My experience with Dr. Bruce Stevens was deeply upsetting and, in my view, profoundly unprofessional. A physician's most basic obligation is to avoid causing harm, yet Dr. Stevens met with me for approximately five minutes and, in that extremely limited time, appeared to form sweeping and erroneous conclusions about me.
Those assumptions were not only inaccurate; they were hurtful and potentially dangerous. When a physician makes consequential judgments about a patient after such a brief interaction, without taking the time to understand the history, context, or complexity of the situation, the result can be damaging both emotionally and medically.
I found Dr. Stevens cold, dismissive, calculating, and strikingly lacking in empathy. His manner made me feel judged rather than evaluated, and reduced rather than understood. I did not experience curiosity, compassion, or a meaningful attempt to listen. Instead, I left feeling that conclusions had been reached before I had even been given an adequate opportunity to speak.
Patients are often at their most vulnerable when seeking medical care. That vulnerability deserves careful listening, humility, and basic human decency. My interaction with Dr. Stevens reflected none of those qualities.
I believe his approach was careless, unnecessarily hurtful, and beneath the standard of professionalism patients should be able to expect from a physician. No patient should walk away from a five-minute encounter feeling harmed by unsupported assumptions made by the very person entrusted with their care. read more
