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RALEIGH, N.C.
A North Carolina doctor could lose his medical license after a patient complained he made cutting criticisms, including telling her she was fat.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported the North Carolina Medical Board will decide if Dr. Earl Sunderhaus of Asheville overstepped the bounds of professional decency.
The eye doctor's patient complained Sunderhaus poked her thigh and told her she is fat, and also scolded her as irresponsible for being unemployed and relying on taxpayers to pay for another pregnancy.
Sunderhaus admitted he told the patient that her thick thighs and diabetes could cause her to go blind.
He made his points again by writing the patient, Gov. Beverly Perdue and blasting the medical board.
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eye disease
Eyes are the most sensitive part of our body and all Eye disease are equally capable of harming the eyes, as they are very delicate
It's his nature
I worked in the same building as him. He could seem rather rude at times but it was his blunt nature. I cannot see anyone losing their license over this, maybe if more doctors did we'd have fewer unhealthy people.
It's just Earl being Earl
I worked in the same building were he has his office at and ran into him frequently.
First of all he was supposedly very good at what he did. He had a loyal following of patients. That I have to respect him for.
He was crusty though. Maybe it was his nature but he could be a mean little SOB. I always thought he was a bit senile or had "short man's syndrome" or something like that. Sometimes he was ok, other times he'd do stuff that made you shake your head. Once he wrote to the local paper and complained because the Blue Ridge Parkway (that cuts through Asheville) wasn't opened in the middle of the winter. Despite it being up high and covered with snow and ice he wanted it cleared so he could drive on it. Another time he was complaining about the gov't, yet he rented to a state agency. He was no gem, he did lose a lease from one agency for constantly trying to increase their rent outside of the build in yearly increases.
I think that if this person was fat (not uncommon in NC) and he said "hey, that weight you're carrying around isn't helping your vision any" then he was well within his rights to do so. The only thing I'm almost 99% sure of was that his delivery probably l
all depends
this all depends to me on how it was presented and which story is true. if he poked her in the thighs and made comments that were berating, that is inappropriate.
if he in fact talked about the risks of obesity and diabetes related to her eyesight, that was his job.
where the truth lies i guess is with the fly on the wall in the exam room
No
A doctor's oath is to "first do no harm". He should've been more tactful with his comments.This was a lack of respect for the patient. Regardless of a person's wealth or health, that patient was right to report him. If you can't be a little more compassionate, then don't be a doctor.Some are good, others, not so. Find you another doctor, sweetheart. Remember, not everybody is obese because of overeating. Some can have other underlying health conditions that affect their weight. God forbid that doctor become old someday; you may never know who's going to give you your last drink of water.
Doctor's Oath
I am a doctor-see my below comment. Do no harm? How was this obese patient HARMED? Had he not said anything about her weight, he WOULD have done harm! That is like NOT telling a patient to stop smoking! So you think someone with 13 years of expensive medical education should stop practicing because YOU don't like his/her bedside manner? Tell you what! I don't care what bedside manner ANY doctor has as long as he takes care of me at 2AM. How about turning the tables? How about pain in the butt patients- who DON'T pay their bill- take their attitude and find themselves another doctor? If I could kick out all the personality disorder patients and those, apparently like you, who watch TV medicine and think that is real, my life would be wonderful. It is far a greater number of times that patients are pains than the doctor is. Have you shown up at your doctors office a 4:59PM Friday because you forgot to refill your medicines? Come into the ER a 4am with as a diabetic because you just couldn't resist the birthday cake? Yet you expect your doctor to get out of bed and fix a problem YOU caused and could have prevented and STILL want Mr. Bedside manner? Keep dreaming, perha
priorities
I don't care if my doctor is compassionate. I only care if he knows what he's doing from a medical standpoint. I'll take rude and competent over polite and incompetent any day. And, by the way, if he had NOT addressed her weight he would have been incompetent.
I AM Fat, and
I AM fat, and guess what? I am aware of it, and I love myself, other fat people, and MOST skinny folks, too! I understand- I read almost all of these comments, and except for a few people, everybody basically agrees that we shouldn't sugar coat anything. Well, why don't we apply this rule to EVERY negative human condition? That way, I could walk up to stupid/insensitive people, poke them in the forehead and say, "Hey, buddy, there ain't much in there. Stupid is bad for your health. Better get smart." See how that situation quickly goes wrong? I have had many wonderful doctors, and yes, they all suggested that I lose weight, and I'm doing something about it. However, NONE of them commented on my financial status, family status, or poked me in any unrelated body parts. I'm grateful to my doctors for their honesty AND their bedside manner. By the way- the doctors with the ability to talk to people like human beings don't get sued nearly as much, and there is research to prove it.
You know what...
It just occurred to me...She's expending an awful lot of energy trying to get this guy in trouble. Perhaps if she cared more about her body than her pride, she'd be using alllll that energy on something useful, like, oh, I don't know, exercise? And you know what? NONE OF THIS CRAP WOULD BE HAPPENING!
markm30118
She is exercising her rights to be treated respectfully, no matter what her economic. How would you know how she feels about her body? You, like so many people in society are quick to judge people who do not fit into the way society thinks people should be and you should not be so quick to judge. One day you may be judge by the same measures you mete out.