Medical Web
The Internet has taken the place of so many things in the past decade. We don't need yellow pages anymore, encyclopedias or dictionaries, and according to some of my patients...a Doctor's advice.
You can find all the above with a quick search through a search engine like Google.com or Ask.com from a variety of legit and non-legit type sources.
I have had more then a few of our patients call up our office and question the Doctor's advice because of something they found online.
Now I'm a big fan of research. I've always believed a 2ND opinion wouldn't hurt.
Unfortunately, these patients are finding this information off of crackpot sites or they are misinterpreting the info off of legit sites because they have no medical background and they don't understand what they are reading.
Even if you've found information stating "blah blah blah is best for people with this disorder" That doesn't mean it's best for you.
The phrase "consider the source" comes to mind when these patients call but I remain open-minded because I believe it is always possible they they may have come across some information that might actually help them.
My Doctor is ever so gracious about the info. She actually reads the print-outs her patients bring her but usually sticks by her treatment plans because they actually work. She will tell them to go seek a second opinion from another doctor without hard feelings if the patient is persistent with the new "idea", "drug", or "procedure." She will go to Endocrinology conferences and come back and change her protocols. She's not closed to new ideas or research.
A search through Google for "Thyroid Disorder" produces interesting results. The number one result was the article "Oprah reveals Thyroid trouble" ......gee...didn't see that coming.
The second, was a link to wrongdiagnosis.com.
After that, there are a few more reputable links to info from the Cleveland clinic, Medline (Published by the National Institutes of health) and The Thyroid foundation of America.
The problem is...which links do people go to first?
It's OK to question your doctor....you have to be your own advocate. Just be prejudicial about where you find your information.
***********
I actually won the iphone from www.nursingjobs.org and Nursing Voices!
I won because one of my fellow nursing bloggers who posted the most listed me as her reason for being there!
So, a big Thank-you goes to Beth at PixelRN!
An even bigger Thank-you goes to Shane, administrator @ Nursingjobs.org!
Can't wait to play with my new iphone.
posted by Jo @ 11:59
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3 Comments:
Wow! Congrats on the iPhone! DH is already talking about Version 2 and handing down his Version 1 to me. Too many features for me, but I know people more technologically advanced than I love their iPhones.
Regarding the web resources: I actually had a fellow classmate this week tell our instructor she found her definition on wikipedia. Ummmm, no. I thought our instructor's eyes were going to pop out of her head. Wiki is trash that anyone can post to, but so many people think it's a credible source.
Yay, that's awesome! I'm so glad you won the iphone. Had I been back here to read sooner I would have tried to help but it doesn't look like my help was needed. LOL
So glad to see you back posting. You seem to be in great spirits and enjoying your job.
Congrats.
Dawn
let's hope you don't end up with an iBrick ;)
as for people doing their own medical research, i think the internet is made for the chronic hypochondriacs of the world. and the money that pharmaceutical companies pump into advertising just makes things worse. why let a doctor diagnose you when you can put two and two together and realize that not only do you have some disorder that a very small selection of people have, but there's a pill your doctor can give you to get rid of it?
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