Comments on: The blogosphere responds to Dr. Bennett calling a patient fat

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 21:54:00 +0000

He should have conducted himself into a more professional approach,that was totally uncalled for,How would he have liked it if I were to tell him,well your ugly and I can lose weight.There is no cure for uglyness.Uglyness comes straight from the bones.And goes directly into the heart.Take a course on “How to treat your patients”They are available.They just cost money.I’m sure you can afford it though.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 21:40:00 +0000

Good doctors are getting hard to come by.If you have one you’d better hang on to him for dear life,the pickings are slim out there!!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 21:35:00 +0000

I agree with the poster that said” He wouldn’t have pulled that shit with a man” Just what kind of ducker is he?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 06:00:00 +0000

One of the things I think that doctor’s forget is that they are dealing with people,not statistics.I know that doctors see numerous patients in one day and all they might see are body parts, but I think they overlook the fact that it is not an easy thing to be completely naked with someone between your legs, grabbing your breasts or any other part like you’re an inanimate object. Women who have been raped, have fought eating disorders, suffer body image problems or depression find it difficult to simply drop their drawers for a complete stranger and have that stranger pass judgement on their body. I say “pass judgement” because there’s a difference between making commentary on someone’s attractiveness or self worth and telling someone that healthwise it’s in their best interest to lose weight.Doctor’s should not lie or sugarcoat things for their patients, but this guy was a malicious asshole who obviously felt that he could get away with saying these things to her. Would he have pulled that shit with a man?

By: Christopher King

Christopher King — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:52:00 +0000

Here’s what I say about Dr. Bennett and the First Amendment:

http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/2005/10/youre-so-obese-only-black-men-will.html

Let’s get a grip, here folks. Dr. Terry Bennett’s comments, in lilly-white New Hampshire, are not the same as a doctor telling a skinny black woman, “you’re so skinny only white boys will like you,” and if you can’t see that, or comprehend why it’s different in a context like this, you may be cursed with another physical ailment beyond the Good Doctor’s bailiwick: Myopia.

Having dated leggy blondes to short brunettes and women of many body compositions between 4′10″ to 6′2″ and in between, I appreciate all sorts of women. But apparently some white professionals in the “Live Free or Die” state don’t appreciate black men appreciating white women in that way because he used it as a scare tactic. Well that’s pretty scary to me, folks, so I’m gonna file a complaint with the Seacoast Branch of the NAACP later today. Peace.

PS: His speech is not entirely protected by the First Amendment, as mine was and is in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. He relinquished a degree of his First Amendment Rights by agreeing to be subject to a regulatory board — and he may even be governed by commercial, rather than general, Free Speech doctrines. I, on the other hand, was exercising a Fundamental right as a free negro (or caucasian) citizen to seek redress for a man who faced three (3) drawn guns, arrest and a body cavity search from undercover police who rousted him and eventually charged him with “loitering,” which he beat. See my 16 Oct. blawg, “Open Complaint to NAACP Legal Defense Fund,” which still has not been answered substantively.
-c

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 18:36:00 +0000

Louis, MD
I am an endocrinologist and I am obese, have diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia. I still have to tell my patients to lose weight, I tell them what they should do at the same time that I tell them I probably don’t have the moral authority to ask them to diet. Most enjoy what I say and actualy appreciate the fact that I have the same proble. People tell me I know more because of it. From experience obese people need a reason to diet beyond health reasons. So, I try to motivate my patients the same way I try to motivate myself. If you lose weight you will feel better and look better. It´s a fact. Who are we trying to kid. Patients have told me they are upset that since they have lost weight they are being asked out on dates. I know it is upsetting, they are the same person, but lets face it, most women don’t feel atracted to obese men and viceversa. This is a fact of life. Being slimmer at least will “open the door” for people to know you better, know who you really are. First impressions are important Ugly, slim men have better luck at love than obese men. This is a fact of life. If the doctor in question tried to motivate his patient on these terms, he did it because he cared. If you don’t care you don’t say anything. Let her be fat and die, die lonely, what do I care, understood? This doctor doesn’t have a prejudice against fat people… he CARES. Now we have the president of some obese advocacy group saying that this doctor is doing a disservice to overweight people making them feel bad and that obesity is ok (I think she even said that ..if it was not for the stress people have to live with because of the discrimination they have to endure, they will live as much as normal weight people). This is not true. Obesity kills (just tell me how many obese 80 year olds you’ve seen arround). This I’m obese, so what attitude is going to backfire and hurt inocent people that may get the wrong impression and believe it´s ok to be obese. I am obese, most everyone in my family is but making it ok to be fat is not ok. Now because of this woman reporting her doctor to the medical board, more doctors are going to stop counseling their patients for the fear of “offending” someone and getting sued. Why is this doctor not apologizing.. because he has nothing to apologize specially to this hurtful person that did not care to report her doctor to the board of medicine after he was just trying to help by motivating her the best way he could. If he apologizes, she’ll sue. There has to be a hungry lawyer salivating over this right now. I know I will be more careful after this, actually I am so seriously concerned I will just tell people they have to lose weight for their health, hand them a diet (insurances don’t pay for dietary evals. for obesity) and thats it. If they lose wight ok if they don’t, ok, its not my problem. Why should I care to go the extra mile counseling when I may just be putting my livelihood and that of my family on the line. Doctors are growing more callous because of these patients and then we complain that the doctor is not caring, “I’m in and out, no human touch”. Are you crazy, you touch someone and you get sued. That’s how it will have to be. You have a headache, ok, it’s not a tumor so take an aspirin and don’t bother me, forget about me trying to help you figure out what may be the cause or a contributing factor, someone may report me for asking personal stuff, private stuff. For Gods sake this is not the mailman asking you if you are having marital problems or problems with your boss, kids, whatever. It feels bad being a caring physician and seeing a colleague being bashed for just doing what he thought war right. Wasn’t he. Why don’t we pass some law saying it’s ok to be fat and forget about paying the billions of dollars spent every year in the treatment of obesity related diseases.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 03:56:00 +0000

You Took my comments completely out of context. I mentioned that 75% of my patients are uninsured to highlight how f’ed up and desperate most people are in seeking health care. I do the best I can in treating them. They have REAL reasons to complain. I feel like I work in a battlefield and this woman is filing complaints about how her “private physician” talks to her.

By: Bridey Murphy

Bridey Murphy — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 00:19:00 +0000

So, Doctor Anon, since some of your emergency patients are mean to you, no patient has a right to expect or demand decent treatment? Or, perhaps, no patient except one who is thin, well-insured and doesn't wait until he's messily sick to see a doctor. Everybody else can just take whatever they get and be grateful, dammit!

And, yes, I am a fat chick. One who, as a suicidally depressed young woman of 22, was told by a male nurse in a psychiatric hospital that I was "beautiful" but, because I was fat, I was neither "attractive" nor "sexy."

Does that seem appropriate? I'm sure the nurse would have said he was just telling me the truth.

That said, I think filing a formal complaint is idiotic. She should've changed doctors or just dealt with it herself. Geeze, lady, grow up.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 15:31:00 +0000

“I’m pretty discouraged that the folks who should be first in line to insist on professionalism and a high code of conduct for the practice of medicine, that patients be treated as individuals with worth and dignity, are rising to defend their right to abuse patients without oversight or consequence from the regulators of the profession.”

Did you ever hear the term “pick your battles”? I am an ER doc, 75% of the patients I see do not have doctors, do not have health insurance, can only get care when they are critically ill. They often wait 10 hours to be seen. This is what’s left of U.S. Health care. But the legal sharks and the PC police are still out there, trying to pick up any remaining scraps they can get their rocks off on. Why don’t you guys go after another profession for awhile, like Cops or firefighters? They’re important too.

I get threatened with lawsuits every day, often get threatened with bodily harm. Is that called “being treated with professionalism and dignity?”

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 04:29:00 +0000

The board is there to ensure doctors conform to standards of medical competence and professionalism that generally do not apply to Applebees fry-cooks and waitresses.

I've never gotten a demeaning harangue from a waitress, but I guess if I did I would report her.

I'm pretty discouraged that the folks who should be first in line to insist on professionalism and a high code of conduct for the practice of medicine, that patients be treated as individuals with worth and dignity, are rising to defend their right to abuse patients without oversight or consequence from the regulators of the profession.