Dave's quote below is important – and a point I often try to make when working with software developers and patients alike.
I think many times when you know something that other people don't — it's simply because you're standing some place where you can see something that you can't see if you're standing somewhere else. It's not because one person is smarter, or somehow better than others, it's just a point of view that's making seeing possible.
Because I am a physician – I have a certain perspective. It's a product of my learning, my experiences, and (yes) my biases. My perspective isn't better than yours – it's just different. I'm not smarter because of this perspective.
I learn from patients all of the time – since they have different perspectives that teach me things.
I don't speak Japanese. That doesn't make me stupid – it just means that I never learned how to do that.
You didn't go to medical school? OK .. then I had better explain things to you in language that you understand. Would I tolerate a Japanese speaker describing something to me in Japanese if they knew I didn't understand? No. So why do people tolerate physicians using DosctorSpeak? I don't get that.
