Doctor’s appointments are often frustrating experiences. You call and make an appointment for much farther off in the future than you would like. You wait for your appointment day, and then you often wait after arriving for your appointment. Even after you go back into the medical examination room, you may wait more there for a doctor to actually talk to you.
Before you ever see a medical doctor, you may explain your symptoms or concerns to a nurse, a receptionist and several other staff members. When you finally see your doctor, you might expect that they would make use of that information right away, but they will likely repeat the same questions you have already answered.
Regardless of how frustrated you may be at repeating the same information, it is important that your doctor take the time to actually listen to you regarding your symptoms. Unfortunately, you may feel like they jump to conclusions and don’t hear you as you explain your pain or other medical concerns. You may actually be right when you claim that your doctor ignored you or cut you off when they should have listened to you.
Research shows that doctors don’t have time to listen
The average doctor see so many patients in a given day that they simply cannot remember everything about each of their patients. In fact, they frequently don’t have the time to listen to the patients. During the typical office appointment, a patient may only get a doctor to listen to them for just 11 seconds before they interrupt and start reaching their own conclusions.
If you don’t reassert yourself or make sure the doctor listens to you, they could gloss over your issues and reach an inaccurate conclusion that leads to negative medical consequences. It can be difficult to make a good case for yourself in the medical appointment, especially if your doctor doesn’t have the time to listen. Keeping a list of your symptoms and communicating them effectively can improve your chances of your doctor giving you the attention you require.