The Phenomenon Of Doctorvision
by Neil S. Siskind, Esq.
The old saying goes, “When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. People see resolutions to problems in terms of what they are trained to see. A boxer sees a punch as the resolution to an argument, a lawyer sees a lawsuit as the resolution to a grievance, and an army sees a gun battle as the way to resolve a land dispute. When it comes to doctors, they often have what I call Doctorvision, tunnel vision by doctors. They see the resolutions to problems in the forms of pills and surgeries. Doctors prescribe what they believe can help a patient based on their training. But their judgment can be exercised carelessly leading to medications and operations as the first resorts rather than the last. There are three reasons that doctors prescribe medication or surgery when other answers may be available. First, that is what they are trained to do. For a medical doctor to prescribe yoga in answer to a medical problem is blasphemy. That is not their job. Second, they may have financial considerations. Doctors do make their livings by being doctors. Third, we as a society demand fast fixes and immediate resolutions causing doctors to feel external and internal pressures to resolve medical problems in the most expeditious manners.
Many observers are increasingly concluding that we, as a society, are overmedicated. Less rhetoric is given to whether we are over-surgeried (my own term). But I believe that this idea will also come under increasing scrutiny in the media and in medical professional circles. I have personally been recommended for surgeries that I did not need. In fact, one of my health concerns for which two separate reputable surgeons recommended surgery was ultimately resolved by a 10 day cycle of Advil, twice per day. Surgeons recommend surgery as a problem-solver because that is what they do. Is a surgeon going to recommend that you buy a new car, take a relaxing vacation, or file a lawsuit? No, because they are not car salesmen, travel agents or attorneys. If you speak to a real estate salesperson in a neighborhood, it is her natural instinct to tell you why her neighborhood is the best. She may even actually believe it or may just convince herself of it. An Audi salesman may believe that the Audi handles better than the BMW. He may really believe it or may subconsciously convince himself of such because he has to. This is how he makes a living. In theory, doctors have a higher ethical standard before services and products are recommended. We as consumers have to ensure that this theory is followed in practice.
I am not trying to suggest that doctors have bad motives or greedy intentions. I am suggesting that as in any other aspect of life, doctors get caught up in their own work, their own abilities, their own training and their own way of seeing the world. Their minds are on medicine-and rightly so. But in that regard, they are susceptible to Doctorvision, seeing medical procedures and pills as the first best answers. Even where medication or surgery will likely resolve a problem, they may not be the safest route and maybe should not be the first or even second resolution attempted- unless there is an emergency.
When a doctor mentions surgery and you are not in an emergency situation, you need to get a second opinion. Then you need to do your own research to see what the options are before surgery. Speak to other kinds of doctors and see if they can offer other options as long as they have little risk of harm. When doctors prescribe medication, see if a natural alternative is available or maybe use less of the medication or use it for a shorter time period than prescribed. Often other answers take longer to achieve results and require behavioral changes, making surgery and pills quicker fixes. But surgery and medication come with risks and side-effects, and they may be risks you don’t need to take.
Your surgeon or doctor may be the best at what he or she does, and they may have the utmost integrity. But as human beings, we get tunnel vision and see things in regard to what we know and what we believe. When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Do your homework, check out all options on the table and protect yourself from the unintentional yet sometimes harmful results of Doctorvision.
