A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece promoting the Importance of Education. With that in mind, today I’m going to further that with another blog to drive home an identical point. The point that I’m going to stress is to be smart, don’t be stupid. Considering that there are a multitude of ways to be stupid, I’m going to focus on stupid’s closely related cousin which is ignorance. Furthermore, I will ultimately hone in on how said ignorance may lead to less than favorable outcomes in medical care.
To reiterate a crucial element from my previous blog, knowledge builds sensibility. Having good sensibility creates keen consciousness. When an individual is “in the know” about things, it negates the potential for manipulation. In order to lessen the frequency or degree of manipulation, one must be equipped with knowledge. You get this knowledge from learning either through formal schooling, or through self education via reading informative pieces, watching educational videos, and/or listening to enlightening audio via podcasts or social interaction.
As a medical professional, I often oversee incorrect, incomplete, and less-than-ideal practice habits. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of baloney that goes on in healthcare including: needless surgeries, needless or excess treatments, insufficient treatments and the list goes on. For example, some orthopedic surgeons are known to be “knife-happy” performing surgeries that are not required and provide no added benefit to the patient. Some patients receive incomplete care from physical therapists due to the therapists’ indifference or incompetence, either of the two. If the patient him or herself is also either incompetent or indifferent, then continued treatment will be of little or no avail.
If the aforementioned isn’t convincing enough, I’ll leave my readers with a brief story from a personal account. I recently went to a local dental office for cavity fillings. Since I had multiple fillings (4) to perform, please don’t judge, I scheduled half on one weekend and left the remainder of the dental work to be completed at a subsequent appointment just one week later. While simultaneously speaking to the dentist and viewing my current (same day) X-ray at my subsequent appointment, I noticed a site of lingering tooth decay on a tooth that was already “addressed” at my previous appointment. When I brought it up to the dentist, he called another dentist in for a second opinion (baloney tactics, rest assured he knew quite well it needed further work) who confirmed that the spot indeed needed another filling. I told him that the extra filling will be undoubtedly complimentary, since he neglected it at the prior appointment, and it would’ve remained the same had I not pointed it out. If it wasn’t for a keen eye and knowledge on how pathology looks on an X-ray, I wouldn’t have been able to get the quality FULL care that I deserve. Identical sequences like this go on daily, but sadly not everyone recognizes it.
The point that I’m trying to make is to do your homework ladies and gentlemen. That can be said with all walks of life, but when it comes to health and medical care, it’s YOUR body. Don’t be too trusting of all healthcare providers. Make your healthcare providers thoroughly explain the pathology and what solutions they are advising and providing. You have a right to question any and all. Any good healthcare provider will gladly explain to you so that you completely understand. That is, of course, only if you don’t ask the same already-answered question over and over and over again. Find out what’s wrong, do your research, and seek different opinions if need be. It’s a new year, be in the know! Your livelihood and quality of life depend on it. Ignorance is self-destruction. Ignorance leads to manipulation, and conscious or unconscious negligence. On the other hand, being abreast and knowledgeable about certain things equips one with the necessary tools to fire back at any bull-stuff. Don’t be ignorant, don’t settle, and don’t be stupid.