I think back to some of my encounters with patients and feel lousy that I probably acted as if I were not really "there" with the patient. Even though as an ER doctor I learned to multi-task very early on, the patient never knew that I really could pay strict attention to them and what they were saying while still hearing and seeing everything that was going  on around me in the ER.

I imagine they thought I wasn't interested in them and therefore didn't think their problem was very important.  And that's not the case at all.

So, I caution people to not make snap judgments about whether your doctor is listening to you or not. You cannot really tell just based on how they do or don't look at you. On a personal note, I have to tell people I'm talking with (including my best friends) that if I'm looking away, I'm probably trying to concentrate/think and listen to a greater degree. I find that when I look at you and try to pay attention to you, I get distracted - usually by your eyes for they ARE the window to your soul and you can learn so much from someone's eyes. But, if I don't tell the other person this, they might think that my looking away is a sign of boredom. And it's just the opposite. A fine line to walk.

Use all your senses to accumulate an entire picture about what's happening with the doctor before you judge that he or she is not "interested" in you or your problem.

Terrie