Trusting the Manager of My Healthcare

Trust plays a big role in the doctor-patient relationship. When you have a chronic autoimmune disorder like psoriasis, that relationship is more important than ever. I know many people who are satisfied to see whichever doctor is available at their medical provider's office. I am not that girl.

If my personal doctor, Dr. Marshall isn't available, I will call every few hours to see if she has a cancellation. Maybe the staff will tire of hearing my voice, give up and find an opening for me.

Dr. Marshall has been my general practitioner for a long time now. I like to think of myself as the CEO of my healthcare, and she is the manager. When a specialist advises me to start on a new medication, I rarely start it until I have had a chance to discuss that drug with her. She coordinates my whole person.

There is little about me she doesn’t know. I trust her.

It's start with honesty

This trust didn't happen automatically, it has been built over years. Dr. Marshall and I have had opportunities to get to know each other. She has said things that I don’t like. Specifically, when she talks about my weight with me. “You’ve gained weight, Julie.” “You’re heavier than you’ve ever been, Julie.” I get it.

I know I’m fat and she knows I’m fat. A few years ago with an annual physical coming up in a week, I canceled it.  I avoided calls from her office to reschedule. A few months after that, when I needed to be seen, I finally scheduled an appointment. She asked why I had not come in earlier and I told her I was avoiding her because I didn’t want to talk about my weight.

My honesty changed the way that Dr. Marshall and I discussed my weight and allowed us to talk about it in a way that made me comfortable.

Building ongoing trust

Psoriasis puts us at risk of additional comorbidities like psoriatic arthritis, obesity, high blood pressure, and more. For this reason, it is very important that we not only have specialists we trust but also a general practitioner that we trust.

This will likely be the person who is recognizing and treating some, if not all, of your co-morbidities. She will be the doctor who puts the pieces together and recognizes when you need to bring in another specialist.

Changing doctors

Because of my long-term disability, I am nearing the time when my company benefits will end, and with that, I will have to find a new general practitioner. Dr. Marshall has worked with me to help me find the right fit, someone who understands that I have lived in this body for more than 50 years and know it better than any doctor ever will.

She knows that this new doctor must be willing to have a professional relationship with me, that I will come to her with my own theories and concerns, that I will meet research leaders who may recommend specific medications that I may want to discuss and try.

If my new doctor is unwilling to listen to me, I will move on until I find one who, like Dr. Marshall, understands that I have a condition, but I am more than that condition – I am a whole person with psoriatic disease.

Knowing what's important

If you have psoriasis or any chronic condition, I encourage you to find a way to be as open and honest with your doctors as possible. Trust is so important in this relationship because it’s about maintaining your own health and well-being.

Dr. Sheila Marshall is the doctor that I will measure my future doctors by; I hope you are all lucky enough to have a doctor Marshall of your own.