Let’s face it, finding a good physician is difficult. A bad experience with a physician can be very stressful. And stress is the last thing you need when you are in pain. That is why we firmly believe that patient’s must do their homework before seeing any physician. The following checklist can be used as a template to helping you find the right Pain Expert:
- Intelligence/Education
- How did the physician perform far before college and medical school?
Past performance, especially at a young age, helps tell the story about the individual’s fundamentals.
What kind of medical school program were they accepted to?
Was it a US medical school or a Caribbean or Mexican Medical school?
What age was the physician accepted into medical school?
What, if any, scholarships did the physician earn?
Did the physician complete an anesthesiology residency? (Many pain physicians have not)
Did the physician complete an accredited interventional pain management fellowship via an accredited anesthesiology program? (Many pain physicians have not)
Has the physician made a commitment to education?
Has the physician made a commitment to research?
Has the physician ever been the first in the world to describe or do something?
- How did the physician perform far before college and medical school?
- Skill
- First and foremost, does the physician have common sense?
Does the physician have the life experiences to make the right decisions?
Does the physician have the intelligence to make the right decisions?
Does the physician have excellent hand to eye coordination?
Is the physician meticulous and delicate with procedures?
Does the physician have social skills or people skills?
Has the physician made a commitment to continuous improvement of clinical skills?
- First and foremost, does the physician have common sense?
- Integrity/Ethics
- Is the physician’s goal to make a living by genuinely helping people or make a profit regardless of outcomes?
What kind of family was the physician raised in?
Is the physician a “pill mill” dispensing huge quantities of narcotics?
Is the physician a “needle jockey” doing excessive and unnecessary procedures?
Is the physician cold and rude?
Has the physician had a bad reputation in the community for poor outcomes or poor personality?
Does the physician value his/her ego more than the patient’s safety and well-being?
Does the physician have a “God” complex?
- Is the physician’s goal to make a living by genuinely helping people or make a profit regardless of outcomes?