Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
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Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
Discuss what's in the BMJ and on bmj.com
A recent Personal View in the BMJ is from a paediatrician whose child had a limp and the process it took to get diagnosed. Initially she ignored it and thought it would just heal, but after a while it
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Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 3/7/2012 11:23 AM BST
on bmj.com
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*Moderator*
Posts: 1436
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 17/5/2013 |
A recent Personal View in the BMJ is from a paediatrician whose child had a limp and the process it took to get diagnosed. Initially she ignored it and thought it would just heal, but after a while it didn't and she took her child into her hospital to have various tests until weeks later finding the right diagnosis. Here are some quotes from the article: "Most paediatricians fall into two camps with regards to their own children: some of us are extra neurotic, needing full investigation for every last sniffle. But most of us fall into the second camp: “It’ll be better in the morning,” and “he just needs a bit of paracetamol.” There is no doubt that I took longer to acknowledge his symptoms than an average parent would have. I wish I had reacted quicker because he must have been in pain, hopping along for months. We were lucky to be slotted into clinics quickly, and nothing was too much trouble in terms of arranging for us to be seen. But in retrospect, maybe had we waited for the imaging before seeing the rheumatologists, the correct diagnosis would have fallen into place without the initial confusion. But in retrospect, maybe had we waited for the imaging before seeing the rheumatologists, the correct diagnosis would have fallen into place without the initial confusion. What have I learnt? Firstly, everyone needs to give up control eventually. I asked a colleague to be our paediatrician so she could advocate for me when things didn’t make sense or when all the consultants involved didn’t agree" http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e4392 Does having a medical parent help or hinder diagnosis and care? Would it have been better to go through the traditional channels like most patients? Did this child get the best care possible? |
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Re: Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 3/7/2012 1:35 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 339
First: 17/12/2011 Last: 15/5/2013 |
Both my parent medics, I think I and my sisters have excellent parents and our health care as children was good. Mind you having medical parents, I do remember inking in arteries and veins to my teddy bear in red and blue lines at a very young age and hoping he would be alive in the morning! I probably would not have done this if my parents were not Medics. As for my own children and grandchildren I would treat them if needed , but they are registered with other GPs. It depends a bit on how good a Doctor you are and what is wrong with your family. It is certainly not good start the initial treatment for serious diseases of family members, and best to ask for impartial advice. But it is reasonable to use you knowlege to try to help. |
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Re: Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 3/7/2012 1:55 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2035
First: 12/3/2010 Last: 19/5/2013 |
Our daughter (the doctor) would as a child sit right in front of the TV screen, almost at arms length. She had been at school for two years before a teacher told us to get her eyes tested, as unless she was in the front row of desks, she couldn't see the blackboard. Score ten to a caring, thinking teacher and school, and zero to medical parents! John |
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Re: Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 6/7/2012 2:52 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 45
First: 18/5/2009 Last: 9/4/2013 |
Although intuitively I would have said that it helps, I suspect the opposite is true. As a child with a medical father I recall my tonsillitis treatment being delayed until I was extremely ill. As medical parents we decided on the diagnosis of our children without necessarily getting the GP's opinion. Yet expected to have access to specialist advice when we believed it was deemed necessary (and sometimes it wasn't!) |
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Re: Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 6/7/2012 3:26 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 16
First: 9/2/2012 Last: 31/1/2013 |
I have one daughter and always feel irrational when she is ill and so try and act like a lay person. However, I do feel I have been able to avoid bothering our GP about minor illnesses! Another advantage is knowing how to pull strings/get the system to work for us when neccessary and I also know which specialists to target and which to avoid! |
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Re: Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 6/7/2012 3:49 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1
First: 6/7/2012 Last: 6/7/2012 |
It definitely helps to have a medical parent, especially when the child has a chronic illness or disability. I agree that we fall into one of two camps in terms of being super aggressive or taking the watchful approach, but if we have a child who needs ongoing medical care, we are able to evaluate how our behavior affects the care of our child. That said, it is extremely difficult for any parent to be truly objective, so it is imperative to relinquish control to a primary care provider. The struggle is in finding one who provides safe quality health care. Fortunately, we had an excellent pediatrician and group, but it is impossible to find an adult-centered doctor to provide care for her childhood-onset condition. My daughter became ill when she was 8 y.o., and she experienced a health care nightmare at one of America's best children's hospitals with the best specialists in the nation's capital. 14 years and 7 specialists later, I finally found a specialist we can trust. This came at a great cost to my daughter's and family's health and lives. And I found this specialist, who lives 250 miles away, through my work in health policy, not medicine. I left medicine and went into health policy to try to understand why and how our health care system failed us. I then started a charity, Physician-Parent Caregivers, that works to improve policy to advance quality health care for children and young adults with chronic conditions and disabilities. If you think it's a problem to be a medical parent, try managing care and protecting your child who has a chronic condition/disability without knowledge of how to navigate the medical system. |
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Re: Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 6/7/2012 4:36 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2
First: 6/7/2012 Last: 6/7/2012 |
Yes having a medical parent does help. Iam a medical student and I have many fellow students who have doctor parents.At certain times when I fail to understand some topic in college, I have to refer to books or ask my GP but my colleagues who have doctor parents always find it easier to ask one of their parents and their problem is solved.A parent being a doctor does help. |
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Re: Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 6/7/2012 4:36 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2
First: 6/7/2012 Last: 6/7/2012 |
Yes having a medical parent does help. Iam a medical student and I have many fellow students who have doctor parents.At certain times when I fail to understand some topic in college, I have to refer to books or ask my GP but my colleagues who have doctor parents always find it easier to ask one of their parents and their problem is solved.A parent being a doctor does help. |
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Re: Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 6/7/2012 7:23 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 9
First: 17/11/2010 Last: 6/7/2012 |
My dad was a Paediatrician, but when it came to my kids, I had to see other Doctors to get reach the correct diagnosis & treatment. For minor illnesses, he was okay but when it came to neurological problems & dermatological problems, I did have to be aggressive in taking second & third opinions, much to his annoyance. My kids are grown up now, looking back I can confidently say what I did was right ! We all have to level headed when deciding to take second opinion or even a third opinion. Emotional factors must not intervene. |
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Re: Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
posted at 7/7/2012 6:12 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 4
First: 10/12/2010 Last: 7/7/2012 |
I am working in Saudi Arabia, put forward the above question to my daughters who are in England and had recently babies, two of them have so far replied, their replies are pasted as follows: Definitely helps! I don't know what I'd do without you. Do you remember the GP first diagnosed me with rheumatoid arthritis and dietary anaemia? It was only after you got involved that I got the right investigations, diagnosis and treatment. And you helped so much when Molly had jaundice and the infection after she was born. And then there's all the reassurance, information and guidance you have given me with all my other ailments, the IVF, pregnancy, Molly's hips. Thank you!!! Xxxxxx Fahima Help! Definitely- advice only an email or phone call away, threats to English doctors, free scalpels to get rid of the dead skin on my feet...what more could you ask for?!! Nasima Dr. M. F. Siddiqui |
