools to either the public hospital or clinic. Always someone running into a wall, being pushed or trip while playing, ....etc. For simple things like gashes, broken toes, fingers, arms...the doctors have a lot of experience and are competent.
The most trying was a four year girl that stuck a crayon in her ear.
The most trying was a four year girl that stuck a crayon in her ear.
i feel you, Meems. i remember how i panicked when my older son got gastroenteritis at 2 years old. i remember how my dad, who was a surgeon, did not panic.
As far as I am concerned it is not just a Dominican thing. There are good and not-so-good doctors everywhere. Most doctors I've come into contact with here have no diagnostic skills and depend 100% on test results. The main difference, though, is that medicine here is a business first and foremost and many decisions seem to reflect that - more tests, more cash.
Having said that, a state-funded health system also has its weaknesses in that doctors may sometimes endanger you by not prescribing a test or referring you to a specialist due to budget considerations. But at least you do not face financial ruin if you or a family member comes down with a catastrophic disease.
The over-medication/self-medication/antibiotics thing is common among the less educated everywhere. In my Dad's career as a paediatrician he was constantly struggling with patients' parents who complained bitterly if they didn't leave with a prescription for antibiotics even when it was explained to them that it would not be necessary. Advice on common-sense measures like diet or lifestyle was rarely welcomed.
Having said that, a state-funded health system also has its weaknesses in that doctors may sometimes endanger you by not prescribing a test or referring you to a specialist due to budget considerations. But at least you do not face financial ruin if you or a family member comes down with a catastrophic disease.
The over-medication/self-medication/antibiotics thing is common among the less educated everywhere. In my Dad's career as a paediatrician he was constantly struggling with patients' parents who complained bitterly if they didn't leave with a prescription for antibiotics even when it was explained to them that it would not be necessary. Advice on common-sense measures like diet or lifestyle was rarely welcomed.
It certainly isn't limited to RD.
Mt Cdn wife runs to a doctor or the medicine cabinet whenever the smallest thing strikes.
IMO, way too many antibiotics
Doctors vary the world over.
I can't count the number of fellows I was ahead of in school who went into the law building or the medical one and emerged with a degree.
People make the mistake of thinking these guys got smarter in there , somehow.
No, they're the same middling students they always were.
The smarter ones who entered , do what they always did.... excel.
Why society confers a level of intelligence on a lawyer or doctor baffles me.
Most just struggle along like the rest of us.
When they say, 'Come back & see tomorrow'.....
they really mean, 'Let's see if this works.'
Mt Cdn wife runs to a doctor or the medicine cabinet whenever the smallest thing strikes.
IMO, way too many antibiotics
Doctors vary the world over.
I can't count the number of fellows I was ahead of in school who went into the law building or the medical one and emerged with a degree.
People make the mistake of thinking these guys got smarter in there , somehow.
No, they're the same middling students they always were.
The smarter ones who entered , do what they always did.... excel.
Why society confers a level of intelligence on a lawyer or doctor baffles me.
Most just struggle along like the rest of us.
When they say, 'Come back & see tomorrow'.....
they really mean, 'Let's see if this works.'
as you said, these issues are worldwide. many years ago, i was having serious issues with hypertension, and my doctors in the USA had no clue as to solving it. i came to the DR, and in 2 weeks, i was fine. i went back to the US, and gave up on the place, since my DR doctor stated that i would never recover fully if i continued to live there. i retired, and headed here. i have nothing but great praise for the guy.
then i have the guy last week at Gregorio Hernandez who could not even take my blood pressure properly, walking around in a white coat with a stethoscope.
I've posted here before my saga with hemorrhoids. Doctors here cannot possibly be more money grubbing than in the USA. I had rhoids bad. bleeding out back staining several pairs of pants. So I went to a proctologist (spell check says I have that wrong, but offers no serious suggestions.) in Tampa Florida. It cost $100.00 co-pay for a colonoscopy. The doctor sent me to a friend of his because the friend had to keep up the payments on his Mercedes too. Another test, He sent me to another friend. This one had me peeing into a funnel that led to a bottle sitting on a scale while his nurse watched the lower end of the operation! Each of these clowns needed another co-pay of about $100.00 each. In all I went to six different Tampa docs and paid out $700.00 and still got to keep my rhoids. I went to Colombia and looked up a proctologist and went to see him. He had me bend over and took a look. He sad rhoids come in A, B and C. I had B. It was fastened inside and extended outside. The solution was to put a tight rubber band around it and let it fall off. Like castrating calves! He had me go home and do an enema and come back the next day when he did the rubber band treatment. Less than $100.00 in all including a series of antibiotics and the enema, and I haven't had a problem in these last 13 years. Go ahead and ask me why I went to Colombia for my triple bypass surgery a few years later.
So if you trust American doctors go ahead, but I prefer the local doctors who are concerned with their patient and not just how many doctor friends he has that need a consult.
Der Fish
So if you trust American doctors go ahead, but I prefer the local doctors who are concerned with their patient and not just how many doctor friends he has that need a consult.
Der Fish
as i said before, the best thing about having a dominican health insurance is immediate access to all specialists and availability of tests. but then back home (poland) hospital treatment is free of charge (for inscribed) and of high quality.
i don't understand complains about doctors being businessmen. it's strange to expect them to be some sort of fanatical priest of health. it's a job, not a vocation.
adding to that...
The US doctors seek many, many opinions, treatments, etc from a fear of being sued.
A legitimate fear
hence over prescribing and escalating costs
The US doctors seek many, many opinions, treatments, etc from a fear of being sued.
A legitimate fear
hence over prescribing and escalating costs
The best advice one of Beloved Son's pediatricians ever gave me was this: "Mrs. E, always assume horses, not zebras." I guess I had a tendency to be a little too imaginative and dramatic....(MOI?)
Ok, because I read in his post that he wasn't worrying and that his child wasn't that sick, just a simple virus or so.