Question

[flea]

"In the event of serious illness, do you wish the doctor to pray with you?" as a question on basic starting paperwork at a pediatrician's office: red flag, or to be taken for granted when one lives in the Bible Belt?

mr. flea noted, "At least they asked, and 'no' was an option," but me, I tend to like a sharp line between my spiritual guidance and my medical care. mr. flea thinks I'm being prejudiced against religion. Am I overreacting to want to look for another practice (this is in GA, so we have no existing relationship, yet)?

Comments

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Speaking as someone who has no experience of the Bible Belt, I'd want to GET ANOTHER DOCTOR PRONTO.

[gchick.livejournal.com]

I find it severely fucking creepy.

[nestra.livejournal.com]

I've never seen anything like it in either Louisiana or Texas.

[fatoudust.livejournal.com]

Was it at a specifically Catholic or church-tied hospital?

[lala-lisa.livejournal.com]

Not overreacting AT ALL. that is seriously creepy. And you should let them know.

[cashmerepett.livejournal.com]

Danger, Will Robinson.

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

Nope.

[gingerk.livejournal.com]

In 40 years in the South, I have never seen that before. I say run.

[lili-beth.livejournal.com]

It's a question that would make me wonder if they're screening *me* rather than the other way 'round. Because it sort of assumes that you'll be praying to the same entity, in the same language, etc., doesn't it?

[burrell.livejournal.com]

I'd find it a bit off-putting, esp since my first reaction is that in the event my child suffers from a serious illness I'd rather my doctor offer treatment than prayer. That said, I didn't find it at all creepy when my own doctor said to me in the course of conversation (my mom was very ill at the time) that he prayed for her. But the context is a lot different--he wasn't offering me a service, he was offering sympathy.

[vwbug.livejournal.com]

Run. Run. Run.

[zmayhem.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Run. Run FAR, FAR AWAY. Invasive and creepy and inappropriate times eleventy. And I say that as an actively religious person. I agree with lili_beth that it sounds like a question meant to screen *you*, and it feels like even though they offer "no" as an option it might be hard to shake the feeling that that was the wrong answer and to wonder if it was affecting how the doctor and his/her staff saw you and your kids (even if they tried not to let it).

Just, ugh.

[serrana.livejournal.com]

I will ditto all of the above, and note that I have never seen anything like it during my years in the Carolinas. And as you know, Bob, I am pretty gol-darned religious.

Surely there's more than one pediatric office in Athens....

[fatoudust.livejournal.com]

Yeah, weird, then. I say, as a Christian born and raised in the Bible Belt.

I wouldn't be shocked to see it, or things like scriptures hung in the halls, that sort of thing, if it were a specifically church related hospital. I know we have some big ones that were created by and funded through churches, so then I would understand it.

But just in general? I haven't seen it, and would react badly to it being asked.

[veejane.livejournal.com]

I think you should pick a different practice, explain to this practice in a smartly-worded letter (possibly CC'd to the state medical board, just for reference) exactly why the question is icky, and then go ahead and explain the part about, "While you're so busy praying, how will you find time to do doctoring? Dumbass!!"

I give you leave to write "Dumbass!!" in a business letter.

[ste-noni.livejournal.com]

just to share: Frisco's ped in NM has a fish on his sign so I knew he was a Christian and I was happy about that. But he never asked if I wanted to pray in any situation. I think it is weird.

[fabby.livejournal.com]

I'd look elsewhere.

[aimeejmc.livejournal.com]

I'd check YES and then attach a brochure for the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

But I am sometimes obtuse and assholic.

[wildgreentide.livejournal.com]

For the win!!

[loligo.livejournal.com]

Oh, definitely look elsewhere. I've been a tiny bit creeped out by our pediatrician ever since I discovered he was a fundie. Here's what several people told me about him before we picked him: he used to be a big-shot pediatric neurologist in St. Louis, very highly regarded in his field, and he moved to our little town and opened a general pediatric practice so that he and his family could have a more relaxed life. All true, and definitely cool by me. But they didn't mention that he sends his kids to the most wingnut conservative Christian school in town. The first time I saw his family walking out of that school, my jaw just dropped. Suddenly all the Noah's Ark decorations in his office seemed a lot less innocuous.

And even he never put a question like that on his intake forms! So I say run.

[calligrafiti.livejournal.com]

I would look elsewhere for a doctor, if possible. If the doctor's putting religious stuff on his forms I'd worry about his religious beliefs intruding on his medical practice. Even if he would never say, "That's God's will," when he should be saying, "Here are some high powered antibiotics that'll clear the problem up in two weeks," my concern about the possibility would not make for a comfortable doctor-patient relationship.

[septembergrrl.livejournal.com]

I'd see it as a red flag. Yay for at least asking, but I'd rather my doctor didn't see it as a standard choice, you know?

[mearagrrl.livejournal.com]

Oddly, I am not nearly as skeeved by this as most of the people above. I wonder why? I think it would seriously depend on where and how it was presented in the forms, though.