|
medpundit |
||
 |
 |
|
Monday, October 04, 2004Recently, I saw my patient's wife, who now also needs to see the same type of specialist. I recommended the same doctor. But she surprised me b y asking me to please send her to an American because "Americans are nice to everyone." Her husband, who was also in the exam room, agreed. He didn't particularly care for the specialist, either. Americans are "nicer." At the risk of sounding conceited on behalf of all Americans, I think they've got a point. Americans, especially American physicians, tend to be egalitarian. We don't come close to the class-consciousness that is so prevalent in other cultures. If I were living in a foreign land, and needed medical attention, I would jump at the chance to see a fellow American. It wouldn't matter if he were black or white, Jewish or Baptist, or from the North, the South or East or West. I'd be pretty confident that he'd treat me the same as he would anyone else. I hadn't taken into account the cultural prejudices of my patient's native land that must have come out in his encounters with the specialist - Muslims vs. Coptic Catholics, rich vs. poor, educated vs. uneducated, and who knows what else. I ended up giving his wife the names of two Americans. At least one is an American, the other is her new partner who has an Anglo-sounding name. But I warned them - he might turn out to be British. posted by Sydney on 10/04/2004 08:19:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
|
