DEAR DR. ROACH: How do I get primary care doctors to understand that I do not do any health screenings and that their badgering only infuriates me more. My feeling is that if you’re not going to treat me, why test me? I only need the doctor for prescriptions and referrals to a specialist if I choose to see one. I am a nurse and do not need their lectures. As a patient, I have the right to autonomy and when I choose to use it.

— Anonymous

ANSWER: Primary care doctors recommend screening tests because we prefer to find serious conditions earlier rather than later. As a nurse, you might not have seen a person who comes in with obstructing colon cancer and terrible pain, and who will then be treated through a necessary emergency surgery that is still unable to cure the disease.

Primary care

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