Do you ever visualize family members as your patients?

I don't know if anyone else does this, but something about the familiarity rather than a stranger is appealing.

My instant thought was EWWWW. Thanks but no thanks.

If I am not mistaken. I am quite certain that in some countries it is considered as a violation of professional ethics to treat an immediate family member. Even though this may sound a bit of uncharitable thinking, there is always the possibility of foul play entering into particular instances of treatment - say if someone stands to inherit from their patient-family member. How do you avoid any impropriety in such a situation, how do you avoid suspicion of having lent a 'helping hand' should they pass away?

Of course there is a difference between prescribing medication for a flu or treating scrapes or bruises or such, but when it comes to serious situations it doesn't seem like a good idea at all to be treated by a family member.

I'd keep a pole length away from any kind of situation like this, both as a doctor and as a family member.

Usually, it is not advised that, unless absolutely necessary, doctors should not treat close family members. The familiarity and personal feelings of the doctor can cloud his/her judgement.

It can also be extremely uncomfortable for the care provider. When I was in the Navy, I was doing sick call when an elder in the church I attended at the time came in. He started to outline his problem, which was GU in nature, and I stopped him. I went to the Medical Officer who was overseeing sick call that day and explained that this patient was an elder in my church, and I felt very uncomfortable asking the pertinent questions, (i. e. "When was the last time you had intercourse?" "Do you have any burning on urination?" and the one that we always had to ask in the military, "Have you had intercourse with anyone other than your wife?") not to mention having to closely examine his genitalia and do a DRE. The M.O. understood my position and did the exam himself.

No, but when I was in my mid-teens I asked my older brother who was a pre-med student if he could check a lump that I felt on my balls. We arent a modest family so he agreed. It turned out to be nothing, but he did spend a few minutes examining my balls. We have seen each other naked before many many times, so it wasnt a big deal for me and it gave him good practice.

NOOOOOO not at all.....would never do that

Only my wife...anyone else would seem strange to me

I used to visualize my aunt as a patient.

If you´re talking about immediate family like brothers or sisters, then ugh, my goodness no. What an off-putting thought.

But going a bit further, there was a female cousin of mine who visited once from across the Atlantic and she was someone whom I could visualize as a patient in a New York second ...

And inverting the question - I often visualize myself as patient or being treated by an older aunt who used to give me suppositories and baths when I was much younger. She´d undress to her (voluminous) undergarments to avoid getting her dress wet or dirty while doing this and this still flies around in my memory and concocted imaginings. But I´d never imagine doing anything to her, it´s always me being the patient of some sort of medical treatment by her.

When I was young, my dad was my doctor. Does that count?