I'm Not a Doctor, but I Play One on the Internet
I've noted an interesting phenomenon since I became involved in a healthcare field--over the years, people have started to pull me aside (virtually or otherwise) to ask medical advice. Even my mom has taken to referring to me as "my daughter, the doctor." Sometimes, it's someone who suffers anxiety seeing an actual doctor and actually wants just minimal information and a whole lot of reassurance so they don't freak out from knowing too much. Sometimes, it's someone who just doesn't trust that their doctor is giving them the full scoop. Sometimes, it's just to translate a diagnosis or treatment into plain English, and sometimes it's a desire to be forewarned about what's likely to transpire when they do go to see their physician.
I'm not always comfortable in the role because I can't make diagnoses or tell people what to do. That's a world of responsibility I'm not trained for, I don't want, and taken too far, is downright illegal. Maybe it makes me nervous because I always think about the story I read of the MT who apparently thought she was such an expert after years on the job that she was consulting on actual patients in a hospital waiting room (right down to simple procedures and prescriptions, no less). Usually, I'm able to get creative, use my research skills, and link them up to trustworthy websites that can give the information they're looking for. Research is something I do excel at, and I don't mind saving someone the grief of sifting through ridiculous Google results for something with authority.
Honestly, I never dreamt I would find myself in a position where someone would call me in the middle of the night to save them a trip to the emergency room or interrupt a meal to ask an opinion. No wonder doctors hate social functions, right? The latest thing to make me suck wind was when my mom took a header on her daily constitutional and tried to break her wrist. Instead of hauling her hiney to the ER for an x-ray, the woman waited until she knew I was out of bed to ask how to treat it. . . Great, Mom, your fingers all move fine, but with a bruise like that you really need to have it looked at! As I'm 1500 miles away I couldn't march her down to the ER against her will, and had to explain the RICE routine (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and make her promise to head out in the morning if she wasn't 100% certain it was okay by then (it was ugly but "fine," but she did make nice and get it x-rayed). Undoubtedly, this kind of thing is payback for my rebellious teens.
It's a lot easier amongst our peers, though I see an awful lot of MTs posting on message boards for medical advice, too. It can be really hard to rein yourself in, especially if you have personal experience with something and can say, "Here's what happened to me," or "Here's what I do when this happens." As a group, we can be an overly helpful bunch, and if I can't keep my bazoo shut I at least make a point of sandwiching my point between disclaimers: "Of course, you probably really want to get your doctor's opinion on this. If not, you have to be confident you've educated yourself enough to take responsibility for your own well being." It's one thing to be a know-it-all private citizen or experienced mom (always a font of information), but once you're in a semi-professional capacity, your opinion has to be tempered with the possibility someone might be silly enough to view you as an expert. One thing to deliver my own kid or set my own broken toes, but I can't say I advocate such personal life and death decisions to anyone else.
Does everyone on the fringes of healthcare get to worry about this kind of thing? I'm sure nurses do, but coders? billers? the lady running the hospital gift shop? How do you deal with it? Maybe I'm simply worrying too much but I suspect once I land an in-house position, it will only get worse.
Off topic: I've whined plenty about the fact I've had to grope my way in the darkness as far as figuring how to get into the tumor registry field and was shocked last week when that bore fruit (LOL--I figured I was just annoying people). I've had friendly overtures from other students/grads, but many, many thanks to Jean R. for linking me to helpful forms and resources and telling me about her own education. Jean has just finished her practicum hours and will be taking her CTR exam in a couple months. I figure she's earned enough karma to do well, based on the linkage to the Cancer Registry CASEbook alone. Good luck!