I'm here to have a right moan, about some of my esteemed colleagues in the medical profession, especially those who comment on www.nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com. I enjoy reading this blog, Doctor Crippen often has very pertinent observations to make about the way the NHS is going, and the majority of the time I agree with him. He frequently has a swipe at nurses, particularly nurse practitioners, or 'quacktitioners' as he comically (tongue in cheek) refers to them and I am always cringing at the venom he, and many of his commentators, will aim at this section of the caring profession. If I dare to leave a comment, and it is rare, it is to attempt to pour oil on troubled waters, what is the point of all this animosity, letting off steam perhaps? When he 'goes off on one' about midwives my comments are made with the intention of informing about the midwife's role, I start off trying to stick to the point and explaining why a particular action has been taken.
I have now come to a sad realisation though, medical doctors may be highly trained individuals who have doubtless excelled in exams and at uni, but they are so bigoted that they cannot interpret the written word correctly. Obviously this is a fairly sweeping statement, far too much of a generalisation, but certainly the majority of those who comment on NHS Blog Doc read what they want to read and not what is actually written down. If you continue to try and explain rationally what you meant, without resorting to crass statements about Doctors, you are met with a pile of verbal garbage. A prime example of how blinkered the commentators can be are the 250 odd comments left for Nurse Ratchet, I was absolutely horrified by the frankly pathetic insults left by many of the readers.
Considering the behaviour of these pillars of the medical profession I have decided that they are feeling threatened. How are they feeling threatened? They are worried that their pillars are being lowered and that we may discover they have feet of clay. You see their role is being eroded by all sorts of pretenders to their throne; nurse practitioners, souped-up paramedics, etc. This is, possibly, why medics have always traditionally hated midwives. We are not quite nurses and definitely not doctors but we are autonomous practitioners so we will attempt to discuss cases with them, and may even disagree and refuse to do what they want if we consider their proposed actions to be wrong.
If they are up in arms because they really believe that training non-medics to take on a few of roles is a dangerous step, then more power to their elbow, but when you study some of the responses to posts it is often intelligence, ability to pass exams, years spent studying that is given as the objection or the reason why others should not be trained for the roles. Sorry, but I believe that those are spurious reasons, just because a person has a first class honours degree that does not indicate that they have any common-sense or special aptitudes for a job.
I do generally work well with doctors. I have respect for them, the same as I have respect for anyone who has not not given me a reason to doubt them, or their abilities. I am horrified though at how vitriolic they can be, basically how 'up their own arses' some of them have shown themselves to be.
Happier blogging. Daughter is now 29 weeks pregnant, all is going well. Grandchildren are a constant source of pleasure to me, I'm sure I enjoy them more than I did my own children!