"doctor" means teacher

[miriam_e]

I just looked online for some information for a friend who had a brain scan in an attempt to find an explanation for her terrible headaches. Apparently she has a lesion in her right basal ganglia. Now that area is a fairly large and complex part of the brain so it could have many possible effects. I was trying to learn more about it and found a site called Medcyclopedia. It had some tiny thumbnail images that looked like they might be of use, but unfortunately I would have to register in order to view the full-size images. I always find this compulsory narrowing of audience annoying, but annoyance turned to disgust when I found that in order to register I had to "prove" I was a professional by clicking the aortic lumen in the image presented, only to find that the page was so incompetently designed that it didn't work on any web browser other than Microsoft's awful and dangerous InternetExplorer, which fewer and fewer people use these days.

What is with medical groups that they are so loathe to disseminate information to the public at large? Don't they know that the word "doctor" originally meant "teacher"? Everywhere around the world there is a shortage of medical doctors. And the doctors themselves generally would like to be able to spend more time with their patients and less time on trivial things. They also bemoan the rise of nutty strains of "alternative" medicine, such as chiropracty or homeopathy, but they seem utterly opposed to disseminating the very knowledge which would drive back such superstitious beliefs.

Sometimes I think the medical profession is its own worst enemy.

Comments

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Yes. The conditioning of doctors like that seems to me pointless and medieval. It hadn't occurred to me that it might be part of the problem, obstructing information flow. It is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the shortage of doctors.

I'd felt that their concern about hypochondria was one of the reasons (or excuses) for not sharing knowledge. I'm very lucky in that I see a doctor who is not only very smart, but also enthusiastically talks through information, theories and doubts, forsaking the standard image of the ultra-reliable, all-knowing doctor. Unfortunately I have seen very few other GPs and even fewer specialists who have this open and sharing attitude.

Thnks for the TED talk pointers. I haven't seen the Jamie Heywood one. I've seen a few by Hans Rosling. Riveting graphical display of statistics. (Wow. How many times do you hear someone describe statistics as riveting. heheh )

[dorjejaguar.livejournal.com]

I've seen very few doctors in my life so I can't say what they're generally like but the structure has been very top down for a long while, and yes medieval in it's treatment of students.
I've heard it said that doctors once they get out of school know less about actual health than most people given that they haven't been practicing healthy habits due to the overwork and lack of sleep, ect.
Of course I doubt that's what doctors are wanting. I'm sure for the most part they want to help. Their training will make a difference in how they can offer that help unless they're either able to question that kind of training or have been lucky enough to get humane treatment.

This med student friend of mine tends to be very quiet online, tends to bring med books out with him if he's going out to eat. He's busy. But a while ago he did post this little video link, I thought it was telling.
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6130193

I love that Hans Rosling guy. :)