WITHOUT the WHITECOAT
Hanging up a sign: What is medically and ethically correct?
For practicing physicians and doctors, signs are a big help for their medical practice. First a sign outside their medical office will indicate their "space" or "territory" and the "specialty" they are involved in. Signs are placed to give directions and hopefully to guide us the "right way" to where we are going.
Streamers or signs will always play a big role in the life of a doctor. The first streamers that will hang on the medical institutions are the names of graduates of their medical school. Then after post graduate internship, streamers are being put up when they passed the medical board examinations given by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC). It is either placed in front of the training hospital or in front of the medical school. Another set of streamers are hang after the physician finishes his residency training in his field of specialization and after passing the oral and written examinations given by his respected specialty society. Usually, the streamers are placed in front of the training medical institution. Thus, anything achieved in part or with connection with the medical institution is usually recognized by them through the streamers that they hang in the entrance of the hospital.
For a proud family, once there children will have educational achievements they either place them as an ad in a broadsheet(newspaper) or announce and broadcast thru the radio. Some proud parents will even hang some streamers in front of their house or in the town’s plaza.
In medical practice or in its ethics, there are etiquettes that have to be observed. Even the size of the materials has its limit. The name of the physician and his specialty is enough. It has been looked upon as bad taste if a physician will advertise himself.( But as a columnist it is just a job).
In the community of practicing physicians, we still observe some grounds rules that are deemed correct with hanging up streamers. Its purpose is not to tell the world that you’re the "best specialist" or the top honcho in some foreign country. (We should remember that any training or salutations from a foreign country ,especially from the US, is a big lift to the individual's practice thus, it adds some ek-ek to his name. We should also remember that it doesn’t make him the "best" in his field).
Streamers should not be hanged up in order to promote one’s medical practice. If you are that good, word by mouth will always spread. Thus, you’ll see a long line outside your medical office. Let other people (maybe some pharmaceutical companies) or the medical institutions do the appreciation or the recognition of your achievements in your field of specialty. Never initiate the move because it looks bad and it is ethically incorrect. If possible, we should stay discreet.
Hanging up streamers to promote ourselves or letting the world know that we have attained or achieved such honors is viewed as a sensitive matter. Let us just practice what is "ethically correct"( it won’t bother the rest if we don’t step on there toes, we just practice what is right and what fits the code of ethics of medical practice). Let us observe the "Christian" way of life. (We should know that we are all answerable to HIM ).
Streamers may be viewed by some as deceptions since they have the knowledge what is happening in the medical community of Metro Iloilo, especially those "deep" ones. It may as well mislead the misinformed patients who still thinks that a foreign training or recognition is all it takes to get more patients lining up that medical office. Our community should be aware by the "shenanigans" of this medical practitioners in promoting there medical profession.
For those patients that are still out there "doctor-shopping", you should set some guidelines when choosing for a physician. First, look for a physician or a doctor that specializes in "YOU". Second, opt for a doctor that is "UNIQUELY QUALIFIED". Third, find for a physician or doctor that still do "HOUSE CALLS". Fourth, make sure that the physician that will always take "CARE" of the whole family, as one will put it "wish you have a physician for the entire family?" Lastly, a physician or doctor who would not charge you an arm and a leg (hopefully you don’t have to pawn your properties) for his professional fee to pay for that brand new European car.