I don't like doctors appologizing to me unless it goes something like this...

*hand extended...concerned look on face* "Hello Mrs. Lixy. I'm soooooooo terribly sorry for making you wait 1 and 1/2 [+] hours for an appointment to see me. I know you're in pain/discomfort/snot running down your face...et al: and I have no right scheduling appointments for every 15 minutes when I know damn right well I can't get to my next patient for at least 1/2 hour or more. I listen to everyone's concerns and I am a good doctor when you finally get in to see me...but I have no common sense or caring in asking you to put your life on hold to sit in my stinky waiting room and catch who-knows-what from all the other sick people in there waiting for who knows how long. I should know better than to think that is why you are all called patients. Yep! Patience and patients are two different things and I am so sorry that I just now realized that"!

In my book...we are all human and prone to err at times. An appology wouldn't be right if a lawyer is standing behind it. On the other hand...the expectation of an appology wouldn't be right if a lawyer is standing behind it either! Seems to me that lawyers have ruined this whole "doctor/patient relationship" thing. All I expect is, if the doc makes a mistake and realizes it in time...he/she make it better to the best of their ability ASAP...and don't act like nothing was wrong. And...do it without that oh-so-fucked-up condescending attitude!

^^^ I feel ya Lixy on the lawyer deal. But I do believe they are doing a service that a patient hired them for.

Stop...you're making me :hot:! ;)

The best doctor I have had is my current doctor. But the only one that had to apologize to me was a woman I told her I was having pain in my lower region and since I was young she told me I needed to stop having such rough sex. My mom ended up rushing me to the hospital because I passed out later that day and turns out that I had a ruptured cyst on my ovaries. She apologized but I stopped being her patient that day because she made it sound like it was a bother to even apologize.

What I would give to hear a certain doctor in my town apologize for not giving me the time of day a about 4 years ago. If he would have checked me out just a tad more, my whole life could be different today. I wouldn't have gone on to a million other specialist to end up confirming what he suspected, after it was too late. Every time I see him, I could just scream.

But apologies are important. Yes, it may be admitting you are wrong at something, but peoples feelings are on the line. I find it important to apologize to someone if I have hurt them, so wish others felt the same.