What with the poking and prodding and them being the ones with who can say which lumps on our bodies will and will not kill us, we have to put a lot of trust in doctors and nurses. It's probably not too much to ask for them to take that bond seriously and not say awful things to us. Here are some people on Reddit who had an encounter with a doctor or nurse who said something highly objectionable.
1. Mlight2013 had a doctor with a devil-may-care approach to both mental health and assault laws.
- "I don't care if you cut yourself, if it keeps you from killing yourself."
- "Thanks for letting me touch your Boobs."
2. Aleismar is obviously just an attention-seeker. People with tubes in their throats are always all, "look at me, look at me!"
Told me my asthma attack was just me acting for attention and that it was all in my head.
I later ended up spending a week in the hospital with a breathing tube.
3. Turn your head and cough, johnthered.
"Nice ass" as he was giving me a prostate exam.
4. The doctor of throwawayvagina4 somehow made it through college.
Recently I moved across the country. I have an auto-immune disease so I've been going through the whole ordeal of finding new doctors in a new city. It's important to mention that the city I moved to is highly conservative and VERY religious oriented.
So, I had a first visit with a doctor today and the first thing he said that alerted me to his traditional values was, "my primary concern for you and your health is that you're a 24 year old female. I want you healthy so that you can get married and have kids..." and he continued to explain how my disease could affect my ability to carry child.
During this conversation I mentioned that I had miscarried last year and asked if it was most likely do to my disease. He gave me a look as if he was taken aback and followed with, "were you married?" I told him I was not and that it was an unplanned pregnancy. To my astonishment he replied, "that's good that you miscarried then. It worked out for you."
5. When he was 13, LeroyGecko saw a doctor with about as much medical knowledge as a 13-year-old.
My chiropractor asked if I had my period yet. I was 13. And a boy. He then asked my to describe in detail what my average poop looked like. My mom was in the room and that was the last time I visited that quack.
6. This doctor who treated EZ_does_it is troubling in two ways—they're at least a little racist, and also don't understand how cancer works.
"You're not white so don't even worry about skin cancer."
7. User carehawk had a nurse who didn't understand that other people could hear her stupid, stupid thoughts because she said them out loud.
This is something that has really been bothering me and I haven't opened up to anyone except my husband about it. I am 25 years old and Caucasian and so is my husband. We also both have blonde hair and blue eyes (important to the story). About six months ago I was in labor with my daughter. When her head started to crown the nurse that was supposed to be there to support me turns to the other nurse and says "Wow look at all of that dark hair. I hope she's not a black baby."
8. ClementineOJ had a real fun and playful doctor, you guys!
During the breast part of my annual exam, the lady doctor told me that I had "very fibrosis breasts." When I asked her to repeat herself she said, "what, you never noticed your breasts feel like spaghetti?" On her way to the next breast she tapped my nose and made an audible boop.
9. User bathroom_warrior22 got slut-shamed by her doctor. Cool.
Female doctor at a clinic when I was getting a sexual health check up asks me how many partners I've had. I answered 14. She mutters to herself under her breath, "yea right, this week maybe". I immediately said, "excuse me, what was that?" She just looked at me and smiled and said , "nothing I'll be right back" and left the room.
9. Adamal47 had a doctor who was really into show-and-tell.
I was bleeding from my butthole,turns out I have crohns, but that's another story. Anyway, this was before I was diagnosed. I went to the doc to tell him I was pooping blood. So he said "let's have a look". I pulled down my pants, laid on my side, and put my knees to my chest as he shoved his cold latex covered finger up the Hershey highway. He the yanked his finger from the air tight grasp of my sphincter, looked at it and said "yup, there's blood". He then shoves his finger and inch in front of my face so I too could confirm there was shitty blood on his glove.
When I say it was an inch away I'm of course exaggerating. It was actually much closer because I flinched and his shitty bloody finger touched my nose.
10. Clmbr76 endured a less-than-model doctor.
I was 18 and getting six stitches under my eyebrow after catching a softball with my eye socket. I asked the doctor if there would be much of a scar.
He said "Well, I could use the smaller thread to make sure there won't be any scar, but it's not like you're a model or anything."
11. The grandfather of this deleted user found out he had cancer in probably the worst way imaginable.
"So I want to give you some medication but I'm afraid I can't give it to you until after you finish chemo"
"Chemo?"
"For the cancer?"
"I have cancer?"
"Oh...yeah I should have mentioned that first."
12. LonerActual no like sports? But sports good. Sports yay! Yay for sports! SPORTS!
"If my son were like you, I'd be ashamed." After I told him that I wasn't playing any sports post college.
13. NoOtherStream's doctor is a regular Patch Adams.
I had been recently discharged from a psych ward after a suicide attempt and needed to go see my regular doctor for something. One of the first things he said to me when he finally came into the room was "So you still planning on doing that whole slicey dicey thing?" all while making a cutting motion at his wrist.
14. The doctor in this story from littlewhitedove_ admittedly wouldn't have made a good psychiatrist, but they don't seem too great at being a non-psychiatrist either.
I went to see my doctor once and ended up breaking down and telling him about my suicidal ideation. He asked why I hadn't killed myself yet. I told him it was because it would be embarassing [sic] and I'd feel guilty. He said "well, you wouldn't though. It wouldn't bother you at all. You'd be dead...what's there to worry about? Oh shit. I shouldn't have said that. This is why I'm not a psychiatrist. Please forget I said that."
15. Come on tFalk, what's a bigger turn-on than a colonoscopy?
I was getting a Colonoscopy and the doctor said "don't worry its normal to get an erection during this". I said " I don't have one?!" He just smiled and said" but I do".