When doctors become patients: Lessons from medical doctors in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

The medical profession is certainly the most respected profession in the world today. Doctors are highly honoured and accorded respect because of the essential lifesaving role they play in the society. To examine the double lenses of sick doctors becoming a patient, this study was conducted among medical doctors in a tertiary hospital in southwestern Nigeria. It examined the illnesses respondents were treated for, how respondents felt becoming patients and the lessons learnt from becoming patients. Primary data was through self-administered questionnaires in which 110 respondents selected through two-stage non-probability sampling methods of purposive and convenience methods were involved. Almost all (98.2%) of the respondents in the study have become patients as doctors. Respondents were treated for malaria, surgery, typhoid fever, dental care, cancer, eye treatment, medical check-up, parturition, ulcer, lumpectomy, herpes, Respiratory tract infection, asthma, vasectomy, urinary tract infection, severe abdominal pain, seizure disorder, goitre, fracture, dysmenorrhea, deep cut and COVID-19 in that order. A large number (68.5%) did not feel any different becoming patients, while 12% were afraid, 8.3% were unhappy, (7.4%) ashamed, (4.6%) mortified and disappointed while, (0.9%) were utterly embarrassed. Lessons learnt from becoming patients include, doctors are also human (50.0%), empathy for patients (30.6%), improved relationships with patients (19.4%), improved patients’ management (18.5%), professionalism in the discharge of duties (17.6%) improvement in their service delivery (8.3%) and greater value for human life (1.9%). Although doctors make bad patients, becoming patients in turn make them better doctors.