HOW DO I CHOOSE A GYNAECOLOGIST/SURGEON
How do I choose a surgeon?
So how do you choose your surgeon?
1. Make a list of possible candidates
2. Check for his/her education and good standing with The Medical Council of New Zealand. This is a basic step as it is very unusual for a doctor NOT to be in a good standing position with the Council unless something really concerning has happened.
3. Check the doctor’s qualifications. You can easily go into the websites of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and find if the doctor in question has a membership or a fellowship.
If your doctor has also studied abroad and done specialized training in United Kingdom he may have also the highest qualification from UK and you can go to the website of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to confirm the membership or the Fellowship of your doctor in question.
4. If you feel more comfortable with a female Gynaecologist then you have half your problem solved for looking around. But remember a male Gynaecologist can be as good as a female one. Sex makes no difference with regard to experience or surgical expertise.
5. Do you believe in newspapers advertisements? Should you perhaps hear about a doctor in the radio? Or you follow who ever your GP recommends? It is hard these days despite the frequent use of the internet to find out a good doctor. What you read is not always what you get.
6. Insurance. If you have insurance every doctor in the country will accept it, regardless of the insurance provider and regardless of the hospital where your doctor works. If you do not have insurance you may call the doctor’s office and find out if they offer payment facilities to patients with no insurance.
7. Affiliated provider system: Despite different opinions regarding the above system it is basically a contract between a specialist and a private insurance company where the specialist will reduce or will limit surgical costs for the insurance company and in reciprocity the insurance company will increase the patients referred to that particular specialist using different ways. It is therefore not a guarantee that you will get the best specialist in town !.
8. Decide what you want in a doctor. The following is just an example
Look for a doctor who:
- Gives you quality care and dedicates his time to you when needed.
- Has the training and background that meet your needs.
- Has a vast experience with the surgery advised.
- Takes steps to prevent surgical complications
- Has privileges at the hospital of your choice.
- Listens to you
- Encourages you to ask questions.
- Explains things clearly and you leave the practice knowing very well what is happening to you.
- Treats you with respect.
- Works FOR you , for your interest.
- Does not feel uncomfortable if you ask for a second opinion
- THE BEST WAY, IN MY OPINION IS TO ASK FRIENDS OR RELATIVES OR COLLEAGUES AT WORK, NURSES AT THE HOSPITAL . WORD OF MOUTH IS WHAT I FEEL IS MUCH MORE RELIABLE THAN ANY OTHER THING. ASK FOR THE NAME OF THE SURGEONS THEY HAVE USED OR THEY WOULD RECOMMEND.
Remember, “be active in your care to have high quality care”.
It is a very important matter indeed for you to choose the surgeon to take care of yourself. I read in a magazine a while ago the following comment:
“ There are hundreds of magazines created for advice regarding different quality of restaurants. You do not want to ruin your evening! People take so much care nowadays to pick up a good restaurant. They do not always take the same care when choosing someone to do their surgery. A bad restaurant indeed can ruin your evening. But a bad surgeon can ruin your life! “.