What impressed me about the attitude of American doctors to children: the impressions of an immigrant from Russia
'12.08.2022'
We have been in the United States for more than six months and during this time we managed to visit doctors several times with the child - for different and for different reasons. The author of the channel talks about his experience of communication with doctors “Life in America” on Yandex.Zen.
And what is interesting, I managed to notice quite a lot of differences not only in the very process of examination and treatment, but also in the way doctors treat children.
The first time we went to get vaccinations for school. English then was very weak, the accent was unusual, and the doctor immediately connected an interpreter via video link. The attitude to understanding is responsible, although in Russia we often even had to ask doctors for explanations: what kind of diagnosis a child has and what to do about it.
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The American doctor did not even touch the child until he first asked permission from the parents and from the smallest patient. And only after obtaining consent, he began to carefully conduct an inspection. I never remember a doctor in Russia asking an adult or a child for permission to be touched and examined.
Having warned that he would have to be vaccinated, with thousands of apologies, distracting and entertaining the child, the doctor performed a very quick injection, which no one really had time to notice. And a hundred times still apologized for the last. He clarified with his parents whether it was possible for the child to have candy, and after consent he gave a box of candy of different colors to choose from.
I immediately remember how in a Russian polyclinic a nurse with a sour face for the first half hour just keeps silent while preparing some kind of syringes and vaccines, then asks to hold the child stronger, pricks with a prehistoric syringe for a long and tedious time and just as silently leaves. All you can hear is a recommendation to sit in the hallway for 15 minutes. And if you don't ask why, you'll never know.
In Russia, no one will give you a printout of the vaccines made and all the possible consequences. No one will wish you a good day and no one will apologize again in the end. In America, at first, it is very embarrassing to hear apologies and wishes for a good day at every turn. In Russia, you will not wait for such a wish, and if there is a reluctance to talk to you, they will also send you off as soon as possible.
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The rest of the visits to doctors and hospitals in the United States left no less good impression of hospitable and smiling doctors who are professionally doing their job.
Original blog post “Life in America” on Yandex.Zen
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