When I read negative reviews about doctors, most of the time they bug me a lot — especially if I know the doctor is actually a really good doctor —

So I got thinking about what triggers negative medical reviews,

and most of the time negative reviews are written because the patients expectation regarding what modern medicine can do for them is too high;

Doctors should address these impossible expectations head on and end every appointment with a new patient:

“I hear you, and I see that you’re in pain; what we discussed today is the beginning of your wellness journey. Due to the fact everyone responds differently to medications, it make take a few approaches until we find the approach what works best for you. But I’m here for you, so please keep a medical diary of your symptoms every day, including food and exercise notes, then we’ll review it at your next appointment and see if we need to make adjustments or look for a different diagnosis.”

The point of the medical diary: who the f*** is gonna keep a medical diary every day, god knows if I had started one it would go all the way back to when I could barely even write a sentence,

but the point of telling patients to keep a medical diary

is to give them something to do that also empowers them to see the impact of their choices in their wellness journey.

Old timers like me?

Yea, forget it 🤪

But I already know medicine is a journey and no one gets it right all the time — neither me or my doctors — I don’t need a wellness diary to keep me entertained in my misery —

I just feel too many people (thank you Hollywood?) have too high of an expectation for what medicine can do for them,

and don’t understand that side effects/complications are part of the game —

So then they lash out at their doctor when these unfair expectations are not met;

Are there ‘bad’ doctors? Of course. But most bad reviews I read don’t seem rooted in ‘bad medicine’ but are rooted from ‘bad expectations’ —

People like to be heard — I simple ‘I hear your pain’ can go a long ways to soften the ride —

No one wants to battle a severe illness alone.