Momma has been seeing this doctor for a little over two years now. More so here recently because she is having issues with her shunt for NPH. I am sure the dr is a good surgeon but I am doubting his people skills. This last visit was on deciding whether or not to adjust the flow of the shunt because momma was having mobility issues. What he does is rides the fence. He leaves it up to me to make the decision on whether to adjust the shunt or not. I feel like he is the Dr and should be the one to advise me on what to do. He has her most recent cat scan in front of him. I am looking towards him and I do not get any advice until I pull it out of him. This last visit it was like he was argueing with me about it. Momma was sitting there and I guess she felt left out of the conversation and said something about it - he told her to her face that her cognitive abilities were lacking. Not only did I feel like that was rude but unprofessional on his part. She did not understand what he said but I did. I did not like the way he acted and spoke to her and me. I am thinking about changing doctors. This was not the first time about his behavior - just the worse.
But but seriously, sometimes you have to choose a top-notch practitioner over a personable communicator - - and then it's up to you to use a crowbar to pry out the answers you're looking for.
If they hesitate, I find that this usually works for me: wait a few beats and then say, "I understand. Although, just hypothetically, what would YOU do if this were YOUR mother (father, spouse, sister, brother, child, etc etc) ???