When I compare my experiences as the curious voluntary subject of medical experiments to the recent experiences of my family interacting with medical personnel due to issues with their own health, I am left with the clear sense that the researchers were a lot more courteous, and seemed more genuinely concerned about the welfare of those they were interacting with. All this in spite of the fact that the research subjects were generally healthy.
I realize people in the health system are stressed and over-worked, but I think their work would proceed very nearly as quickly and rather more pleasantly for all involved if they had a more developed bedside manner, or at least made the effort to treat people attentively and politely.
Do you think your experience is unique to the Canadian system, or is it true of health care providers everywhere? We have plenty of problems with healthcare in the U.S., but my experiences have been mostly positive when it comes to personal interactions. The only exception to that is when dealing with certain specialists who happen to have a very high opinion of themselves.