How common is it for doctors to dismiss your symptoms when seeking for help?
I would like to ask how common is it to be treated dismissively by a doctor in Singapore when explaining your conditions.
I recently went to one of the specialist clinics in the public hospital and the advice I received was not so good, at least to me. I am a little bit disappointed and unhappy because Singapore emphasised preventive care and also to see a doctor if one is sick.
The doctor that gave me the referral letter to the specialist clinic was also dismissive of my symptoms though I had been sick for about a few weeks.
I was also polite to the specialist doctor. But I left with more worried questions and actually no current treatment for my symptoms till the next check-up.
But during the consult yesterday, he kept interrupting me and talking over me. I fear that he might have missed important information and have a superficial understanding of the main concerns of me as a patient.
It is a bit different from what I asked my friends or read online about their experiences at that clinic. It is not the first time either. I sometimes wonder if its because I am a relatively younger guy. I often find that male doctors tend to be more dismissive of me.
Netizens’ comments
- Well, my late dad had shoulder pain for months, when to polyclinic and was diagnosed for muscle issue every time he go there, until I dulan and brought him to private clinic that discovered he had 3rd stage lung cancer that pressed up onto his shoulder nerves.
- cuz sometimes the docs have seen ppl in your condition before and it takes something new to change what they know
last time i went to specialist for my ankles and tell him everything then his immediate reply was “my friend, welcome to aging, now you older these kind of things can happen so u need to do warmup every morning but to be safe i send u for MRI”.
MRI came back his eyes pop out and went oh wow u do have something, internal bone fracture
me: *rolls eyes*