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I think all of us get requests to practice outside our fields. Personally, I always say no.
Like the majority of neurologists out there, I’m not certified in internal medicine. (Why neurology is a residency, and not a fellowship, is due to historical reasons). And I don’t want to practice general medicine.
Of course, that doesn’t stop people from asking. So I get requests for antibiotics to treat sinus infections: "Oh, why not? You’re a doctor, aren’t you?"
There are also more unusual requests for cardiac medications ("Amiodarone?" NO!) or insulin ("But you’re treating my neuropathy – isn’t that part of it?").
Sometimes people ask out of sheer ignorance, figuring a doctor is a doctor. Other times it’s them trying to save time/copay money by hitting me up to do it, hoping that I won’t tell them they need to go see their internist or other specialist (even though that’s exactly what I tell them to do). "But I just KNOW I have a (whatever) infection. Can’t you just call in some (antibiotic du jour)? It’s what always works." Nope.
Most people take my refusal in good stride and understand. Others are angry that I’m going to make them spend money and time on an internist visit. And, rarely, some even leave my practice on the grounds that I’m "not taking care of them."
I like being a neurologist. Stepping outside my little circle can lead to a slippery slope, and the farther you go the more likely it can become a legal issue. If I do it once, people will keep asking, and I don’t want to play that game. I know what I’m good at, and I don’t pretend to be anything else.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
I think all of us get requests to practice outside our fields. Personally, I always say no.
Like the majority of neurologists out there, I’m not certified in internal medicine. (Why neurology is a residency, and not a fellowship, is due to historical reasons). And I don’t want to practice general medicine.
Of course, that doesn’t stop people from asking. So I get requests for antibiotics to treat sinus infections: "Oh, why not? You’re a doctor, aren’t you?"
There are also more unusual requests for cardiac medications ("Amiodarone?" NO!) or insulin ("But you’re treating my neuropathy – isn’t that part of it?").
Sometimes people ask out of sheer ignorance, figuring a doctor is a doctor. Other times it’s them trying to save time/copay money by hitting me up to do it, hoping that I won’t tell them they need to go see their internist or other specialist (even though that’s exactly what I tell them to do). "But I just KNOW I have a (whatever) infection. Can’t you just call in some (antibiotic du jour)? It’s what always works." Nope.
Most people take my refusal in good stride and understand. Others are angry that I’m going to make them spend money and time on an internist visit. And, rarely, some even leave my practice on the grounds that I’m "not taking care of them."
I like being a neurologist. Stepping outside my little circle can lead to a slippery slope, and the farther you go the more likely it can become a legal issue. If I do it once, people will keep asking, and I don’t want to play that game. I know what I’m good at, and I don’t pretend to be anything else.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
I think all of us get requests to practice outside our fields. Personally, I always say no.
Like the majority of neurologists out there, I’m not certified in internal medicine. (Why neurology is a residency, and not a fellowship, is due to historical reasons). And I don’t want to practice general medicine.
Of course, that doesn’t stop people from asking. So I get requests for antibiotics to treat sinus infections: "Oh, why not? You’re a doctor, aren’t you?"
There are also more unusual requests for cardiac medications ("Amiodarone?" NO!) or insulin ("But you’re treating my neuropathy – isn’t that part of it?").
Sometimes people ask out of sheer ignorance, figuring a doctor is a doctor. Other times it’s them trying to save time/copay money by hitting me up to do it, hoping that I won’t tell them they need to go see their internist or other specialist (even though that’s exactly what I tell them to do). "But I just KNOW I have a (whatever) infection. Can’t you just call in some (antibiotic du jour)? It’s what always works." Nope.
Most people take my refusal in good stride and understand. Others are angry that I’m going to make them spend money and time on an internist visit. And, rarely, some even leave my practice on the grounds that I’m "not taking care of them."
I like being a neurologist. Stepping outside my little circle can lead to a slippery slope, and the farther you go the more likely it can become a legal issue. If I do it once, people will keep asking, and I don’t want to play that game. I know what I’m good at, and I don’t pretend to be anything else.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
