Reply #18: Hear, Hear! [View All]

[FloridaJudy]

Absolutely the best way to deal with any minority, is to be up-front and just ask: "How would you like to be treated?" Is there something special I should call you? Are there any touchy subjects you'd prefer *not* to discuss? Do you need any special assistance?

Since I'm a medical professional, I go on to explain "some of the things I'm going to ask you sound rude and nosy, but it's information I need in order to deliver the best possible health care". Then I explain exactly *why* I need some sensitive information: I need to know how old you were when you first had sex in order to know how likely you are to have cervical cancer. I need to know if you're using illicit drugs or abusing alchohol so that I won't prescribe a medication that can kill you....

This goes a bit beyond the Golden Rule of treating others as you would like to be treated, to treating others as THEY would like to be treated. My colleagues marvel at how well I get along with patients that they regard as "difficult".

It's dead easy, folks:

IF YOU DON'T KNOW, JUST ASK!

The only stupid question is the one that you *don't* ask