OBESE WOMAN ANGRY AT DOCTOR FOR TELLING HER SHE IS FAT
Michelle's Opinion
This doctor may have absolutely no bedside manner or tact...but he informed his patient the truth of her prognosis. That is his job. It was obviously not what she wanted to hear, but it's what she NEEDED to hear.
Seems to me that A LOT of Americans need to hear the same news from their doctors because obesity is an epidemic. However, with this disease, you can CHOOSE your fate. It doesn't have to be your destiny. Change your lifestyle and get your ass movin'!
This doctor may have absolutely no bedside manner or tact...but he informed his patient the truth of her prognosis. That is his job. It was obviously not what she wanted to hear, but it's what she NEEDED to hear.
Seems to me that A LOT of Americans need to hear the same news from their doctors because obesity is an epidemic. However, with this disease, you can CHOOSE your fate. It doesn't have to be your destiny. Change your lifestyle and get your ass movin'!
It's not about vanity...it's about life or death.
August 24, 2005As doctors warn more patients that they should lose weight, the advice has backfired on one doctor with a woman filing a complaint with the state saying he was hurtful, not helpful.
Dr. Terry Bennett says he tells obese patients their weight is bad for their health and their love lives, but the lecture drove one patient to complain to the state. "I told a fat woman she was obese," Bennett says. "I tried to get her attention. I told her, 'You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that is going to kill you.' "
He says he wrote a letter of apology to the woman when he found out she was offended. Her complaint, filed about a year ago, was initially investigated by a panel of the New Hampshire Board of Medicine, which recommended that Bennett be sent a confidential letter of concern.
"Physicians have to be professional with patients and remember everyone is an individual. You should not be inflammatory or degrading to anyone," said board member Kevin Costin.
Other overweight patients have come to Bennett's defense. "What really makes me angry is he told the truth," Mindy Haney told WMUR-TV on Tuesday. "How can you punish somebody for that?" Haney said Bennett has helped her lose more than 150 pounds, but acknowledged that she initially didn't want to listen.
Dr. Terry Bennett says he tells obese patients their weight is bad for their health and their love lives, but the lecture drove one patient to complain to the state. "I told a fat woman she was obese," Bennett says. "I tried to get her attention. I told her, 'You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that is going to kill you.' "
He says he wrote a letter of apology to the woman when he found out she was offended. Her complaint, filed about a year ago, was initially investigated by a panel of the New Hampshire Board of Medicine, which recommended that Bennett be sent a confidential letter of concern.
"Physicians have to be professional with patients and remember everyone is an individual. You should not be inflammatory or degrading to anyone," said board member Kevin Costin.
Other overweight patients have come to Bennett's defense. "What really makes me angry is he told the truth," Mindy Haney told WMUR-TV on Tuesday. "How can you punish somebody for that?" Haney said Bennett has helped her lose more than 150 pounds, but acknowledged that she initially didn't want to listen.
"I have been in this lady's shoes. I've been angry and left his practice. I mean, in-my-car-taking-off angry," Haney said. "But once you think about it, you're angry at yourself, not Doctor Bennett. He's the messenger. He's telling you what you already know."
1 comment:
Lee, you are hardly obese. I'm sure this doctor was talking about a VERY LARGE woman. I'm talking grossly obese. And believe it or not, there are more grossly obese people than there are fit or even out-of-shape people. You are a fit individual. You were always involved in sports in school. You will lose the weight.
Remember, you are 26 years old...not a kid anymore. I gained a bunch of weight around the same age range. You just have to change your lifestyle. It just becomes habit after awhile! :)
Hang in there!
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