accessing healthcare

The purpose of this assignment is to get students thinking about the importance of decision making in choosing a practitioner. Although most people would say that competence is the main criterion in this decision, research indicates that people tend to choose a medical practitioner on the basis of many other factors. For this assignment, you will be required to answer the following questions:

• What other factors have you used to decide which physician, dentist, chiropractor, or other practitioner to visit?
• Do you believe that the practitioners are competent? On what do you base your opinions about the competence of your practitioners?
• Do you believe your practitioner is competent because she or he is friendly and appears to be caring?
• How can people without medical training know the competence level of health care professionals?

Your submission should be 3-4 pages total in length (double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font, one inch margins).