Is There a Doctor In the House?

Public life becomes a waiting room at the most inopportune times

Photo by Matea Gregg on Unsplash

Shopping with the family, enjoying lunch out or sitting in church — then someone asks for free medical advice. Awkward, yes. But what comes next?

This happens more often than you’d think — friends, neighbors or even strangers asking for professional help anytime, anywhere. Cynics might note: A consult in the checkout line skips the office fee.

Whether intentional or not, “ambush consults” test the tact of professionals trying to separate work from personal life. But the lines keep getting crossed.

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Three physicians — Dr. Stephanie Miaco, a psychiatrist; Dr. Helen Madamba, an OB-GYN and infectious disease specialist; and Dr. Remo Aguilar, an orthopedic surgeon — have all faced these spontaneous requests for care in public and online.

“I admit it, I have a hard time saying no, especially if it is to help people,” Miaco said.

“However, in a collectivist society, such as ours, we get asked for help — professional help, that is — in the most unlikely of places,” she said. “How do you maneuver this in your daily life, say, when someone comes up to you and asks…