₦airaland Forum

cosmatika:
I can nva be at par with u, u re a low life bitch. Ur bf broke up with u and ur tinnitus starts, den u want d Dr to kill himself for u. Go fvck urslf

If you cannot distinguish between a male and a female. How did you pass Med school?

Tellemall:
So, you are saying they need equipment in order to open their mouths and tell the patient what is wrong? Tell us more. This is eye opening.

I said alot bro, equipment is part not the entire cause. Imagine being a teacher in a school without a board, a lab, a library and low pay. Will you function @ ur best? I bet most times you'll will be angry going to work.

Again equipment is just PART not the entire reason. I've come to realize that people act a certain way not for 1 particular reason but a combination of reasons however small or big.

MissJoy29:
I just hope this writing will be able to adequately capture my frustration, disappointment & dissatisfaction with the Nigeria Medical Doctors in particular & the Health sector in general.
I also apologise in advance for the long post.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been sceptical about going to hospitals. The attitude of the health workers there are nothing to write home about. Both the private and the public hospitals. Even though I still believe that public hospitals are far better than the private hospitals(especially the average ones) in terms of quality service(although you run the risk of dying before you are attended to due to how slow they are).

There are so many anomalies in our hospitals. I have seen & heard really bizzare stuffs going on. From the nonchalant, impatient and highly unprofessional attitude of the attendants, the unhealthy environment, the cranky and harsh attitude of the nurses, the fact that there's also "who you know mentality" when lives are at stake, the subtle way they bill you unnecessarily by paying for almost everything you do in the hospital(consultation fee, file retrieval fee, unit fee, buying of this & that for your treatment that you will end up leaving for them), the lack of medical equipment, the walking up & down paying for one thing or another at different times(even when you are not fit)instead of paying at once,the number of unqualified & seasoned doctors, the location of a hospital's laboratory on the last floor of a three-storey building(like, who does that!!!!), the high cost of drugs and other medical supplies in the hospital's pharmacy as opposed to their cost outside etc.

But I have a particular area I want to focus on.

THE ATTITUDE OF THE NIGERIAN DOCTOR
This thread was born out of my experiences this week at a teaching hospital. These experiences brought back all the others I have had to push to the back of my mind a long time ago for lack of an appropriate channel to express them. For the purpose of this thread, I'm going to use my experiences at ABSUTH (Abia State Teaching Hospital), LASUTH (Lagos State Teaching Hospital), LUTH (Lagos University Teaching Hospital), National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi & few private hospitals as yardsticks to buttress my grievances. I'm also going to put into consideration, the attitude of my close friends who are medical personnels.

Note: I'm not here to compare hospitals. I'm only using them to show that the attitudes of the doctors I met there may actually be same(or at least, almost same) with all of them in the country.

Firstly, if I have met 15 medical doctors, only 1 turned out to be sympathetic and humane. Apart from my family doctors and this sympathetic doctor, I don't think I will ever recognise any of the doctors I have seen again. But after 5 years or so, I still recognised him when I saw him again recently at same hospital(and I have memory problems) Why? He was probably the first doctor I ever saw who actually listened cos they WANT TO not cos they HAVE TO. There's a big difference. Most of them just hear you. They don't listen & they don't allow you talk. That's why they ask you questions based on what THEY THINK you feel & not on what you KNOW you feel.

Secondly, these doctors (except my humane doctor) make it look as if they are doing you a favour when they tell you about your ailment. It's as if they want you to pay consultation fees before they explain in details what you are passing through. What am I saying? One actually told me that! Inasmuch as I think majority of them don't actually know their profession that well, I still wonder why they choose to withhold & hoard information. It's bad enough they don't tell on their own without being asked. But it's even worse they withhold when asked. I have recurring ear ache that comes like every 2 years. This time around I asked the doctor (on the advice of a friend) what the cause of the problem is so I can avoid it. And he opened his mouth & said to me, "get solution first. What do you need the cause for? I was stunned to say the least!
Thirdly, they are always very harsh & impatient. You come in to a doctor's office, 30 seconds later, you are out with a piece of paper filled with their illegible writing just cos they are more concerned with what they are scribbling based on what they THINK you are going through than on what you are actually saying. They are hurrying to see as many patients as possible to collect as much money from them as possible and also to go to their private clinics. So no adequate time allocated to a patient.

Again, because of the attitude of some of these doctors, I'm really not surprised why I detest private hospitals because majorly, they are still the ones that establish it. The main reason why I hardly go to private hospitals is because I don't understand why someone will be, say an E.N.T doctor in a public hospital, but will end up being a GENERAL practitioner in his/her private hospital. They are now automatic Ob/gyn, optometrist, dentists, surgeons, paediatricians etc. I can't count the number of times they have mistreated cases they are supposed to refer to specialists like professionals do.

After venting like this, I'd like to hear from the house. Knowing that people in the medical profession are supposed to be warm, humane, sympathetic, kind, friendly, patient, a listener, polite, knowledgeable, seasoned, capable etc, why then do you think most Nigerian medical doctors are cold, nonchalant, impatient, unkind, harsh, rude, condescending? Is it because that's who they are normally or are there some things in the sector and/or in the training process that turn & change them into the aforementioned? Doctors in the house & non-doctors like me, over to you.

I could also write about the attitude of my Bank's customer service rep. The policemen, Even mechanics. So doctors are not human again? There are good ones and bad ones.
The system ain't helping. Like today I had to see patients in 4different wards , wide apart. And then this patient brought up same issue we have discussed overtime. I had to cut her, she could call me arrogant but I did that for the sake of the other patients waiting.

Tellemall:
if doctors take the oath then let them abide by it. In my profession I have ethics. I work with them in order to enable me to deliver the best services to clients. Nigerian doctors take advantage of the fact that they are allowed to treat some patients like beasts.[b] In a saner clime [/b]they would face a board for most attitudes they exhibit. You aren't the only ones who face "conditions" in Nigeria, so treat people with dignity! If doctors were so good nobody would malign them. No smoke without a fire. Other professionals do better than the ones who think they paid so much and spent so long in medical college. It's simply arrogance from doctors in Nigeria that everybody hates. Just look at the arrogant post above. That is your typical doctor from Nigeria. Imagine such win a patient.

And y do the Nigerian Drs do best in ur sane climes? That's because both u d patients here and ur govt is d problem. In ur saner climes, wen ppl have a slight symptom dey see medical assistance immediately, here u wait till ur cancer is stage 3 till u go to d hospital expecting d Dr to perform a magic

sainty2k3:
I could also write about the attitude of my Bank's customer service rep. The policemen, Even mechanics. So doctors are not human again? There are good ones and bad ones.
The system ain't helping. Like today I had to see patients in 4different wards , wide apart. And then this patient brought up same issue we have discussed overtime. I had to cut her, she could call me arrogant but I did that for the sake of the other patients waiting.

Forget dis ppl bro. They just hate on Drs for no reason. Psn go suffer JOHESU wahala finish, one difficult patient will take to NL to vent her frustration

lulufaj:
Well, I understand how you feel. Most of us feel the same way. As painful and bad as this is, its a societal problem and a reflection of the decay in our society. It is not limited to members of the medical profession alone. Politicians who take oaths of office deliver so well dont they?
Nigerian Doctors are doing excellently well where things work. I am a living example. You have to realise you are crippled as a doctor working in Nigeria. Crippled by the non performing system, by the Nigerian behaviour of shortcuts to everything.

Then it means Nigerian doctors are no better than politicians. The society cannot be the reason why doctors are full of unbridled haughtiness and fatalistic arrogance and wrong diagnoses. The post where we are told to Google our ailments shows the ineptitude of Nigerian doctors. How many engineers do you see telling doctors who wish to build houses to Google their own site plan and manage the project singlehanded? Are doctors the only working people in Nigeria? I wonder what happened to good bedside manners and that genteel care for those whose lives are in doctors hands, so to speak. Nigerian doctors are little trained beyond the crude arrogance of fishmongers.

MissJoy29:
I just hope this writing will be able to adequately capture my frustration, disappointment & dissatisfaction with the Nigeria Medical Doctors in particular & the Health sector in general.
I also apologise in advance for the long post.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been sceptical about going to hospitals. The attitude of the health workers there are nothing to write home about. Both the private and the public hospitals. Even though I still believe that public hospitals are far better than the private hospitals(especially the average ones) in terms of quality service(although you run the risk of dying before you are attended to due to how slow they are).

There are so many anomalies in our hospitals. I have seen & heard really bizzare stuffs going on. From the nonchalant, impatient and highly unprofessional attitude of the attendants, the unhealthy environment, the cranky and harsh attitude of the nurses, the fact that there's also "who you know mentality" when lives are at stake, the subtle way they bill you unnecessarily by paying for almost everything you do in the hospital(consultation fee, file retrieval fee, unit fee, buying of this & that for your treatment that you will end up leaving for them), the lack of medical equipment, the walking up & down paying for one thing or another at different times(even when you are not fit)instead of paying at once,the number of unqualified & seasoned doctors, the location of a hospital's laboratory on the last floor of a three-storey building(like, who does that!!!!), the high cost of drugs and other medical supplies in the hospital's pharmacy as opposed to their cost outside etc.

But I have a particular area I want to focus on.

THE ATTITUDE OF THE NIGERIAN DOCTOR
This thread was born out of my experiences this week at a teaching hospital. These experiences brought back all the others I have had to push to the back of my mind a long time ago for lack of an appropriate channel to express them. For the purpose of this thread, I'm going to use my experiences at ABSUTH (Abia State Teaching Hospital), LASUTH (Lagos State Teaching Hospital), LUTH (Lagos University Teaching Hospital), National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi & few private hospitals as yardsticks to buttress my grievances. I'm also going to put into consideration, the attitude of my close friends who are medical personnels.

Note: I'm not here to compare hospitals. I'm only using them to show that the attitudes of the doctors I met there may actually be same(or at least, almost same) with all of them in the country.

Firstly, if I have met 15 medical doctors, only 1 turned out to be sympathetic and humane. Apart from my family doctors and this sympathetic doctor, I don't think I will ever recognise any of the doctors I have seen again. But after 5 years or so, I still recognised him when I saw him again recently at same hospital(and I have memory problems) Why? He was probably the first doctor I ever saw who actually listened cos they WANT TO not cos they HAVE TO. There's a big difference. Most of them just hear you. They don't listen & they don't allow you talk. That's why they ask you questions based on what THEY THINK you feel & not on what you KNOW you feel.

Secondly, these doctors (except my humane doctor) make it look as if they are doing you a favour when they tell you about your ailment. It's as if they want you to pay consultation fees before they explain in details what you are passing through. What am I saying? One actually told me that! Inasmuch as I think majority of them don't actually know their profession that well, I still wonder why they choose to withhold & hoard information. It's bad enough they don't tell on their own without being asked. But it's even worse they withhold when asked. I have recurring ear ache that comes like every 2 years. This time around I asked the doctor (on the advice of a friend) what the cause of the problem is so I can avoid it. And he opened his mouth & said to me, "get solution first. What do you need the cause for? I was stunned to say the least!
Thirdly, they are always very harsh & impatient. You come in to a doctor's office, 30 seconds later, you are out with a piece of paper filled with their illegible writing just cos they are more concerned with what they are scribbling based on what they THINK you are going through than on what you are actually saying. They are hurrying to see as many patients as possible to collect as much money from them as possible and also to go to their private clinics. So no adequate time allocated to a patient.

Again, because of the attitude of some of these doctors, I'm really not surprised why I detest private hospitals because majorly, they are still the ones that establish it. The main reason why I hardly go to private hospitals is because I don't understand why someone will be, say an E.N.T doctor in a public hospital, but will end up being a GENERAL practitioner in his/her private hospital. They are now automatic Ob/gyn, optometrist, dentists, surgeons, paediatricians etc. I can't count the number of times they have mistreated cases they are supposed to refer to specialists like professionals do.

After venting like this, I'd like to hear from the house. Knowing that people in the medical profession are supposed to be warm, humane, sympathetic, kind, friendly, patient, a listener, polite, knowledgeable, seasoned, capable etc, why then do you think most Nigerian medical doctors are cold, nonchalant, impatient, unkind, harsh, rude, condescending? Is it because that's who they are normally or are there some things in the sector and/or in the training process that turn & change them into the aforementioned? Doctors in the house & non-doctors like me, over to you.

Are you a chronic disease patient?

flexyrule:
If you cannot distinguish between a male and a female. How did you pass Med school?

because a woman is even better than u. U must be a transgender

Tonymario58:
Are you a chronic disease patient?

She has chronic tinnitus. She must have insulted a guy who gave her a resounding slap. Anytime she remembers d guys, her symptom comes back. I think she shud see a policeman and not a Dr

cosmatika:
And y do the Nigerian Drs do best in ur sane climes? That's because both u d patients here and ur govt is d problem. In ur saner climes, wen ppl have a slight symptom dey see medical assistance immediately, here u wait till ur cancer is stage 3 till u go to d hospital expecting d Dr to perform a magic

they do their best because they want to keep their jobs out there. In Nigeria doctors can get away with crude wicked behavior because they feel like society owes them for the years in medical school. So what if you detect CIN3 cells? It is your job to help cure the patient! Are you a doctor who can help or a rat who will simply watch and move on?

Tellemall:
Then it means Nigerian doctors are no better than politicians. The society cannot be the reason why doctors are full of unbridled haughtiness and fatalistic arrogance and wrong diagnoses. The post where we are told to Google our ailments shows the ineptitude of Nigerian doctors. How many engineers do you see telling doctors who wish to build houses to Google their own site plan and manage the project singlehanded? Are doctors the only working people in Nigeria? I wonder what happened to good bedside manners and that genteel care for those whose lives are in doctors hands, so to speak. Nigerian doctors are little trained beyond the crude arrogance of fishmongers.

a doctor asked you to google your ailments and all the 35,000 nigerian doctors are bad? very funny person. So little trained that theyre doing so well outside. How many Engineers built the collapsed buildings that killed people everywhere. Dont allow hasty generalization make you look less than your abilities boss.

Professionals in other fields display bad attitudes too quite alright but why that of doctors cannot easily be overlooked is because it usually involves a life and death situation. And in such cases, at least a little empathy and genuine concern is needed.

That's why being a doctor is not for everyone because it requires a constant balance between Emotional intelligence (EQ) and cognitive abilities (IQ).

Not everyone have this quality and unfortunately, EQ is obviously not taught in med school.

lulufaj:
Have you asked how the person who asked patient to google ailment got selected for the job? have you asked whose daughter she is? have you asked which quota system has to be satisfied to get people to work? but you want the best work when youve not even selected the man man/woman. do you know how many doctors cant get internship slots cos they know no one while people theyre better than get cas they know someone? A friend attended an interview where he scored 84 percent. A doctor who score 46 percent got the job cos she came with a letter from a top politician. Do you even know how many people cant get admitted to study medicine just cos they are nobody`s kids?
have you wondered how many cant get training posts for same reason?
very funny people in Nigeria. we leave the most basic of facts but face sentiments.

The fact is not about who got there and how, but that those there act like doctors. Misdiagnosis, keeping vital info hidden from the meatiest, laziness to look at test results....the list is endless. I am sure many Nigerian people have been killed by secretive doctors. It is not sentiment. It is the fact. How is time a factor in curing a patient? Two minutes of explanation will prevent a lifetime of illness in most cases.

cosmatika:
because a woman is even better than u. U must be a transgender

I see you're really experienced at being a mor'on. I should have ignored you after your first post, just like I ignored Amarababe your sister in moronhood.

lulufaj:
a doctor asked you to google your ailments and all the 35,000 nigerian doctors are bad? very funny person. So little trained that theyre doing so well outside. How many Engineers built the collapsed buildings that killed people everywhere. Dont allow hasty generalization make you look less than your abilities boss.

From experience. You don't think we go to one hospital only, do you? When we see the malpractice and lackadaisical attitude to our health we switch, expecting better, but meeting the same callous insensitivity. How many bridges collapse compared to how many patients die due to medical negligence or malpractice? How many contractors work on one bridge? I have seen a doctor administer 10 percent dextrose on a patient without opening the file to know that they are diabetic. Or giving wrong painkillers to a patient, hiding the file and acting professional about it. Would it have hurt to open the folder for patient history? How did politicians do this one? Is it sentimental. Have all doctors been hung,more only the Nigerian ones? Nigerian doctors simply want money. They entered medical college with the dream of making big bucks, not realizing it goes with ethics, commitment and a dose of a heart. If we can get diagnoses online with a nurses permission, who even needs doctors?

millionboi:
OP u are just ignorant.
I'm a microbiologist, it will b stigmatizing for d doctor to tell u d root cause of ur problem.

WHAT?

omooba969:
Amarabae is defending her corner , if you know what I mean....she's a n_rse, I guess.

No she can't be.

Amarabae:
Having gone through your post, I really don't see how the doctors you met offended you,
You came for treatment to be well and not for an interview class with the doc, there are crowd waiting also to be attended to.
If he diagnose you, you have a phone, when you get home, you browse about the issue.
Simple.
You should not be in hospital to count which health professional laughed with you, you should be there to get help and go

@ OP....the above is the answer to your questions. The doctors are the way they are because of the mentality of the people...the society. A doctor can do no wrong.. whatever he does/recommend/diagnose should not be questioned or second guessed. After all.... are you a doctor to dare question a doctor? He has medical certification. ..never mind it's for dentistry.... if he says you have an enlarged heart... you better believe it is so. Change will come only when doctors are held accountable for their lack of professionalism by the authorities and by the people.

eyinjuege:
Canadians dey enjoy be dat. Many people in the US have little or no access to healthcare because no ego/kudi.
In the UK with free healthcare, if you go to your Dr na 10minutes appointment you go get. Some clinics will tell you , you can't bring more than one complaint. Some will say not more than 2 or 3.
Before you can get appointment atimes, you wait for one month. By the time your appointment reaches, your sickness has gone sef
If you're seeing a specialist in a hospital, you can get 6 months appointment. Atimes, you will have 1 or 2 years before you can get your operation done (for non emergencies). Until they see you are dying, you're not entering their theatre just like dat o.
However, if you go private in the UK, your surgery can be done within 1 week. You can see a Dr same day, if you so wish.

The healthcare system in Canada is paid directly from taxpayers money. How many Nigerians are up to date with their taxes, and if yes, when last was the FIRS accounts as well as those of the state IRS departments audited in and out?

I have said it before and will say it again: Naija is in in UNFIXABLE state. There is no hope.

I just had my own share about the Nigeria health workers today!

I have accepted my fate!

Although, I’m a Doctor but the sad truth is that the op is right. We Nigerian doctors have poor patient-doctor relationship.

Tellemall:
From experience. You don't think we go to one hospital only, do you? When we see the malpractice and lackadaisical attitude to our health we switch, expecting better, but meeting the same callous insensitivity. How many bridges collapse compared to how many patients die due to medical negligence or malpractice? How many contractors work on one bridge?

The doctors decide who works on a case yea? A doctor will employ more doctors when he cnt make ends meet. Building collapses and all Engineers are bad. I get your logic. I cant keep arguing with you. Know this however, some of us have experienced 2 separate climes and we know exactly what we are talking about.
where are the strong institutions, where are the guidelines? where are the regulatory bodies? where is the political will? Where are the rules that state how long you mut work before taking a compulsory break? Its unfortunate the average Nigerian knows more than he knows.We meet our leaders and treat them and know whats going on We know what they say to us. Each time i see any of my colleagues working in Naija, i give them kudo cos i know what it takes especially if you are the kind that tried to make changes and do the right thing.
In my days at Gh, if im on call on monday for example, i worked from 8am monday till 4pm on tuesday. Then I go to wrk 8 to 4 on wednesday and im on call on thursday which means 8am thursday to 4pm friday.Then do saturday call. I may be on call twice or 3 times a week.I attended an international interview and was asked how many hours i work per week. I told them 90 hours, they felt i lied and confirmed from my HOD who was also one of my referees The woman said my wrk is 48 hours a week and was thinking i woundnt cope cos their citizens struggle.
My brother dont even go there. If i open matter for you, you will realise you are not bin fair to those guys at all.

Sultan5:
I said alot bro, equipment is part not the entire cause. Imagine being a teacher in a school without a board, a lab, a library and low pay. Will you function @ ur best? I bet most times you'll will be angry going to work.

Again equipment is just PART not the entire reason. I've come to realize that people act a certain way not for 1 particular reason but a combination of reasons however small or big.

Equipment cannot be the problem. Politicians aren't the problem. Nigerians are the problem. Nigerians, I have come to realize, are the most unmannered people continent wide. They have this hubris one cannot describe, and they aren't even worth it.

MissJoy29:
@Amarabae, what you just typed, does it sound right to you?

Besides, where in my post did I mention the word "offence"?

The lady you quoted sums up the attitude of medical and other clinical personnel in Nigeria. A Victorian age attitude. However I met a young lady doctor once when taken ill in Nigeria. She was great. But then she knew her MD was a family friend of more than 20 years. Plus she knew who she was treating.

The MD is also one of the older generation doctors that really take their time to illustrate disease/treatment using diagrams. Being trained in old-style Christian hospitals back then.

It makes one thankful for medical education in the West.

Empathy is now a big aspect of medical care. Listening skills are taught big time in communicating with patients from day one in med school.

Regarding an ENT surgeon becoming "jack of all trade" in private practice, granted, an ENT guy could have been a vascular surgeon, a general surgeon, Obs/Gynae or whatever and later retrained/specialized in ENT. That said, it's still worrying to see that happen in so many private hospitals knowing that they treat conditions in which they are not specialist. That is where MoH has failed and NMA and GMDC have put self-interest above public safety/interest. By not in tandem with Ministry of Health making such practice impossible.

I know of an Orthopedist who has done only knee & hip replacement only for over 25 years. He won't even do the relatively easy Dupuytren's contracture op. His expertise in Hip & knee became excellent in deed.

Sure as the lady pointed out, hospitals are busy and resources grossly inadequate. Doctors are stretching available resources, with attendant frustration. But that's not the only reason.

For many in Nigeria, medicine is about prestige. Many are pressurized by parents into medicine. To be called Iya Dokita, Nma Dokita or Papa Dokita. For others it's a profession with better job prospects than most. It is not a calling for many. No matter how brilliant one is, doing a job that is not one's calling, you can never do it with much joy. That inner discontent is transferred on to patients.

The other is training. Emphasis is still only the academic and less on wholistic approach. Touted and mouthed but not properly done.

The other factor is we live in a harsh country. Like many third world countries. The general unfriendly attitude cannot just be stripped off outside the hospital gate. It's part of people.

Interestingly Nigerian doctors who relocate abroad adapt to their new medical environment/culture very well.

So we can do better. But not there yet.

eendy:
Having gone through your post, it's sad most of what you mentioned up there turns out to be true... The Nigerian system lacks a structure and the medical profession is not left out, it's sad the art of clearking and examining a patient is really dying so patients are at the receiving end.
Unfortunately the average Nigerian doctor is arrogant but then there are some you encounter ... You get better even before taking your meds.
it's not likely to change anytime soon anyway but then we only home the next generation turns out to be better.
mind you am a doctor.

For some reasons after reading this,

my oxytocin levels are increased.

Serotonin levels reduced.

Systolic pressure increased.
HR increased.


What's my diagnosis miz doc

lulufaj:
The doctors decide who works on a case yea? A doctor will employ more doctors when he cnt make ends meet. Building collapses and all Engineers are bad. I get your logic. I cant keep arguing with you. Know this however, some of us have experienced 2 separate climes and we know exactly what we are talking about.
where are the strong institutions, where are the guidelines? where are the regulatory bodies? where is the political will? Where are the rules that state how long you mut work before taking a compulsory break? Its unfortunate the average Nigerian knows more than he knows.We meet our leaders and treat them and know whats going on We know what they say to us. Each time i see any of my colleagues working in Naija, i give them kudo cos i know what it takes especially if you are the kind that tried to make changes and do the right thing.
In my days at Gh, if im on call on monday for example, i worked from 8am monday till 4pm on tuesday. Then I go to wrk 8 to 4 on wednesday and im on call on thursday which means 8am thursday to 4pm friday.Then do saturday call. I may be on call twice or 3 times a week.I attended an international interview and was asked how many hours i work per week. I told them 90 hours, they felt i lied and confirmed from my HOD who was also one of my referees The woman said my wrk is 48 hours a week and was thinking i woundnt cope cos their citizens struggle.
My brother dont even go there. If i open matter for you, you will realise you are not bin fair to those guys at all.

Bruv, we all have things we do to earn money and enjoy the finer things of life. We all have colleagues. We also work late. We all paid to get an education. We work overnight, too. While you see patients some of us see clients all day, draw all day, work on projects through the nights, weekends, public holidays, you name it . That's why we should all understand that everybody has their value.
We know doctors are human, but we should be treated as humans in turn. Just because I spent all night on a project when I have taken some bad cuts due to some new government policy doesn't mean that when I go for a meeting the next morning I will be taciturn and blow up on the client. It does not make sense. We should be professional about it. Doctors should be professional because they are dealing with other professionals too. Nobody is nothing. I have lived in different places and Nigeria is a horrible cesspit.

MissJoy29:
I just hope this writing will be able to adequately capture my frustration, disappointment & dissatisfaction with the Nigeria Medical Doctors in particular & the Health sector in general.
I also apologise in advance for the long post.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been sceptical about going to hospitals. The attitude of the health workers there are nothing to write home about. Both the private and the public hospitals. Even though I still believe that public hospitals are far better than the private hospitals(especially the average ones) in terms of quality service(although you run the risk of dying before you are attended to due to how slow they are).

There are so many anomalies in our hospitals. I have seen & heard really bizzare stuffs going on. From the nonchalant, impatient and highly unprofessional attitude of the attendants, the unhealthy environment, the cranky and harsh attitude of the nurses, the fact that there's also "who you know mentality" when lives are at stake, the subtle way they bill you unnecessarily by paying for almost everything you do in the hospital(consultation fee, file retrieval fee, unit fee, buying of this & that for your treatment that you will end up leaving for them), the lack of medical equipment, the walking up & down paying for one thing or another at different times(even when you are not fit)instead of paying at once,the number of unqualified & seasoned doctors, the location of a hospital's laboratory on the last floor of a three-storey building(like, who does that!!!!), the high cost of drugs and other medical supplies in the hospital's pharmacy as opposed to their cost outside etc.

But I have a particular area I want to focus on.

THE ATTITUDE OF THE NIGERIAN DOCTOR
This thread was born out of my experiences this week at a teaching hospital. These experiences brought back all the others I have had to push to the back of my mind a long time ago for lack of an appropriate channel to express them. For the purpose of this thread, I'm going to use my experiences at ABSUTH (Abia State Teaching Hospital), LASUTH (Lagos State Teaching Hospital), LUTH (Lagos University Teaching Hospital), National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi & few private hospitals as yardsticks to buttress my grievances. I'm also going to put into consideration, the attitude of my close friends who are medical personnels.

Note: I'm not here to compare hospitals. I'm only using them to show that the attitudes of the doctors I met there may actually be same(or at least, almost same) with all of them in the country.

Firstly, if I have met 15 medical doctors, only 1 turned out to be sympathetic and humane. Apart from my family doctors and this sympathetic doctor, I don't think I will ever recognise any of the doctors I have seen again. But after 5 years or so, I still recognised him when I saw him again recently at same hospital(and I have memory problems) Why? He was probably the first doctor I ever saw who actually listened cos they WANT TO not cos they HAVE TO. There's a big difference. Most of them just hear you. They don't listen & they don't allow you talk. That's why they ask you questions based on what THEY THINK you feel & not on what you KNOW you feel.

Secondly, these doctors (except my humane doctor) make it look as if they are doing you a favour when they tell you about your ailment. It's as if they want you to pay consultation fees before they explain in details what you are passing through. What am I saying? One actually told me that! Inasmuch as I think majority of them don't actually know their profession that well, I still wonder why they choose to withhold & hoard information. It's bad enough they don't tell on their own without being asked. But it's even worse they withhold when asked. I have recurring ear ache that comes like every 2 years. This time around I asked the doctor (on the advice of a friend) what the cause of the problem is so I can avoid it. And he opened his mouth & said to me, "get solution first. What do you need the cause for? I was stunned to say the least!
Thirdly, they are always very harsh & impatient. You come in to a doctor's office, 30 seconds later, you are out with a piece of paper filled with their illegible writing just cos they are more concerned with what they are scribbling based on what they THINK you are going through than on what you are actually saying. They are hurrying to see as many patients as possible to collect as much money from them as possible and also to go to their private clinics. So no adequate time allocated to a patient.

Again, because of the attitude of some of these doctors, I'm really not surprised why I detest private hospitals because majorly, they are still the ones that establish it. The main reason why I hardly go to private hospitals is because I don't understand why someone will be, say an E.N.T doctor in a public hospital, but will end up being a GENERAL practitioner in his/her private hospital. They are now automatic Ob/gyn, optometrist, dentists, surgeons, paediatricians etc. I can't count the number of times they have mistreated cases they are supposed to refer to specialists like professionals do.

After venting like this, I'd like to hear from the house. Knowing that people in the medical profession are supposed to be warm, humane, sympathetic, kind, friendly, patient, a listener, polite, knowledgeable, seasoned, capable etc, why then do you think most Nigerian medical doctors are cold, nonchalant, impatient, unkind, harsh, rude, condescending? Is it because that's who they are normally or are there some things in the sector and/or in the training process that turn & change them into the aforementioned? Doctors in the house & non-doctors like me, over to you.

well I must say that the post is not longer enough as I was expecting, and that's one disappointment I got from you.
Secondly next time you wanna make a post like this, make it longer so that patient Nigerians, unlike the impatient docs you met in the Nigerian hospitals can read and let the topic be My Grievances with Nigerian Doctors. but, permit me to remind you that most of those doctors you met in those hospitals you mentioned and others hospitals you might have assumed are not mostly paid their monthly salaries, their due allowances are what your Nigerian government don't give listening ears to unlike the abroad doctors you compared them.
This is Nigeria you must know, where human lives have less value including that of The Nigerian Doctors whose body you composed this 'Ode' to impress those whose hatred and bias for Nigerian doctors are heavier than horse can ride. something you must know is that someday the Nigerian doctors may no longer remain Nigerian doctors, but European and American doctors cos that's where the importance of doctors are valid and value.

You always visit the hospitals assumed to know the symptoms of your sickness even when you are yet to be diagnosed. You want a proper trained medical doctor to listen to the stories you have to tell than to carry out a proper diagnosis (as he was taught) to ascertain your conditions and what solution it requires. To you the doctors are impatient cos they don't spent a whole day listening to your complaints, leaving those in other wards and ICU dying. Next you visit the hospital ask the doctor how risky his and work is in a Nigeria where security is at dust especially the northerner states where Fulani herdsmen are at rage, in the Southern states where cult war is at stake

I encourage you to write a letter like this you wrote to Nairaland to your federal Government of Nigerian, tell them the importance of doctors in the society remind them the poor standards of Nigerian hospitals, the non-payment of doctors salaries and allowance, the uncomfortable working conditions of the Nigerian doctors and more so the poor medical institutions of learning across the country Nigeria.
I make my sentences simple that internet wailers may understand.

Thank you

Tellemall:
The fact is not about who got there and how, but that those there act like doctors. Misdiagnosis, keeping vital info hidden from the meatiest, laziness to look at test results....the list is endless. I am sure many Nigerian people have been killed by secretive doctors. It is not sentiment. It is the fact. How is time a factor in curing a patient? Two minutes of explanation will prevent a lifetime of illness in most cases.

the fact isnt about who got there but when the worst footballer represents your team and better player are sat on the bench you complain?
really, I dont know who did this to Nigerians.

Youd rather go to war with you weakest soldiers,i guess, while leaving the best at home, listening to music. No need for further arguments Sir.

Tellemall:
Bruv, we all have things we do to earn money and enjoy the finer things of life. We all have colleagues. We also work late. We all paid to get an education. We work overnight, too. While you see patients some of us see clients all day, draw all day, work on projects through the nights, weekends, public holidays, you name it . That's why we should all understand that everybody has their value.
We know doctors are human, but we should be treated as humans in turn. Just because I spent all night on a project when I have taken some bad cuts due to some new government policy doesn't mean that when I go for a meeting the next morning I will be taciturn and blow up on the client. It does not make sense. We should be professional about it. Doctors should be professional because they are dealing with other professionals too. Nobody is nothing. I have lived in different places and Nigeria is a horrible cesspit.

like that stops you from getting home and not still doing admin work and cant even enjoy your leave if you manage to get any? Some people cnt even enjoy the little they earn cos they have no time to do that. Ask peeps closer to you, they tell you.
We should appreciate Nigerian Doctors, theyre the real endangered species. I tell you the gospel truth.

stagger:
The healthcare system in Canada is paid directly from taxpayers money. How many Nigerians are up to date with their taxes, and if yes, when last was the FIRS accounts as well as those of the state IRS departments audited in and out?

I have said it before and will say it again: Naija is in in UNFIXABLE state. There is no hope.

Bike, no curse Naija on top the trouble she's in. Just speak blessings upon her. Many businesses evade tax, but a lot of them are small businesses. Its good to pay tax sha, as you can open mouth and demand to know how your money is being spent
The problem is the resource in Nigeria as per oil. It's just a few that are stealing all this money, and people refuse to demand for accountability as its not directly from their pockets. Everyone is after their own share of the national cake including the common man on the streets.
Na wah.

lulufaj:
the fact isnt about who got there but when the worst footballer represents your team and better player are sat on the bench you complain?
really, I dont know who did this to Nigerians.

Youd rather go to war with you weakest soldiers,i guess, while leaving the best at home, listening to music. No need for further arguments Sir.

You did question how they got there. You never mentioned these weakest soldiers. Going by comments doctors are anaemic weak players in general. 34591/35000 anaemic and febrile. Going by personal experience 354,999 are necrotic players. 34999 pardon.

lulufaj:
like that stops you from getting home and not still doing admin work and cant even enjoy your leave if you manage to get any? Some people cnt even enjoy the little they earn cos they have no time to do that. Ask peeps closer to you, they tell you.
We should appreciate Nigerian Doctors, theyre the real endangered species. I tell you the gospel truth.

Because doctors are too important. But without engineers they would not even have syringes. Without microbiologists sterile instruments/solns. Without electricians lighting. Without public health officers no clean well ventilated rooms. Without cleaners dusty tables. Without carpenters no chairs or desk.But we can always replace a doctor with Google as earlier mentioned. It's finished.