Nobody Follows Doctors Advice

I wonder why they still care so much about us.

It seems our society has stopped following medical advice.

A couple of generations ago, physicians were thought to be the hands of God when healing was needed. So nurses, trained by Nuns, learned to approach physicians with the utmost respect.

A generation ago, doctors and nurses were respected for their knowledge and compassion.

Enter the internet.

Now their advice is mainly ignored. Doctors and nurses are being abused at the bedside as they attempt to provide care. Patients are more demanding and, at times, even violent.

Many are non-compliant with taking their medications and making the lifestyle changes necessary to prolong a healthy life. They found a simpler solution online.

Facebook and Google became the go-to source for information, including medical care. The internet exploded with false information and outright lies. Snake oil salesmen abounded, making a quick buck with no consideration for the harm they were causing. And people started trusting those sources more than their own family doctor.

Conspiracy theories have found a welcoming home online. From politics to global warming, pharmaceutical company scams, and now Covid vaccines have all been the subject of these theories.

As a result, the general public’s health is deteriorating, and healthcare costs are increasing.

There is no doubt that pharmaceutical companies have given us reason to doubt their integrity. The cost of insulin and epi-pens has skyrocketed for no discernible reason other than profit. And they have admitted to doing their part in creating the opioid crisis. So we all have a good reason to be suspicious of their claims.

But for some mysterious reason, the family doctor has become entangled in this suspicion.

During the first Covid outbreak, no one had any idea what we were facing. Misinformation and wrong guesses abounded. But, as it progressed and more brilliant minds worked together to focus on the issue, understanding followed. Each Covid patient taught us something new about the virus, and each survivor showed us what recovery would look like.

Doctors and nurses went to work daily, covered in whatever protective gear was available to them. They stayed in hotel rooms away from their families for fear of giving it to their loved ones. Short-staffed and overworked, they showed up for their shift afraid, tired and dedicated.

Then, a breakthrough, science finally created a vaccine. Naturally, everyone was suspicious at first. Nobody knew very much about Covid, and the technique to formulate the vaccine was completely new.

The scientists offered hope, but the medical community and the general public were afraid. The internet was full of false information about the vaccine. The snake oil salesmen were having a heyday.

Slowly, doctors and nurses began to get the shot. Now they had the first-hand experience of what Covid did and the long-lasting effects if you survived. Yet, some continue to refuse the vaccine, even with the most accurate and updated scientific information. They are making an informed choice.

The majority of people who refuse the vaccine are not medical people.

They are not making a choice that seems logical to the rest of us.

Unfortunately, people have constant contact with Google and Facebook and only occasional contact with their physicians.

The doctors and nurses tell their patients to get the vaccine, but the recommendations fall on deaf ears.

Since the news of Covid first broke, the general public has been the target of so much misinformation that it is understandable that they are confused. But, it is hard to understand why they won’t call their doctor, pharmacist, or nurse practitioner and get up-to-date information that could save their lives.

At what point did Google and Facebook become a more reliable source of medical information than people who studied for years and treat people with expertise and compassion?

There is now talk of mandating vaccines. As crazy as this entire situation has become, taking away a person’s right to decide what goes into their body is both immoral and unethical.

People can refuse to take their medications and change their lifestyles; we don’t mandate that. Instead, we treat them compassionately when they have a heart attack or need open heart surgery because they didn’t follow medical advice.

When people with diabetes don’t control their blood sugar and indulge in their bad habits, we don’t confine them and manage their lifestyle. And when they lose their eyesight and need their legs amputated, we treat them with compassion.

Most doctors can give you a long list of their patients who died before their time because they refused to follow the advice that would save them.

It is the same with vaccines. By now, everyone in North America knows there is a vaccine that can lessen the symptoms of Covid and perhaps save their life. Yet, they choose not to get it.

They choose not to listen to their doctor.

Doctors and nurses will continue to treat them with compassion because that is what we do.