If you found yourself clenching for fear of another gruesome cosmetic treatment horror story, unclench.

This week in bad doctor news is nothing gory, but it’s still a little bit unsavory–it’s really all about a doctor’s bad bedside manner.

Taking a Spanish Exam on the Phone During the Procedure

Mary Edward, a 70-year-old patient going in for a varicose veins treatment, claims that she received unspecified damage during a varicose veins treatment. Not only that, she was terrified by her doctor’s lack of care during her treatment.

While on the phone, the doctor not only took a Spanish test while performing the procedure, but, in another phone call, he actually talked about experiencing blurred vision due to his diabetes.

Regardless of how this may or may not have affected his proficiency as a physician, it’s certainly not the type of conversation he should have been having while he was working on a patient.

All of this, of course, not mentioning the fact that according to rules from the American College of Surgeons he shouldn’t have been on the phone during the procedure at all.

Why’s Good Bedside Manner Important?

One takeaway here is the importance of having good bedside manner. Patients need the ability to trust wholeheartedly in their doctor, and their doctor needs to be able to live up to that trust.

Racing heart rate and high cortisol are always bad for a patient undergoing a procedure. And doctors should devote their full energy and attention to the patient they’re working with at the time.

In the case of Mary Edwards, she seems to have suffered some unspecified damages during the course of her treatment. Whether this was a result of the physician’s negligence is unknown, but the details of the story certainly don’t bode well.

Looking for an experience medical professional in Maryland?

Call the Vein Center of Maryland to schedule an appointment. We are conveniently located in Westminster, Eldersburg, Baltimore, Hunt Valley and Bel Air.