Nuffnang

Thursday 9 June 2011

Mum, I didn't like Doctor Grumpy...

No, really, Little Man? I would never have guessed that!

He wasn't Dr House, but I suspect that if it had been,
The Little Man would have said the same!

Well, last Friday I took the Little Man to the Doctor and they had booked him in to the wrong one, which in his current mood was disastrous.  He refused to co-operate and the rather grumpy male Doctor in turn also refused to co-operate.  To be fair, I think he just had no idea how to deal with an uncooperative, strong willed little monster with a sore ear and a bad attitude.  It was a frustrating 15 minutes.   The Doctor barking "Don't do that" and my Little Man pushing right back and right past the limits he was trying to enforce.  I was incapable of even catching his attention, it was all focused on his battle with Dr Grumpy, he was so intense.

The outcome was frustrating also.  The Doctor tells me, he has a little indication of an ear infection on it's way but not enough for antibiotics, so I should just come back if he gets any more symptoms.

So infuriating, because if he had seen ANY of the female Doctors in the practice (pretty much every other Doctor in the practice) we would have been given a "when it arrives, get this prescription filled" antibiotics script.  All Mum's know that is the obvious way to go.  Of course his earache will become a full blown disaster at 1.30am on a day where there is no chance of a Doctors visit.  I am not an over-user of antibiotics, so please don't jump on the over use of antibiotics band wagon.  We are a family of ear infections and ruptured ear drums, believe me we only use them when required.  This is why I am so thankful to have found a hidden away emergency prescription written for him by one of the female GP's at Easter when we had a post antibiotics check up and he was almost over an ear infection.  She gave it to me in case it flared up while the surgery was closed for public holidays.  See, that's a Doctor who is also a Mum. Prepared to trust his Mum's judgement and reducing the likelihood of a long weekend ruined by a recurrence of the infection.

This kind of forethought is a blessing in a Mum's life.  We changed from our longtime Male GP to this Clinic because we had an emergency visit late one night and discovered that almost all of the regular Doctors are women and Mums.  It's conveniently local, has a mini emergency ward/treatment room (the Munchkin has been under observation there for head bumps several times), they always give children priority, even when they are booked out, appointments are usually easy to get and the boys really like the Doctors (till now anyway).

I'm such a convert to the Female GP.  I suppose it's having children, because prior to having them it never occurred to me that there could be advantages to seeing a female Doctor other than the obvious "women's issues".

I know I wont make the mistake of making an appointment with Doctor Grumpy again!

Do you have a preference for a male or female Doctor?

FYBF

Playing along with Where's My Glow.

3 comments:

  1. I've always had male GP's, my daughters doctors are male but I made sure my OB was a female. I just felt that things were going to get ugly down there and I'd rather a female taking care of me!
    We're really lucky that our daughters 2 doctors are fabulous with her (she had a kidney problem so we're a little more familiar with them than we'd like!) plus I'm a pushy mumma so I usually get my way anyway!
    If you find yourself a really good pharmacy you'll find that they can be A LOT of help too!
    Hope the little man gets better and the ear infection is resolved!

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  2. That's so infuriating that they didn't give you the script just in case, especially since your notes would have shown how common it is in your family. It's a sad fact that some (not necessarily this guy) do it so that you have to come back and they get their schedule fee again.

    Our GP is male, a dad, and really kind. We used to see another one who was similar but turned out the kindness covered up the fact that he was a crap doctor - unwilling to make a diagnosis etc.

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  3. I understand your plight very well, antibiotics for ear infections are the ONLY medicine I've had to take in the past decade, and my daughter seems to be prone to them too :(

    I've always chosen female doctors for myself. There are so many amazingly good male doctors out there, but I do prefer someone who has my same apparatus and hormones, I figure it's more likely they can understand what I'm really going through...
    And now with the kids, we still go to the same female doctor because she is a mother as well; and if she's away, I make sure to choose a replacement who is a parent. At least they know how to deal with kids!

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