So sick of this attitude....

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Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.

DH and I were having a conversation a while back, and I happened to mention that I had an appointmnet with my OB, whose patients refer to as Dr. first-letter-of-last-name. Dh asked what his name was and I told him, and he asked where he was from. I told him that he was from Colombia and went on with my day. Later on, as I was talking about an appointment with my neurologist, I again referred to her by name, and also her DH, who is my cardiologist (and was one of the best preceptors I had). He asked where they were from, which is Lebanon. My GI guy is from India.

DH, who only sees a doc if dying or dragged in, commented, "Why can't you go to an AMERICAN doctor?"

Well, both my PCP and my dentist are American. My NEW OB is American (switched d/t the other guy not delivering at our hospital).

I work for a cardiology group. One doc is American, the other from Peru. Both are excellent docs and great people to boot. This came up in consult last week.

I went to see a patient and told her which doc would be seeing her along with me. We refer to the doc from Peru by the first letter of his last name as well, as his name is quite long, and can be mangled in some very interesting ways by patients. She replied, "I don't want a doctor whose name I can't pronounce!"

This fries me. Does anyone else deal with this? I just think it is so short-sighted. My docs that I work for are great, I'd let them work on ME, and that is the highest compliment I can give anyone.

I thought that by 2010, we would have come far enough that we could realize that other countries have talent, not just America. Some, if not most of our hospitalists here are from Africa, and they are as good as you would hope to find anywhere. But you have patients who come in and don't want them because they are Black. I tell you, if you're taking care of me, I don't care if you're green with purple stripes.

Sorry for the rant. It just got to me today. I'm in the Deep South, so maybe feelings run hotter here about this, but do y'all have issues with this anywhere else? How is it managed? How do they respond? Just curious. Thanks.

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Specializes in interested in NICU!!.

know what you mean it's purely ignorance from the people that think like that.

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Specializes in ER.

My father automatically has a prejudice against physicians from Arab countries. He feels that because they are from less affluent countries with higher birth rates they don't value life as much as North Americans. I don't feel the same way.

I wonder if patients having less knowledge about what is really important in their care try to get a sense of control by picking the doctor or hospital that does the things they do understand well. So if they have a nice receptionist they must be a nice doctor. I know as a nurse I get a lot more people telling me what a good nurse I am when I remember to scrub their dentures than when I manage multiple drips.

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I have noticed subtle and not so subtle differences in some attitudes. If I feel bothered by the situation, I know to seek another doctor. But being able to pick and choose is usually easier said than done even in a large metropolitan area.

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Xenophobia runs deep.

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Specializes in LTC, Med-SURG,STICU.

I see a lot more of this with the elderly or maybe they are just more vocal about how they feel than the younger people are around here. Personally, I hold very little regard for how a person looks on the outside. It is the person's actions that matter the most.

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Specializes in LTC Family Practice.
i'm in the deep south
and there is part of the problem. i live in ga and i was born and raised in oregon. i'm still appalled by the bigotry and prejudice i run into on a daily basis down here. i do live in a rural part of the state and several years ago, i was out for a "joy ride" looking for my "dream property". it happened to be halloween and i pull around a corner on a country road and here was a flock of about 75-100 kkk in sheets and the full monty (hoods etc.) so to speak :eek:. i was terrified and i think the only thing that saved me was my f150 and had a baseball cap on so they couldn't tell if i was male/female white/black or "other" until i went blowing by. btw i fall under "other" as i'm a mixed blood ndn.

i don't care if my doc is purple and puce with poka-dots, as long as i can understand what they are telling me and they are competent docs.

i get so irritated with the prejudice here, over the last several years we have had an influx of latino people and oh the comments make me grit my teeth and if i'm in a "mood" i'll let them know that i find it offensive and my beloved sil is first generation mexican-american and that means my neices and nephews are 1/2 ndn and 1/2 mexican...that usually shuts them up:yeah: these comments come from my check out person at the store, someone i might be standing next to at a public event, filling up my truck with gas - on and on it goes.

dealing with it in the work place is a whole 'nother can of worms, if it's the patient there's really nothing to be done in current patient as customer climate. i'll love to see how others deal with it at work.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

Just because I cannot pronounce a name does not mean the bearer is not American. But I see your point. I am glad we attract the brightest and the best. However, I do have patients who cannot communicate with the MD. That can be a problem.

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What really gets me is when a patient pronounces a doctors name totally wrong. This helps make life changing decisions for you, the least you could do is learn their name.

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Specializes in LTC, Med-SURG,STICU.
Just because I cannot pronounce a name does not mean the bearer is not American. But I see your point. I am glad we attract the brightest and the best. However, I do have patients who cannot communicate with the MD. That can be a problem.

This is so true. You should here some of the ways people say my last name. Nobody gets it right the first time unless they are from Europe. It is just one of those messed up German names. Personally, I let people give it a few tries before I say it for them.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Home Health.

i have a patient who had a consult for the GI specialist, who happens to be african american. her response....I DONT WANT A ****** TOUCHING ME! She then refused treatment by another doc who was from india. i was shocked, to say the least. She then says that how all catholics are going to hell and she throws fire crackers at them as they cross the street (she lives on the same street as the hospital).

to be honest, i dont care where anyone is from as long as they do their job and take care of me.

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A little bit off the main topic but the same subject. I also wonder why, in this day and age, people are not more open-minded. I'm a 2nd year RN student and I'm also a volunteer in the pediatric unit of our local hospital. Recently I was volunteering and I was with a 4-year-old girl in the playroom. She wanted to play with some baby dolls, so I handed her the two we have, one is a white baby and one is a black baby. She chose the white one. I didn't think anything of it until later. She was riding a tricycle down the hall and the father of another patient (he was African-American) asked her if she was having fun. She just gave him a funny look and rode back into the playroom. Then she whispers to me, "I don't like those kind of people". I replied, "What kind of people?" She said, "Black people". This broke my heart. At that age she is obviously being influenced by what her parents are telling her. So this vicious cycle of prejudice will not be broken until we can teach our children to see people for who they are inside and not base their opinions solely on the color of their skin. :msk:

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