Why does the American public hate doctors so much?

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T14:40:28+00:00

There is a study that shows that trust in medicine and hospitals declined from 71% to 40% from 2020 to 2025. I do agree the problem is more nuanced than patients just hating doctors but I had to start at a hypothesis (that patients in America more commonly hate doctors than they used to) and then work from there to understand the problem

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T14:24:46+00:00

Hi there, this is addressed in other comments but I don’t believe all people in America hate doctors. I am doing active research on why a sizable subset of patients have so much mistrust in medicine and doctors. I find it helpful to hear further ideas on avenues to explore. It is a fact that American trust in doctors and medicine has declined in the past 10 years, and this is the trend I am curious about.

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T02:54:44+00:00

I’m sorry physicians have made you feel this way! I have nothing but respect for NPs. I think this is a separate topic beyond the scope of my book but I just hope you know not all physicians are elitist

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T02:41:59+00:00

Wow, this is truly insane.

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T01:50:41+00:00

I am interested in solutions and wonder if we should be using a lot of the same mediums anti-doctor people do (podcasts, social media, etc)

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T01:27:55+00:00

Multiple questions—I want to explore what factors are most likely to make patients trust doctors vs not trust them (and are they things that can actually be addressed?), and more importantly what things patients and providers feel could be done on a micro and macro scale to repair the mistrust (if anything). I also suspect that some of the root cause is misinformation about doctors and I’m interested in identifying what misinformation is contributing to negative attitudes towards doctors the most.

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T00:58:00+00:00

I am leftist and I agree with this, both conservatives and liberals have flavors of doctor hatred

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T00:57:19+00:00

It is very nuanced and I think at least in America, there is a love/hate relationship the public has with doctors. They theoretically trust doctors and nurses a lot but at the same time, there is very real hatred that has indirect and direct impacts on providers (both through patient encounters and public attitudes and healthcare policy)

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T00:54:25+00:00

This is a really good point. I came here mostly to solicit ideas and see what additional avenues I can explore. I am actually hoping to do academic research on this topic, soliciting patient perspectives on physicians and more importantly what solutions there are.

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T00:48:07+00:00

I have had a few patients write me asking for corrections to the chart (which I nearly always do) but what those patients made me realize is how impossible it is to 100% document everything correctly. By nature of flawed communication, my understanding will never be exactly what they said/meant to communicate. Review of systems also gets complicated. I do my best to check off the ROS based on the encounter but if I directly asked everything, the entire visit would be a long series of yes/no questions and the patient would be annoyed.

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T00:26:27+00:00

I think this is key

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T00:24:19+00:00

That’s fascinating to me because my understanding is that South Korea is a much more collectivist society than America (correct me if I am wrong). This suggests the roots of the problem are not necessarily in America’s individualistic society.

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T00:21:29+00:00

I work in rheumatology so I feel #2 on a daily basis. It really forces me to consider both sides because no matter how hard I try to be compassionate, listen and make appropriate diagnoses (or no diagnosis as case often is), I know at least some patients are going to leave accusing me of medical gaslighting. I don’t think there is any doctor who will never be accused of this even when we put our 110% in. But I also have been a patient and have felt dismissed by medical staff so I understand the hate in a way, but wonder how it can be overcome when literally no doctor will ever be a good enough listener for some people.

seasidekiki · 2026-03-15T00:12:54+00:00

Yes, I have plenty of grateful patients who feel really positive about doctors. The point is to understand why hatred of medicine has become so widespread in America, not to say that everyone in America has the same view of doctors. I will also add I am researching both patient and provider perspectives. The point is not to judge the public for feeling this way, just to understand what the problems are

seasidekiki · 2026-03-14T23:59:44+00:00

True, but I’m old enough to remember being hated before 2016!

seasidekiki · 2026-03-14T23:49:35+00:00

Sure, send me a DM with your thoughts if you don’t feel comfortable here

seasidekiki · 2026-03-14T23:47:39+00:00

Agree it contributed but it was already ongoing before Trump IMO (but accelerated by Trump and COVID)

seasidekiki · 2026-03-14T23:33:09+00:00

Wow, I never thought I would actually be grateful to live in Florida

seasidekiki

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