Thank You Nikki for this well thought out respnse. It is, IMHO, not an issue of
whether physicians are people or not. It is much more a question of whather they
act like people. Ordinary people are usually willing to say that they don't have
all the answers. Ordinary people will begin a sentence with "It is my opinion
that.... or, In my clinical experience......or The research seems to show
that....."
If a physician is acting like an ordinary person in this respect, I have no
problem with his or her disagreeing with me or anyone else.

However, when the staement is "You will....or You should...or I always....."
then I get a little put off. No one has all the answers. Patients have a right
to know when we are speaking from opinion, clinical experience or research. It
is not OK to go into a room and tell a mom not to feed more than 5 minutes per
side witout saying "I made this up and I don't know why."

It is also not OK to "bash" the alternative practitioners. Why are there so many
epidurals? Probably because there are so many anesthesiologists! (I have seen
research to back this conjecture, but can't access it right now.) If we had as
many accupuncturists in our birth centers we'd be using accupuncture to releive
the pain of labor and then maybe we'd not be asking why there is so much suck
dysfunction in our newborns.

Sincerely,
Susan

Susan

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