Over & over we hear the term "your team." There's hardly a discussion without this mantra.
To me, a team is a cohesive goup with a stated purpose working cooperatively towards a common goal.
As much as I like the idea of busy medical professionals video conferencing periodically to share info on the best treatment for me, or even trading faxed records, this is fantasy.
The doctors I see aren't a team. The retinologist doesn't get records from my endo or visa versa. My endo doesn't receive anything from the podiatrist. My PCP never got the report from the CDE he referred me to. The CDE gave me info that conflicted with the endo's recommendations. I offered to bring records to them all & was met with blank stares. "Well, if you want to," didn't fill me with confidence that I'd have anything but larger files.
So, who's on your D team? Are they in agreement? Do they ever confer? Do you feel they're working in concert?
Should I take out an ad to recruit, gather them all for drinks & state the requirements for my team:)
i really dont think they work as an integrated team.
i think they just work on their own best practice guidelines (often there are national government, medical association, specific disease ‘association’, WHO, or medical BEST PRACTICE guidelines) for practitioners to try and follow (in combination with their own experience of what works best.
i think they only work as a team when things go bad, etc.
but from their point of view, they just seem to be busy working in their own little microcosm, niche etc.
maybe ‘integrated’ medicine one day, spearheaded by technological/computing changes, will BRING ALL THE ARMS AND TEAMS OF MEDICINE TOGETHER NICELY!
Not in the slightest! When I used to tell my old Endo what my Optho was doing she would burst out, Why? He what? Then again she just went on leave for a year. ha.
Frankly I dont think Dr.s whole purpose in life is to serve. They are after all just like us and want to go home at the end of the day. An additional conference call to talk about 1 patient? Shoot, Im lucky if I get 1/2 hour with some of my docs myself!
Eh, whether thats from my not having time or their not having time is up for debate though.
I did at one point hear of a center that had dedicated teams to people I think it included a CDE and Endo. Possibly a Ped. Only saw the commercial 1 time and wasnt able to catch the name of the place.
I wonder why people consistently advise “consult with your team” as if they are an integrated group of some kind available to answer questions. Curious if a “team” truly exists & other people’s experiences.
I like having Kaiser insurance, because it means that all my records are available to all doctors. But I really don’t have a team. Most of what I need I get from my endo, who thankfully is wonderful. Another problem I have is that I take really good care of myself, so CDEs tend to blow me off because they have so many people to attend to who are in dire straits.
I think this is one of the reasons why I cringe so much when I read how people so often leave their entire care, without much personal thought, to their so called “medical team.” There honestly is no such thing, and doctors for the most part do not give a patient a second thought once they’re out of their office doors… I am scared for people who even go so far as to leave their insulin dosing to their doctors, or some incompetent nurse. We need to understand that we are our own coach, and our own team, and we manage the helm… We are the ones who know our bodies, and who deal with our lifestyles every day… to know what to do… Some detached doctor, or robot/automaton nurse following doctors orders, is not going to do this perfectly well. Doctors and medical practitioners are merely there to help put markers on the road for us… but they don’t drive the vehicle for us, and they should not. I won’t even get on how incompetent I think most, if not all, so called nutritionists/dietitians are… a useless profession, imo. Most of what they “teach” you can learn by buying a book at Borders for $6.99… lol Hell, I went to one, once… who refused to give me a “diet plan,” or exercise plan, or anything… and instead referred me to this book… which only cost me $4.99, used. lol An eye opener, really.
By the Team, I think it usually means your Endo, CDE and Dietician. Pump Trainer(I think) is also added for Pumpers.
I’m at a different Hospital now but at my last one we definitely had a “Team of 7”…meaning 7 Specialists. I had my Endocrinologist, Rheumatologist, Ophthalmologist, Infection Specialist, Gyn/Obs, Kidney Speciallist and Cardiologist. I didn’t need them all but it was Nice to know that they all reviewed my case and were available, just in case. They did have I think bi-weekly meetings to discuss all their Patient’s cases. My Physiotherapist was also allowed to attend these meetings and would go over what we had achieved with my therapy and added her suggestions for my future therapy. There were probably more Therapists included but I didn’t ask.
Yes well, I needed the Team of 7 particularly through both of my high-risk pregnancies and the worst times with my RA plus a few other major problems. I’m grateful that they were there for me. Otherwise, I would have probably ended up in a desperate situation.
Honestly I agree that we know our bodies best. But I have to say a medical practitioner, is going to know a hell of a lot more about the medical field than I am. Doctors serve a major purpose and without them and the research they provide we’d but up a creek. Im no fan of western med. as Ive said before, but the good doctors do for us far outweighs the bad. Additionally, you need to recall the difficulty that goes along with learning about D. It can be quite difficult for people to learn let alone understand the concepts and effects of this disease.
I understand its your life and your health, but Doctors are care givers meant to have our best interest at heart. I think them far from the 9-5er who leaves their job at work each time they leave the office. To say you cringe at folks because they take their doctors word is a bit harsh IMHO.
I used to read my Grandfather Georges Encyclopaedia of the World c1915 or so. That one, “Jenny kissed me” by Leigh Hunt and “The Flower” by Alfred Tennyson were always my favorites. =^)
I have never had a “team”. I just ask each doctor I see to send a copy of results/procedures/changes etc. to my primary doctor. Discuss them with him at my visits. Never have had all of them involved. Kinda like it that way.
Oh that “team” thing is corporate-speak, catch phrasey, etc etc. I wish people wouldn’t use that terminology, but I guess it’s for marketing reasons or something, who knows? I think the way doctors are these days is crazy busy, but that must be because of how paper heavy everything’s become, and of course there’s the issue of understaffing. I was surprised to learn that many doctors are just starting to use current technologies that are tailored to how they do things and that in theory, should make communication between them easier and quicker. They are just coming into the 21st century, insane!
However, I have to say, and this is not just relevant to communication in the medical field, that it never hurts (though it is a pain) to take the bull by the horns and get everyone into the theoretical “room” and start talking. I work in a public affairs department and these people are supposed to be communicators by profession - you wouldn’t believe how often they forget to communicate with one another. It takes a special person to notice the lack of connection, and then do something about it by building those bridges. (and then that person leaves and it all falls apart again, har)!
I think you misunderstand what I say… I am not saying that all doctors are useless, and that we should never go to them… HOWEVER… At some point, we NEED to learn to deal with our Diabetes, and be big boys and girls and learn to take care of our own bodies, and insulin dosing. We shouldn’t leave the intricate dailies of how we deal with our insulin dosing to a doctor or a nurse. Yes, I do cringe at anyone who does not think for themselves, do research, and who perhaps lives with terrible numbers because they don’t want to second guess their doctors, dietitians, or nurse’s idea of what is proper when it comes to dosing. I do not glorify doctors. Doctors are people, like anyone else in any other job. Some may be great with their patients… a great deal many, or most, are not… and they stop caring about you as soon as you leave their office. That is the truth. They’re not at home thinking “gee, I need to sit down and figure how the best way for onesaint to dose his insulin.” I am not an advocate of no doctors… I’m an advocate of doing our own part too, and not relying solely on doctors to do our thinking for us all the time… People should not just blindly take information, and never look into it… Doctors are NOT God. Follow EDUCATED advice, is my advice.
That’s really great if you had that, and your “team” wasn’t merely people faxing each other results back and forth, and not communicating any more about you outside of that. Most people will never have that.
I must admit I too am puzzled about my ‘team’. They do communicate, i.e. they all send form letters to each other with the latest information about me. I do not, however, feel part of the team, but somewhat like a victim tossed here and there to pass the time for my team. My podiatrist is the one member of my team who remembers me and talks with me and seems to care.
