Capitalism Forever Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/08/24/D8C67C7G0.html As doctors warn more patients that they should lose weight, the advice has backfired on one doctor with a woman filing a complaint with the state saying he was hurtful, not helpful. Dr. Terry Bennett says he tells obese patients their weight is bad for their health and their love lives, but the lecture drove one patient to complain to the state. I wonder how she expected him to be helpful without telling her what her problem was... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studentofobjectivism Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 She should have reported him if he DIDN'T tell her she was obese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottkursk Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 I'm overweight and I'm a stockbroker. So I'm a heart attack waiting to happen. My fiance is a lawyer. I figure the next time I go into my doctor's office, I've got a payday coming......<removing tounge from cheek> This is when I point out to my betrothed why people, especially doctors, hate lawyers. I would be willing to bet the doctor probably didn't dilly dally and cow tow to her and say she was robust or something along those lines and put it on the line line my doctor did to me a couple years ago and said I'm fat and I'm a coronary waiting to happen and I need to loose wait or I'm not going to see 40. So drop the quarter pounder lard ass. Literally. So I did. It required alot of lifestyle changes but his bluntness in the long run did help extend my life. It was just one of those things I had ignored for so long I never really bothered to notice and given my industry, I fit right in. So this overly sensitive fat lady is going to cause a chilling effect in the medical industry to where they are going to worry about offending anyone. I wish doctor's would be less nice with people. I see it all day long with the investment industry with people throwing their money away buying stocks that nobody with an IQ above that of a crack addled spider monkey would touch. But as the saying goes "ours is not to ponder why but to ask sell or buy." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gags Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 I wonder if the patient would have had the same reaction if the doctor had warned her about the risk of smoking instead of being obese. Somehow I doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolboxnj Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 From what I understand the issue isn't that he told her she was obese, but rather that she'd find it more difficult to find a partner if and when her husband died. In this politically correct world sound "advice" like that is taken as an insult because he is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottkursk Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Actually, there is a PC double standard here. Check out gags and Toolbox's comments. If you look at anti-smoking literature it shows black teeth and quickly tells people that they look ugly and have bad breath etc. You tell a fat person they look ugly and suddenly you're paying for a lawyer. Sure his "bedside manner" wasn't great but as I said in my previous post, it's the same way in my industry. We desperately want to tell people like it is but you just flat out can't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolboxnj Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Scott, so you think he went beyond medical advice? Today GPs give prescriptions for anti-depression drugs and deal with other mental health issues. Furthermore, stories like this will put a chilling effect on the medical profession where doctors will be afraid to offer their professional advice at the risk of hurting someone's feelings. Although the doctor wasn't required to make the statement (where I think your double PC comment comes from) if doctors are reprimanded for "bedside" issues (this particular doctor may end up in sensitivity training class, IIRC) they will be afraid to give advise furthermore declining the state of the profession. It seems like this patient was evading the issue at hand. Instead of rationally accepting what the doctor had to say she evaded. Her medical situation wasn't the problem, it was the doctor that hurt her feelings. If she wishes to continue to evade, to not deal with the issue at hand she could find another doctor that will coddle her and reassure her that all is well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottkursk Posted September 2, 2005 Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 Scott, so you think he went beyond medical advice? Quite the contrary. My point was he was absolutely doing his job and he didn't candy coat it. I think that if people got more to the point like doctor's, lawyers, stockbrokers, etc we'd all be better off. And yes, this will have a chilling effect. Doctor's will be forced to sugar coat everything for patients so that they don't offend anyone for any possible reason. That was my complaint about the degradation in the financial and healthcare industries. We've been forced to sugarcoat things already so we don't risk offending anyone. So many things may go unsaid that desperately should be said. The chilling effect of PC has already long since set in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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