The subject of doctor's skill and patient's responsibility is very interesting, but I believe there are degrees of responsibility for both.
An excerpt from Kyounge1956's post:
Nowadays one is supposed to be an "informed patient", but it beats me how it is possible for me to be as informed about cancer as a doctor with four years of medical school plus internship, residency and (I expect for oncologists) additional training in their specialty. There is a series of commercials, I forget for what product, that show doctors trying to do the patient's job and making a complete botch of it, with the voiceover "you wouldn't want your doctor to do your job....why would you try to do your doctor's job?"
My relatively young (35 years old) lady doctor is, in my opinion... brilliant, and the best doctor DW and I have ever had. Concientious and totally dedicated to her patients... and perhaps the most respected physician in the area... with two excellent hospitals. An example of her concern is that our annual physicals are one full hour of Q & A, delving into any possible concerns.
Yet, even with this, before the visit, I spend hours... sometimes many hours on the internet, researching every possible concern. For general look ups, WebMD or Mayo... but for specifics, deeper research into the specialty websites for whatever concerns...
I have the time to do this, but after my own encounter with colon cancer many years ago, would do it anyway. Had I known the symptoms I might have avoided a resection, and three months of recuperation.
Now, when we go in to the doctor for any reason, we know the basics, and understand the symptoms, treatment, (if any), medications and interactions, and most importantly, the medical terms. We then have time to ask questions about what we don't understand, or need more information.
Fortunately (and I realize this is not always the case) our doctor does not take offense, but welcomes the input, as it makes her work more efficient.
Would I self doctor? Absolutely not... After a tussle with an olecranon elbow a few years ago... and reading about dire consequences on-line, it was a panic situation. The doctor pointed out where I had misread the medical journal... suggested I wait three or four months, and of course she was right... fixed itself. So the final word... listen to the doctor.
At the same time, understanding the finer points of a medical issue, doesn't hurt, and unless the doctor is perfect already... may help.