Dr Google scares me

OldDude · Oct 23, 2018

As health care professionals we always imagine the absolute worst doom and gloom disease or condition has fallen upon our own children; Dr Google enhances and reinforces this hysteria until some reasonable person can talk us back to reality.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Oct 23, 2018

Dr. Google told me (or rather, my husband who was sooooo quick to Google) that the velamentous cord insertion found during my 20-week ultrasound when I was pregnant meant "WE ARE ALL GOING TO BLEED TO DEATH!!!!" Not true! Yes, I had a VCI, but it was really inconsequential in the scheme of things. Made me nervous, though. Thanks, Dr. Google!

Davey Do · Oct 23, 2018

Many of our patients consult with Dr Google. So do I.

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Orion81RN · Oct 23, 2018

One way it hurts health care is by undercutting nurse and physician's knowledge. Not being reassured by the actual doctor, because Dr. Google said differently.

brownbook · Oct 23, 2018

Personally with my nursing knowledge it helps me. I know what sites to trust and that the answers make medical sense

I did have one patient in pre op refuse the endometrial ablation her surgeon had recommended because of what she'd read on Dr Google. She only got a D & C.

Guest219794 · Oct 23, 2018

Many of our patients consult with Dr Google. So do I. He scares the daylights out of me sometimes.
How is Dr Google helping or hurting healthcare today?

Both.

Dr Google is here to stay. We can complain about it, or we can use it. We can wish he would retire, but its not gonna happen.

There are some great sites out there, and I try to direct people to them. Mayo clinic is a good example. Most of the government sites- CDC, NIH,

I google stuff all the time. Everybody does.

I recently was tasked with showing a couple of new nurses how to use a Morgan lens. As I am a relatively senior ER nurse, this should be easy, except for the fact that I don't know how to do it. I have only done it once. Every other time, I have said "Anybody any good with the Morgan lens?" and let them do it.

So, I modified "see one, do one, teach one". I went straight to "Google one, teach one."

It went OK.

Emergent, RN · Oct 23, 2018

YouTube university is a wonderful source of instructional videos. I'll bet they have a one on Morgan lenses!

cleback · Oct 23, 2018

I find it makes our job more challenging in a good way. We aren't talking to blank slates... most people have some knowledge.

Having the "what" so readily at one's fingertips also frees us to focus on the "how." We've known for a long time knowledge isn't sufficient to get people to make healthier decisions. So maybe having folks look that knowledge up themselves will allow us to focus on things that will.

...Provided patients can find reliable sources. With the increasing amount of fake news, who knows...

Davey Do · Oct 23, 2018

YouTube university is a wonderful source of instructional videos. I'll bet they have a one on Morgan lenses!

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Davey Do · Oct 23, 2018

I find it makes our job more challenging in a good way. We aren't talking to blank slates... most people have some knowledge.

I remember an episode of St. Elsewhere in the early 80's where a patient had a computer in his room. He could communicate with up to 1500 people who also had computers!

The patient said something along the lines of "Someday, every home will have a computer, just like a telephone or a TV!"

"Nah", I thought, "Computers are just a fad!"

Orion81RN · Oct 23, 2018

I think since we know that patients are going to look stuff up on the Internet anyway that we should provide them with reliable sources to find their information. Because that is where I think so much of the problem comes from. Misinformation from bogus sites.

I use Google all the time but like a previous poster stated I know what sources to use.