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Physician or Friend
Can Your Doctor Be Both?
By Shel Franco
Building a "serious" relationship with a doctor or midwife might not be as hard as you think. These three tips could be all you need:
Get what you want out of each visit.
Hubert knew she had found the right OB/GYN when her call to set up a preconception screening wasn't met with a half-hearted response from an irritated nurse. Her choice was solidified when she was actually introduced to the nursing staff on her first visit. "[The nurse] called my name and took me right back behind the desk," Hubert says. "She introduced me as a new patient to all the women in that room. That sort of personal approach carried over into the exam room."
Keep in mind that your patient/doctor relationship is only as good as the sum of both parts – that includes you. Are you being honest with your doctor? Are you listening to and following her advice? You can't expect to build a trusting relationship with a physician if you aren't taking your own health seriously.
"My doctor told me I needed to lose weight before I conceived," says Patty Lewis of Detroit, Mich. "It ticked me off and embarrassed me when he first said it."
After doing some research on the risks of conception while overweight, Lewis decided her doctor was right. "I went to him and asked for help in losing the weight," she says. "That did more to strengthen our relationship than anything else. It really brought us to a mutual respect."
Ask questions. Get answers.
"Don't walk out of that room unfulfilled," Dr Fox says. But that's easier said than done for certain people.
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