You Look Too Young To Be A Doctor There you are in your slacks and crisply ironed shirt donned with your immaculate white coat. You have your stethoscope hanging around your neck, a medical chart in one arm and with the other hand you open the curtains to see your patient. You verify the patient’s identity and then go on to introduce yourself as doctor so and so. Before you get to ask the patient about their case, they stop you by saying, “You look too young to be a doctor." The Struggles Of a Young Doctor You may dress yourself up as professionally as you can but your youthful looks cannot be masked by your fine clothing. On some duties, I would be the only doctor left in the hospital. I would be left responsible for the in-patients as well as the out-patients streaming into the ER. Nurses would call me to the ward on the floor above to make orders or check up on patients for me. At times, I would have to run down to the ER to assess new patients. Despite being tired and running out of steam, I still get that patient who overlooks my experience and capabilities by saying “Isn’t there anyone older than you?” or “I do not want a student. I want to see a real doctor.” We can’t really hold it against patients to be surprised at how young we may look. Patients have a mental image of a doctor of being at least middle aged. Little do they know that the average medical school graduate is in their mid to late twenties and that once specialized doctors are done with their training, they are usually already in their late twenties to early thirties. Prove Yourself Of course, this doesn't mean that you need to carry around your medical school diploma and your physician’s license to flash at your patient every time they disbelieve you to be a real doctor. Prove yourself through your actions. Some patients may even ask questions merely to test if you are a qualified doctor. Rather than getting offended over their bluntness, know that doctors are held in high-esteem in society and take it in your stride. They may just be concerned for their own safety before medical procedures involving life and death are performed on them. Put yourself in their shoes. You would also feel the same too, wouldn’t you? The way to overcome this situation would be to prove yourself through your actions as a doctor. Remain professional and amicable when reassuing them that you are a qualified doctor. Explain their case in detail, in layman’s terms and answer any questions they may have to alleviate their concerns. At the end of the day, all your patient needs to know is that you are capable of taking care of them. Take that extra step forward and have the initiative to tell them, “I am a doctor and I will care for you with the best of my abilities.” Source
