Disabled patients should be seen as people first and their disability second and doctors should be more compassionate. So says Dr. Shawn Jennings who suffered a debilitating brainstem stroke when he was 45, forcing him to give up his family practice of 20 years.
Dr. Jennings still uses a wheelchair but has recovered to the point where he’s a member of the faculty at the Dal Medical School and tells CHSJ News doctors will treat the disabled differently but not out of malice but because they feel sorry for them.
Dr. Jennings says examination tables in doctors’ offices are too high for the disabled to get up onto but they’re designed that way so doctors don’t have to bend over as much and save wear and tear on their backs. Another barrier is actually getting into a doctor’s office if it isn’t wheelchair accessible.
