mhc

ju'iblex,
You have very much misunderstood.
I didn't say it "made them incompetent", did I?
I said that I believe it impedes my ability to asses their competence.

And I surely didn't say that anyone "HAD" to be forthright about anything. I said that I wanted a doctor who IS forthright about such things. I really don't care what other people's criteria are for their choosing doctors. I'm talking about mine.

Really ju'iblex, you can choose whatever doctor YOU want. Really.




mhc

alek0

I also don't see why would an atheist doctor be preferrable, other than for reproductive health issues. Some christian MDs have issues with birth control, infertility treatments and, oh horror of horrors, abortion. Thus, they are not always likely to provide unbiased information on these topics.

On the other hand, what matters most is competence. If I could only be that lucky to find a competent doctor here, I couldn't care less if he/she was raelian. I don't think that religious beleifs are a good criterion how to choose a doctor. What matters to me is:
1) whether he/she treats patients with respect 2) whether he/she fully discloses information on risks/side effects of medications and procedures recommended 3) level of medical knowledge and following up to date research information 4) whether he/she is comfortable at giving advice and leaving final decision to the patient. It is my body and my life, so it should be my decision. 5) whether he/she is actually listening what the patient has to say. In my experience, it is already extremely hard to find MD with satisfactory performance (as judged by conditions outlined above) without adding the conditon of compatibility of religious beleifs.

Puck

Sticky question. I'm trying to look at it from a Dr.'s point of view. If you asked me what my beliefs were, my first thought would be 'it's none of your business'. In a professional setting, I would think a Dr. may hesitate to answer such a personal question, for many reasons.

You are looking for an instant personal relationship with a Dr., and such closeness comes with time. Where I live, one wouldn't come right out and say they weren't a christain because it would mean no more business. However, I picked someone first for their ability, stayed because they were intelligent and curious about the world around them, and as time went by, discovered they had belifes somewhat like mine.

Sorry, but I think asking about a doc's beliefs first are imposing upon her/his personal life, and are likely to be perceived as rude and troublesome.

However, I much prefer to support any business/professional that was an atheist, first. So I look for signs of religion in business' I go to. If there are any, I'm outta there. If I discover over time that religion doesn't play into their lives/work, I stick around and let them have more of my money.

openeyes

I'm more comfortable with a women doctor, for the usual run of the mill kind of things, just because my experience has been that they understand what I'm saying a little better, which is an important part of medicine.

I think the same could be said for an atheist doctor vs a theist, that one may find that communication flows a little better. (Not a given, but a higher probability.)

I think you're being a litte hard on mhc for his (?) preference.

Abacus

But why? I don't get this. Is it common practice to hold theological discussions while at the doctor's office?

mch is certainly entitled to choose a doctor based upon whatever criteria he wishes. I'm just trying to understand why a doctor's religious beliefs must be known in order to judge their competence. It seems largely irrelevant. I'd be just as perplexed if somebody asked me what my religious beliefs were so that they could better assess my competence as an engineer.

Coleman Smith

Let�s reverse the issue.

How would a person fell if the patient�s were selected on the basis of their religion and philosophy?

Under the heading in the yellow pages we might find physician�s listed as follows:

Agnostic-strong
Agnostic � moderate
Agnostic weak
Atheist �strong
Atheist Moderate
Atheist strong
Baptist General
Baptist �Southern
Etc.

Before you got down to Zorasterism you might have 700 divisions.

What happens if you�re a Baptist and your taken to an ER with a Buddhist ER physician.

Let�s forget about it.

Coleman Smith
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The assertion that the universe is surround in grape jelly is more creditable than the assertion that we are the immortal pets of some deity.

mhc

I want to say that I'm really surprised at the mindlessness of the replies here.
You don't respond to my question, and instead, choose to take exception with my decision.
Instead of simply saying "I don't know," you try to tell me that what I want is wrong.
What a lot of judgmental crap. And not even a good idea thrown in to make it worthwhile.

sullster

The primary characteristics of a doctor are his competence and his adherence to the scientific method. I don't see the need to go to a lot of trouble to find an atheist doctor, that would not mean that he or she was the most competent or scientific. There are thousands of theistic doctors who are rigidly adhering to medical science. Why limit your care to a smaller group of doctors?

Let's face it, if a doctor said that you should just go home and pray, rather than do something medical for you, then of course he should be rejected. He would be a quack.

I don't see looking for an atheist doctor.

Abacus

What did you expect? A lot of us get disgusted when fundies make an issue of our non-belief in situations when it really should not matter. Apparantly, some atheists aren't immune from the same sort of behavior.

As far as finding an atheist doctor, I don't know how you would do that other than to call their office and ask them. I have to wonder how often doctors get asked about their religious beliefs by their patients.

Sakpo

Right. We're being mindless because we fail to see an actual reason someone would seek out an atheist doctor other than your vague notions about basic beliefs having undescribed effects on how a doctor might do their work. Unless you have a doctor who's proselytizing, or would deny you valid medical options because of their beliefs, what does it matter? Please explain why this should matter in a clear and reasonable manner, preferably with examples.

Think about this a moment: if people judge doctors by their religious beliefs or lack of beliefs then atheist doctors in the United States would probably be best advised to keep their atheism secret for what I'd think are obvious reasons relating to the low numbers of atheists and the widespread distrust of atheists in the United States, and the way many people unreasonably associate health stuff with their gods.