Just Learned My Doctor Is Not A Doctor

I haven't heard about this before. My female general practitioner (GP) is not that clever, she had no idea what my problem was on two occasions and left it up to a specialist to decide. So if she’s a qualified doctor and hasn’t got a clue, I wouldn’t like to put my trust in someone even less qualified.
 

A PA-C, MD and DO all have had training in medicine but they still vary in knowledge and ability since they are individuals. There are good PAs with less training and bad MDs with more. Mine is an MD and I trust her.
 
mellowyellow said:
I haven't heard about this before. My female general practitioner (GP) is not that clever, she had no idea what my problem was on two occasions and left it up to a specialist to decide. So if she’s a qualified doctor and hasn’t got a clue, I wouldn’t like to put my trust in someone even less qualified.
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My Doctor is a woman, if she is not sure about anything, she
consults the senior Doctor in the Surgery, same with other
things, if she is not sure, or thinks that it might be sinister, then
she refers you to a consultant in that field, I have seen her on
the local Intranet, where all ailments are listed with, what the
signs are and also possible treatment, since it is controlled by
the local hospital, which is a University, then the website is a
help to many, young and old Doctors and nurses.

GPs have to know about most ailments and cannot be very up
on all of them, whereas a consultant specialises in one thing only
and might not be any help in another, this is why I never understood
why all illnesses were ignored except for Covid, when it started.

Mike.
 

Mike said:
My Doctor is a woman, if she is not sure about anything, she
consults the senior Doctor in the Surgery, same with other
things, if she is not sure, or thinks that it might be sinister, then
she refers you to a consultant in that field, I have seen her on
the local Intranet, where all ailments are listed with, what the
signs are and also possible treatment, since it is controlled by
the local hospital, which is a University, then the website is a
help to many, young and old Doctors and nurses.

GPs have to know about most ailments and cannot be very up
on all of them, whereas a consultant specialises in one thing only
and might not be any help in another, this is why I never understood
why all illnesses were ignored except for Covid, when it started.

Mike.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good system Mike.
 
When my primary Dr. retired early last year, I was assigned to another doc in the practice, but since my infrequent visits are usually just routine check ups to monitor my few meds, I usually request the PA, as I have dealt with her often, and like her.
My understanding is that a PA cannot be in "private practice" but must have a supervising doctor..
 
mellowyellow said:
I haven't heard about this before. My female general practitioner (GP) is not that clever, she had no idea what my problem was on two occasions and left it up to a specialist to decide. So if she’s a qualified doctor and hasn’t got a clue, I wouldn’t like to put my trust in someone even less qualified.
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2 reasons for specialist referrals; avoiding malpractice suits, and insurances require them.
 
I am a PA-C and work as a Hospitalist. I have been doing it for 16 years. Returned to College at 42yo. I work under an MD and see patients and if I see a patient with an issue that I question my ability to treat I either ask my MD for advice or have them see the patient personally. Most Medicine is repetition you see the same thing frequently and know how to treat. If not we have specialists to refer you to. Having said that we don't have the same length of training an MD does so naturally they are more knowledgable. And I know what a parathyroid is. I can't imagine you met a PA that did not.
 
Tom 86 said:
"PA-C" which means Physicians Assistant-Certified I have several of them. I prefer them instead of regular MD or specialist. I had a Reconstructive Dr. putting shots in my knee every 3 months. I went to see him on July 2nd. I have severe pain in the upper leg close to the hip. He came in & said it's only a pulled muscle you need to walk more & walked out the door?? Well, It kept getting worse. I called to get back into him as I could hardly walk.

Nope, I have to see a "PA-C" Nurse practitioner. I see him on Monday to get my shot in my knee & as other people tell me he will take as much time as I need & will stay with you till all your questions are answered. Maybe he will listen & find out what the clicking is up next to my hip that six 650 mg Tylenol won't touch the pain in 8 hrs.

I also have a PA-C Nurse practitioner that checks my skin every 6 months. She is great, Takes about 54 minutes going over you & as my normal I never get out of there without getting cut on. She sits down & explains what she sees or seen & what to expect from the biopsy. She did 2 a week ago. I got a call yesterday I got to go back in as one on my leg is almost cancer. So they have to go deeper & wider to make sure they get it all before it turns to real cancer.

So for me, I'll take a PA-C Nurse practitioner over a Dr. anytime.
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I agree with you about the PAs.

Has anybody X-rayed your hip? Clicking was one of the things my hips did before I had to get them replaced. It was the sound of bone on bone in the hip sockets.
 
DonnyO said:
I am a PA-C and work as a Hospitalist. I have been doing it for 16 years. Returned to College at 42yo. I work under an MD and see patients and if I see a patient with an issue that I question my ability to treat I either ask my MD for advice or have them see the patient personally. Most Medicine is repetition you see the same thing frequently and know how to treat. If not we have specialists to refer you to. Having said that we don't have the same length of training an MD does so naturally they are more knowledgable. And I know what a parathyroid is. I can't imagine you met a PA that did not.
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I've had very good experiences with PAs and actually prefer them for primary care.

Question: how should a patient address a PA -- the ones I've been seen by have pretty much said "Just call me Jane." But I wonder what is the proper form of address.
 
My PAs have asked me to call them by their first names-Alarice and Louie. And I much prefer them to doctors. But when I saw Louie on Thursday (a 2 hour appointment!) he thinks the radiation treatments I had when I had breast cancer 5 years ago may have done some damage to my heart. So now I have to see a cardiologist. Don`t even want to thing about starting that whole seeing specialists garbage again....
 
I introduce myself as Don and if they address me as Doctor I correct them. I hand everyone I meet with my card.
Butterfly said:
I've had very good experiences with PAs and actually prefer them for primary care.

Question: how should a patient address a PA -- the ones I've been seen by have pretty much said "Just call me Jane." But I wonder what is the proper form of address.
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DonnyO said:
I am a PA-C and work as a Hospitalist. I have been doing it for 16 years. Returned to College at 42yo. I work under an MD and see patients and if I see a patient with an issue that I question my ability to treat I either ask my MD for advice or have them see the patient personally. Most Medicine is repetition you see the same thing frequently and know how to treat. If not we have specialists to refer you to. Having said that we don't have the same length of training an MD does so naturally they are more knowledgable. And I know what a parathyroid is. I can't imagine you met a PA that did not.
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Question for you. Is a PA-C required to have the data she collects with each patient at the end of the day or at any time by the onsite doctor?
 
Do you mean do we make a record of our interview, findings and plan for the patient? Yes, its all dictated and available to whoever has a medical reason to review. Or do you mean does our attending Physician review our interview and plan? Yes. They are required to co sign our History and Physical or notes.
 
fmdog44 said:
I had a very fine and thorough doctor until he moved about 20 miles away and is now a member of some conglomerate so now you have to do everything through an automated phone system and I got so pissed I dropped him. Being old fashion will soon be punishable by life in prison.😠
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It seems (I haven't researched this) that holistic healthy practitioners still have their own 'private' practices and even may answer the phone via a person instead of AI/computer. It also seems they do a better job for a lot lot lot less money and do not create new side effects at the same time, but not paid for by medicare or medicaid?
In the "system" set up for medicare , all the doctors I looked into were all part of a scheme/conglomerate now, and making first contact doesn't happen until/unless first going thru the automated AI menus on phone or computer, then one to three persons extra before ever getting to see a doctor, who seemed like he wasn't even present at all on the day of first appointment(s). So still have not gotten a primary care provider in the system. No worry. Care providers outside the system do better for me, for less, and continued health instead of going downhill.
 
fmdog44 said:
Her card reads "PA-C" which means Physicians Assistant Certified. Not sure how to approach this but as long as there is nothing going wrong I am OK with it.
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I don't know how widespread it is, but in this area, (as I'd call them "non-doctors") have way too much authority without the training to match. Worse, the amount of training has been getting shorter and shorter.

One of my experiences: quite a few years ago, with ongoing severe (and I do mean severe) abdominal pain and vomiting, I was rushed to an ER. After very little go on, the PA said I needed immediate surgery. Knowledgeable enough about this type of surgery, and the serious complications it can cause, I wasn't ok with the fact that no actual doctor was present. When a surgical assistant came in to prep me for surgery, I walked out. The PA remarked "but you could DIE!!!"
They shot me up with (as I was told) a quarter-dose of morphine. I basically "flew" home. Thinking I should rest awhile, I ended up completely unconscious for nearly 16 hours. When I finally "came to," the symptoms were gone- and never returned.

There were two possibilities: either miracle/God- or the PA was WRONG, and made a MISTAKE.
Considering the complications that can accompany that type of surgery- including death- I don't even want to think of how things could have turned out if I'd simply gone along with it.

I will not deal with anyone in healthcare/medical that does not have "M.D." after their name. Period. Around here, it's very difficult to find actual doctors- it's been almost completely taken over by assistants and osteopaths.
 
JaniceM said:
They shot me up with (as I was told) a quarter-dose of morphine. I basically "flew" home. Thinking I should rest awhile, I ended up completely unconscious for nearly 16 hours. When I finally "came to," the symptoms were gone- and never returned.

There were two possibilities: either miracle/God- or the PA was WRONG, and made a MISTAKE.
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Both. (opinion). James Herriot author of All Creatures Great and Small, and veterinarian, once gave such a shot to an animal to put it down.
There was nothing he knew of that could help it, so putting it to sleep was normal procedure (like shooting a horse or mule with a broken leg).

A few weeks later he was visiting the farm again for another animal, and was surprised to see the one he put down alive and well running around happy and healthy as if nothing ever happened.
He inquired, and was told that animal (could have been a dog or a horse, I don't remember)
slept for three days, then woke up and continued on just as it had while healthy in the past - nothing bothering it.
AFTER that, he on purpose calibrated the dose to put an animal down , to put it to sleep for a day or three, and many of the animals recovered totally as a result.

God Created man (and woman) and did so in a wonderful miraculous awesome way, with 'healing' built-in, that the medical profession does not acknowledge or approve of.
 
JaniceM said:
I will not deal with anyone in healthcare/medical that does not have "M.D." after their name. Period. Around here, it's very difficult to find actual doctors- it's been almost completely taken over by assistants and osteopaths.
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I don't know about where you live, but in the usa none of the doctors who heal people are allowed "M.D." title. Holistic life and health saving practitioners are black-listed by the government and medical establishment, so they just quietly go on healing and restoring people to health without the profits , without the titles, just with old-fashioned good honest truth.
 
fmdog44 said:
Her card reads "PA-C" which means Physicians Assistant Certified. Not sure how to approach this but as long as there is nothing going wrong I am OK with it.
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I have had a couple P.A.'s over the years who are very thorough and more tuned in to LISTENING to what I have to say and are prone to keeping up on the ever changing medical industry. I changed Primary Dr.s last year because the one I had finally proved to be an arrogant A-Hole who knew everything, yet was not much for discussing alternatives to pharmaceuticals and so was impossible to talk to.

My new Primary has two offices, and is in a different and better Medical Group, whereas the other Medical Group is notorious for having Physician Members who are very similar to the Doc I dropped.

The office I go to now has a young (mid 30's) Irish Nurse Practitioner named Bridgette running the show. She is a cute little bOOger whom I refer to as "my Mick Chick". She does not take a offense to that nickname I tagged her with. I never have seen the Doctor in that office named on my Insurance Card either.

When I told her I use essential oils like Tea Tree extract on my "owies", ingest my own mix of 100% Oregano Oil on a regimented schedule, and drink Pomegranate Juice and Beet Root Juice that I buy in powder form she didn't give me the oft heard, based in sheer ignorance, Dr. BS that those type things are not proven by science. I gave up trying to get the naysayers to at the least do some research on natural remedies.

My Mick Chick has done some studying on such matters and is well aware of studies that have proven the worth of non-pharmaceutucal remedies.

Oregano oil kills even antibiotic resistant bacterias and virus's---May be worth your time to do some research on it's effectiveness. I buy a good quality Food Grade, 100% Essential Oregano Oil, mix 2 drops to a quart of water, and have a few sips outta my quart bottle thru the day. I do that for about 10 days, take a week off, then back to a 10 day sip fest. I have not even had the sniffles since getting on that regimen a few years back.

Pomegranate Juice and Beet Root Juice both have been proven in regulating Blood Glucose and Blood Pressure, the Pom Juice also helps clear plaque out of veins and arteries. I get both in powder form and do my own mixing. They are both non GMO and organically grown. You can buy both those juices pre-mixed in a bottle, and pay a lot to be unsure as to just what is in the bottle.
 
Ziovincenzo1949 said:
My Mick Chick has done some studying on such matters and is well aware of studies that have proven the worth of non-pharmaceutucal remedies.
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Wonderful counselor, peaceful, healthy. I love even more that the remedies have worked for hundreds and thousands of years, regardless of any studies. The results are more than sufficient to keep finding them and using them.
 
Just Jeff said:
Wonderful counselor, peaceful, healthy. I love even more that the remedies have worked for hundreds and thousands of years, regardless of any studies. The results are more than sufficient to keep finding them and using them.
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J.J., I am a firm believer that The True Creator put everything we need to maintain our good health in nature. Unfortunately there is just not enough profit to be made for profiteers to allow informing mankind of that simple truth.

I am in my 8th decade of this Earthly incarnation, and I am not dependent on pharmaceutical crap, and take NO prescription drugs. I cook at home, careful with my balance of carbs, fats and protein. I am 6', 180 lbs., and if not for lifting a Harley Road King off some stranger on the side of the road, without warm-up's, and consequently blowing out my lower back 5 years ago, I would still be on my construction business jobs, working with the tools. I shut the doors when it became clear that I could no longer work as I always had.

There truly are natural alternatives to all the pills being handed out by Doctor's. They cannot admit that! And that mostly because by and large, Doctor's don't want everybody healthy! Their lifestyle depends on sickies being sickies.

Funny thing is, every time a Doc inquires about the prescription drugs I take, and I tell them NONE, they get an odd look on their face. Gotta see the look to understand what I am talking about.

And I do tell the Doc's that I also take Zinc, Turmeric, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vitamins: Multi-B, C, and D3.
 

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