Ep. 165: Your Health, Your Voice (Part 2)

In this episode, Linda, Jaz, and Kathy go into more detail by sharing tips and discussing what they have experienced as patients working in healthcare, as well as the importance of speaking up and asking your provider questions.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

You're now listening to a Putin Dose of Three with your hosts Linda, Jasmine, and Kathy, and we're here to bring you your weekly dose. Hey guys, welcome back. This is a continuation of last week's episode.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

I felt the imbalance as a medical student. I can only imagine um patients who don't have that knowledge, let alone don't speak the language, come from a different culture, you know, how they feel. And I already knew that, but I think experiencing it as a as a medical student, I think only exacerbated or intensified like how I feel about it, how like how I realized that it's even worse than I thought, I guess, you know? That imbalance is worse than I thought, it's greater than I thought. So yeah, I think it just taught me that when providing care, I just have to slow down and just be okay with repeating things, and no matter how busy you may feel, no matter how like you know, overwhelmed we may feel as providers, the patients are a lot more overwhelmed.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

So um, to add on, I personally do not like telling when I go to like doctor's appointments or healthcare appointments, I do not like telling people I'm a provider. Um, even with like family members when they're in the hospital, I do not like telling them that I work in healthcare because uh because again, because I feel it there's two reasons. Because I'm so new, I still have that imposter syndrome where like I don't want to be questioned on like my healthcare knowledge. And the other part is like I don't. I just want to be treated like a normal patient where I want you to speak to me in layman's term. Like, yes, if you speak to me in medical terms, I I know some stuff, but what about I don't? Maybe you say something I don't. I don't know. Like, I think I gave a story a long time ago how I went to the cardiologist and he had said something. I'm looking at him like, sir, you can you you need to bring it down here because he knew that I was in in peace school. But I do not like telling providers that I am a provider myself. Um when I go to a doctor's appointment, I remember not too long ago where I switched to like private health care insurance because of my job. I was no longer with, um, I didn't no longer have Medi-Cal. I was, I had, you know, because I was a full-time employee, I had, you know, better health care insurance. And I remember I got to my doctor's appointment late. I I was still within the grace period, but I it was like, I was, I was within the grace period, but I was still, I didn't show up. My appointment was at 10. I got there at like 1010. And when the doctor walked in, like her mood and energy just was so off. Like she was like rushing me through the visit, everything I was saying, and she's like, Oh, that's normal. That's normal, that's no concern. I was like, but I'm telling you how I'm feeling to the point she was so like dismissive that I started to feel uncomfortable. And then I, my anxiety started to go up because I just felt her, her energy and the way she was treating me, and I started to feel so uncomfortable. And this is me sitting there, who someone who has a medical background, but I'm sitting there as a patient asking for help, and she's being dismissive of everything I was saying. And it got to a point where I think she was able to like hear it in my voice, like my voice started to like tremble, like shake because I was just so uncomfortable. And this is my first time meeting her because I'm just establishing care with her. And she was like, What's what's going on? You're you're making me uncomfortable. And I was like, You're making me uncomfortable. Um, and then she was like, Well, you're you're late and you're coming in here with um a list of concerns and and we don't have that much time. And I told her, you know, I do feel uncomfortable. And if the time is the issue, still, whatever time I have left, still like treat me as a patient that I'm here for help. We don't have to address everything today, but her energy should not, she should not have reacted to me that way. And then I as I was speaking more, I was using medical terminology and she paused and she's like, Oh, do you work in healthcare? And I was like, Yes, I'm a nurse. I didn't tell her I was a nurse practitioner, I just said I'm a nurse. And just by that statement alone, her her whole energy changed toward me. She started to like speak to me as I was someone, which is crazy that it had to go to that extent for to be treated a certain way as a patient. Again, I cannot cannot imagine someone without medical background how they may feel in that situation. With me, I have a medical background and I was, in a sense, intimidated by her, and I was my anxiety was on a thousand. Um, so yeah, I don't like telling providers that I am a provider myself, but I have that card in my pocket. So when I need to use it, I will use it. It's sad to say that sometimes I have to say, well, I'm a nurse practitioner to be respected and seen a certain way, which is crazy. So I would use it when I need to use it, even for family members. If I feel a family member is not being treated the way that they're supposed to be treated in the hospital, I'm a nurse practitioner, I I understand how things are supposed to supposed to be done and you're not doing it the right way.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Honestly, that makes me really sad because a lot of communities don't even like going to the doctor to begin with. They don't like I've had so many conversations with so many patients, they don't like it. And I get it, I hate going to the dentist, the noises scare me, you know, but the fact that she only was able to change her mood once she realized that you had a background in med in in in in medicine, I think hurts my feelings because a lot of patients are not gonna have medical background. So how is she going to react to those patients? And let's be honest, a lot of us don't speak up. We don't in the moment we don't speak up, you know, and it's not our fault, like we are vulnerable in in some of these positions, right? Like we're scared, we have all these emotions, we're we're in our head, right? Even me, like when I was in the ER, I couldn't speak up for myself. I couldn't say, I can't do this right now. You know, when when when the doctor had asked me, um, right after he delivered the diagnosis of that I had renal cell carcinoma, he I'm crying, and he asked me if I wanted to do the uh digital rectal exam. How is that okay? Right? I'm literally just dropped crying, and now you want to do a rectal exam on me, and I couldn't even answer, right? I couldn't even advocate for myself. So patients who are scared a lot of times are not able to advocate for themselves, and that's that's sad. Um but if I I would say if to to patients, if you're in that moment where you can do it, like it's not it's not gonna hurt to advocate for yourself. Um but yeah, that makes me really sad. I wish I wish yeah, oh my god, that makes me so sad.

SPEAKER_03 7:57

Yeah, same as you, Linda. I don't I don't say I work in healthcare. And when I go with my mom, I was actually this happened to me three times already. So I was with Tiago, went to the hospital. So at that moment, I'm not thinking as a healthcare, I'm thinking as a mom. And then when I go to myself, I think like I'm like, yeah, I'm just a patient. Um, and then with my mom, I have to be thinking like I need to advocate for her because uh sometimes they don't sometimes, not all the times, uh, but sometimes they don't listen to their patients. And then I understand people in the ER, I know you guys are busy and stuff, but just just for a minute, just listen to them real quick. Just listen to them because sometimes it could be something serious. So for me, when I have been a patient, it was when I was trying to get clear by um to like start doing my rotations as a nurse practitioner. And then so that time I really had to disclose it because I just needed to uh that was the reason why I booked the appointment in the first place. So when I went in and then um she came in, she introduced herself, and I and then she's like, Yeah, what are you here for? And I was like, Well, I'm here because I need to get cleared that I could like fit um to work, I guess. And then she's like, What do you work at? And I was like, Oh, I'm just gonna do be like a nurse practitioner. And she's like, Okay, then she didn't even like, she just let me lead the visit. She's like, What what test do you want? And I'm like, Okay, so uh uh A1C, I want to take my thyroid, I want to take my cholesterol, I want everything, order everything. And then she's like, Oh, okay, she did send everything. And then when she did the physical, she had me sitting down, and um, literally, she just touched my wrist, like she went like this, and then she was like, she she was bilingual, so she would speak Spanish and English, and then she's like, Oh, flacka flaca, like skinny skinny, and I'm like, bro, why would you say that? Like, what about if I had a freaking eating disorder? Like, you don't know that, like you it means that you, yeah, I'm doing the right thing if I look skinny in your eyes. I don't know. So I was just like, after she said that, I was like, I wanna get out of here. You're pissing me off now with that freaking comment. And then I was like, okay, so that was one experience. Then another experience was the first time that I had to take Diago to the second time that I had to take Diego to the emergency room. Diego is four. Thank God he has never been, I haven't had to take him to the ED like often. Um, but the ED, I feel like it's another type of monster because you have to be quick with what you say so they could treat you quickly. Because if you take a long time saying what you gotta say, I feel like sometimes they dismiss you. And it's sad, but it's true. So um Diego had already like I feel like my kid is strong. He doesn't cry for whatever little pain, but when he like he's crying and he can't sleep because he's in pain, I'm gonna say something. So I go in, we're making the line in the ED, and then there was it was just that line, and then it was a whole thing, and then I was like, okay, I'm gonna make it short and sweet because it got busy, like people were coming in, they were getting like limbs off and everything. And I told Carlos, I was like, he's gonna be seen first, and then he's like, why? And I'm like, because that's just how it goes. And then I was like, and it's okay, he could be seen first. Like he lost he lost a limb, yeah, he could be seen first. And then the nurses started coming trying to triage everybody in the in the line. And I did it quick. I was like, and then she's like, oh, okay. And then she's like, next, next. And then as like we were waiting, and then like they called him, they did the test, and then um they weren't doing like a lot of blood work until I was like, Well, he's been throwing out for this much amount of time, blah, blah. You know, kids that compensate quickly, can you do like a lab test? And then she was like, But why do you suggest that? And I'm like, because he's been throwing up, he has diarrhea, like, and he's four, he's not eating, he's not drinking. Like, can you do a blood test? And then she's like, Okay, yeah, sure. And then Carlos was like, Why are you being so animated about the blood test? And I'm like, Because he's a kid. And then uh next thing you know, yeah, his sugar was low. And I was like, see, this is but I never said I working like um in healthcare. But I I just make like suggestions like, can you do this? Like, maybe check this, like maybe check that. And then it happened with my mom that I was kind of irritated with the nurses because my mom was with a lot of pain, and my mom was calling, and nobody was like going, and I was like, I don't want to be that person, but bruh, like chasing pain. I see you talking on the nursing station, like I see what you're doing, and I don't want to be the one going to your station and be like, Can you help my mom? But at this point, it's one in the morning, and we've been waiting. So then, and then I know that the doctor put the orders because she told me, and I saw it when she put it on because I know what she's using. So I'm like, Fuck. So I'm waiting, nothing, dude. They were literally laughing, chopping it up, and I was like, okay, now y'all be fucked up. Like, so I go to the station and I was like, okay, you know what? Like, my mom is in pain, doctor already put orders, I already saw. Can you just please give her the like the medications? And then she's like, Oh, oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see I'm like, the light's right there. Like, don't don't tell me you didn't see the call. Like, girl, it was the only light on. Like, come on now. So yeah, I usually don't disclose it, but you're not play with me. Like, I don't, I'm not gonna disclose it, but I'm gonna suggest things and say things that are gonna like come on now. But it sucks. And it sucks because I feel like, and then that's why sometimes I go with my parents to their appointments because, like you said, Jazz, they're scared to speak up. Because like my dad and his whole like surgery that he just got that he had to go to Columbia for it because he was trying to advocate for himself so many times with his um doctor that the doctor wouldn't listen. He was in horrible pain. They misdiagnosed him with something that he didn't have. So, and I would I felt so guilty because so I'm the oldest. But yeah, I'm the oldest in this case, but and then I've I always been to the appointments with them, but in this moment of my life, I can't. Like, I gotta work, I gotta school. I was trying, it was like right on the like the end of the year, and I just give him like I would literally give my dad like a list of questions. This man wouldn't ask them. I'm like, bruh, I gave you the questions, like, why didn't you ask them? I forgot, I forgot. And then I'm like, okay, I think he's like, um, he doesn't want to be a burden because they had already told him, like, no, we're gonna do this. No, and then I'm like, bro, they've been doing that for very long. Yes, yes. So then I was like, I feel so guilty because I was like, I feel like if I would have gone with you to these appointments, things would have turned out probably different because I would have advocate for you. I would have said, like, hey, you already tried ibuprofen for a freaking year, it's not working. You already he already tried PT, it's not working. We need to do like further, like, you know, test. And then when they do send him to test, like they were hurting him and he couldn't speak up because the guy was giving attitude left and right. So it's just like it sucks. But I can't be on, you know, I can't be in every appointment. But listeners, if you guys could advocate, do it because you yeah, because they're doctors or because we're providers, sometimes they miss stuff. We're humans too. So if you feel like that we're missing something, please bring it up because we probably have. And even if we don't, thank you for checking us. Like, you don't, you know, it's okay, we're humans too. But because I feel like sometimes people have like this utmost respect for providers that they don't even question it. No, question us. I would, I gladly would answer your questions. So yeah, I just wanted to give that advice.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Yeah, yeah. Everything Kathy said, you hit it. What is it? Hit the hammer on the nail. No, use the hammer and hit the nail. Whatever those old sayings is called. Y'all know what I'm trying to say. Um, wait, what's the saying? I can't let it go past. Hit the nail with the hammer, hammer on the head. I don't know, something along those lines. Anyways, I honestly, you know, we were talking about insurances. When I was with Medi-Cal with my doctor at Highland Hospital, I I feel like my care was it was better than what I was receiving now with my primary with my private health care insurance. So of course hit the nail on the head. Oh, sorry, I said it right. It just didn't sound so good. Um, what do I was saying? So it depends on the the provider you get. It doesn't matter if you have private healthcare insurance, it doesn't if you if you have like the meta-cal. Um, it just depends on what provider you have. And you have the option to keep on changing your provider if needed. If they're not treating you the way you want to be treated, if they're not listening to your concerns, move accordingly. Because what Jazz uh Kathy was saying, many feel, because even me, and I have to remind myself, like, no, I know that I know though I'm a patient, I'm still a provider. That we providers, we don't know everything. Things happen, change every day. There's always something new, some type of new research, some type of study. And we when we're go when we go through the score process, we're taught we're books, books, like whatever we read. Yes, it's evidence-based, but it's more so based off of evidence-based and what we learn, that's what we'll what we'll go with in the beginning. Some things may change. You say you're coming in because of X, Y, and Z, and our head is like, oh, it's this, this, this, but it can be something else. So always continue to question your uh your providers. And oh, I had mentioned that I was receiving more care at a Highland hospital, and you're from Oakland, from the Bay Area. A lot of people don't like going to Highland because a lot of things happen at Highland because it's a trauma one um hospital, meaning they take care of the most severe injuries, gunshot wounds, car accidents, anything that's really traumatic, they'll go there. But you can also be seen there as a patient. And luckily, when I was there for a short period of time, the doctor that I had, she was awesome. She was awesome. I'm no longer with her anymore, but she was awesome. Her name is like Doc Dr. Aoki or something. Alone, alone, some something like that. Dr. Ayoke, she was so sweet, so amazing. Every concern I had, she was she was addressing it right there and there, right then and there was no like ladder approach where it's like, oh, let's do this, then this, then like she's like, oh no, let me help you right now. Um but again to circle back around, advocate for yourself. It's you have to, you have to get uncomfortable with advocating for yourself because if you don't speak up for yourself, no one will. In the sense that I, when I have patients, I had a I had a young patient. I love I love my like my mid-20s, 30s patients. She was telling me all of her concerns, and I was like, I'm writing them all down, like, you know, charting what she's saying, or she was saying. I said, at the end of the day, you're the patient, you know what's going on, you've been living with these symptoms and these experiences. I'm I'll look more into what you're you're you're what you're telling me. I didn't write her off and said, oh, it's this, this, and that. But she was actually, she was, she basically had told me, is like, oh, I really like that you said that, because I went to another provider who dismissed everything that I said. And I said, Yes, we're taught one thing in school and book wise, but at the end of the day, it's your life. If I, if you don't speak up for yourself and say it's something severe, something that something that can be life-threatening, and you're not speaking up and your provider's not listening to you, at the end of the day, that's it's your life. It's it's it's I don't I'm ram- I'm rambling a little bit, but it's your life, so you have to speak up. Hold that thought.

SPEAKER_02 20:17

Stay tuned for next week's episode. Thanks for listening to this episode of PD3 with your hosts Linda, Jasmine, and Kathy. Make sure you like, comment, and subscribe at a put in dose of three so that you never miss an episode and your weekly dose.