{"id":11168,"date":"2019-10-04T06:00:14","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https://www.realself.com\/news\/?p=11168"},"modified":"2020-04-08T11:01:07","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T18:01:07","slug":"assumptions-you-should-never-make-about-your-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https://www.realself.com\/news\/assumptions-you-should-never-make-about-your-doctor","title":{"rendered":"8 Assumptions You Should Never Make About Your Doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story is part of our <\/em>RealSelf Verified<\/em><\/a> campaign to offer consumers greater transparency into provider qualifications and help them find trusted, patient-friendly professionals.<\/em><\/p>

Never assume anything<\/em>. It’s arguably the most important rule of investigative journalism, criminal trials and HBO finale viewings—and it also applies to cosmetic surgery consultations. In fact, you should probably approach all your aesthetic decisions the same way a reporter would: by asking a lot of questions, even if you think you might already know the answer. What you hear may surprise you. The old “When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me” adage holds in both journalism and surgery—and well, the last place you want to risk looking like an ass is on your face. <\/p>

Below, four RealSelf Verified doctors correct the most common assumptions patients make.<\/p>

1) Assumption: If they’re performing plastic surgery, they’re a plastic surgeon.<\/strong><\/h2>

Reality:<\/strong> In just about every other situation in which you’re trusting someone with your life, you can count on the fact that there are rules and regulations in place to ensure that someone is qualified to be doing whatever it is they’re doing. The guy flying the plane is a pilot, the lifeguard knows CPR, the lawyer has a law degree… basic stuff, right? Not in the aesthetics field. “Consumers often don’t realize that a physician from any area in medicine, including those with no surgical residency training, can decide to practice cosmetic surgery,” says Dr. Elizabeth Whitaker<\/a>, a facial plastic surgeon in Atlanta. That’s why, depending on the procedures you’re considering, it’s important to know with certainty that your physician is board-certified in plastic surgery, facial plastic surgery or oculoplastic surgery, she explains. “Look at their CV or résumé online—[it] should outline their residency and\/or fellowship training.” <\/p>

[Editor’s Note: RealSelf Verified<\/a> helps consumers cut through this confusion by clearly stating what a physician is board-certified in and their training.]<\/em><\/p>

2) Assumption: They’re controlled by Big Pharma.<\/strong><\/h2>

Reality:<\/strong> Doctors have no choice but to rely on pharmaceutical companies—but their association doesn’t make them guilty of the industry’s worst practices. The vast majority of physicians got into medicine to advocate for and help patients, not take kickbacks, which Dr. Whitaker assures aren’t even available for the taking. “Big Pharma is regulated in what it’s allowed to give doctors,” she says. “Your physician may go to an educational dinner about a product or service or may do speaking engagements or training for a product they use and be reimbursed for their time.” <\/p>

However, according to Delray, Florida, dermatologist Dr. Janet Allenby<\/a>, you should<\/em> be leery if a doctor uses only a single company’s product line. “Personally, I use everything out there, because each is a tool that makes for a more complete outcome. If one thing could fix it all, we would all just do the one thing—but that’s not the case. If somebody says, ‘I only use Restylane<\/a> or I only use Juvéderm<\/a> or whatever brand it is that they’re married to, I think that’s a huge disadvantage to the patient.’”<\/p>

Related: New RealSelf Survey: Nearly 3 in 5 U.S. Women Do Not Know There Is a Difference Between Cosmetic Surgeons and Plastic Surgeons<\/a><\/em><\/p>

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