South African Doctors

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Clarissa

October 12, 2015

I’m not hugely happy with the state of medical care in North America. Doctors take on too many patients and seem preoccupied with nothing but making money. The treatment they offer is limited to prescribing pills, and their attitude to patients is too infected by conveyor-belt mentality. And it’s the same in Canada and the US, so it’s not about the state versus private system of medical care.

The only two health professionals I have met in North America who left a good impression are both from South Africa. I have no idea what it is about South Africa that makes doctors more human and capable to look you in the eye instead of being glued to their scrip pad, but that’s my experience.

Obviously, this is all strictly anecdotal but I find it curious nonetheless.

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8 responses to “South African Doctors”

David P. Bellamy

October 12, 2015

The only two health professionals I have met in North America who left a good impression are both from South Africa.

This is fascinating. My current primary care physician is a former student of mine in undergraduate mathematics. (I have known only two students who majored in mathematics and went on to become M.D.’s) I am very happy with him. But, I cannot confirm that he is as helpful with other patients.

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1. Dreidel
  
  October 12, 2015
  
  Well, I’m a retired physician who majored in German in undergraduate college (and fluency in German was about the only useful thing I got from four years of a liberal arts education — except for being a better, more-rounded human being and all that).
  
  In the U.S., a bachelor’s degree is a prerequisite for medical school, but as a pre-med student, you’re free to major in just a about any subject you want, as long as you take a certain minimum of scientific courses (none of which are directly related to, or even very helpful in, a career in medicine — they just demonstrate that you can make good grades in tough courses).
  
  And yes, I think most of my patients were happy with me. My endless afffability should be obvious from all of my posts here on Clarissa’s blog. 🙂
  
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richmondguide

October 12, 2015

I can anecdotally confirm this in Indiana as well! My family recently switched to a hospital further afield to be treated by the more humane doctors at a small rural hospital, one of whom is African. 🙂

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cliff arroyo

October 13, 2015

It’s a pretty good thing that Africa is so healthy that they don’t need doctors there then, huh?

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1. J. Otto Pohl
  
  October 13, 2015
  
  Right now our nurses are on an extended strike because their salaries have not been paide in nine months. There are undoubtedly more Ghanaian doctors and other health care workers outside Ghana in the US, UK, Canada, and other places than in Ghana. We just imported another 177 Cuban doctors this summer in additon to those that were already here to try and offset the fact that the doctors at a number of hospitals were on an extended strike do to failure of the government to pay wages. So staying healthy is indeed the best health care strategy here in Africa.
  
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Vic Crain

October 13, 2015

I have met US docs who are very money driven. Some are two the point of limiting their time with a patient to about 8 minutes per visit. Some will blame this on the high price of malpractice insurance, but the causality runs both ways. Less time with the patient translates into diagnostic errors and law suits, driving up malpractice rates.

Medical care leaves a lot to be desired in the US. Unfortunately, many consumers have been brainwashed into believing that they are receiving top notch care, and that makes change difficult to achieve. It makes improvement impossible.

One survey indicates that up to 1/3 of Americans are considering moving to another country and medical care is cited as a leading reason for the move. I suspect the figure is inflated due to posturing, but we have a growing cadre of citizens who no longer live here, as well as those who have renounced citizenship.

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1. Clarissa
  
  October 13, 2015
  
  All true! Have you noticed how fast doctors speak?? They rattle ofg at such a speed that one can barely keep up. All the questions a patient has must be prepared well in advance and practiced because otherwise you’ll be in and out of the door before you realize what just happened.
  
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2. Clarissa
  
  October 13, 2015
  
  Another thing is that as a patient I have to do a lot of work keeping up with my own testing and constantly reminding doctors what needs to be done and when. At least, now I know that I need to do that. Before, I expected them to know but that was a mistake.
  
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