Comparisons
I went to a cardiologist in Manhattan today, my first visit to one since I left Grand Rapids.
My previous cardiologist was excellent. I thought so, anyway.
This cardiologist, though, is 100% on point. She is so clearly far superior to my previous cardiologist that I questioned why I ever thought he was good.
The thing is, if someone knows much more about something than you do, they seem like an expert. Why would you doubt them? It's kind of a three-tier system:
1. They know much more than I do.
2. They know about as much as I do.
3. They know less than I do.
I realized, though, that this is a bad system. Knowing more than I do isn't enough. They need to know more than their peers. Otherwise, it's easy to assume someone is an expert when they're not. For many things, it doesn't matter, but it does matter when dealing with physicians.
With this new cardiologist, I have another point of comparison, and she knows far, far more--and is far more precise--than the fellow I was seeing before. So inside tier one, she's on another, far superior, level.
It's reminded me that I need to make sure I have more than a single point of comparison when it comes to medical professionals. If not, it can be extremely misleading, and could significantly compromise care.
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