First, I had the appointment accurately written on my calendar for months now. I got a confirmation call yesterday saying that the appointment time was 15 minutes earlier than I had written down. Instead of looking back at my folder of paper work (which I easily could have done but didn't so I am fully to blame), I just made the necessary adjustments to get childcare a bit earlier and get there for their time. It turns out this 15 minutes earlier wasn't the actual appointment time, it was just their attempt at making sure patients arrive on time. Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessively early for everything, so really 15 minutes early for the 15 minute early time they gave me. FRUSTRATING! I sat in the warmth of the full windowed waiting room and read a good book for over 30 minutes. I was called in for my appointment just 3 minutes after my originally scheduled time. They would have been getting the highest rating for wait time on my survey if they had just stuck to the regular schedule!
In the appointment I went through the usual with the nurse. She said I didn't have to get naked or anything which I figured was a plus and the doctor would be in in a few minutes. Doctor PJ and his med student (Side note: he always has med students--different ones with him each time. They always ask if it is OK for the student to join. I always say yes, thinking that I am helping contribute to a new generation of knowledge.) came in unusually quickly. I didn't even get to see his nurse practitioner who usually comes in first. He asked me how I was doing, asked to see the incisions, and said they look perfect. He then got up to leave saying everything looks great, we don't have to see you anymore. WHOAH! It was like a minute and a half tops. He didn't even touch my stomach or the incisions. I had questions to ask that I didn't get to. He didn't even notice that I had designated on the health update form that I was still experiencing abnormal bleeding. I stopped him to ask about that and he quickly explained an answer but he was clearly on a mission. He spent more time giving me referrals to other affiliated doctors who I could go to for a regular doctor from here out than talking about my recovery. I was so thrown by this that I didn't remember to ask the rest of my questions. I wanted to know about my pathology report. I wanted to know about my CA125 numbers. I wanted to know about the knot that I have over one of the incisions or the pulling pain I still get occasionally. I wanted to tell him that "slight gas discomfort" he described that I'd feel after surgeryis a bigger deal than he made it sound like. I cannot believe that I ever said that he might be the Dr. Colette of gynecology. He was nothing like that today!
Because of this, I will probably end up on the phone quite a bit this week with the nurse practitioner or back there to see him two weeks from now the next time he is in town. I have decided that he must have had a busy day booked of surgeries that he wanted to make sure he stayed on schedule for just like he did for mine 4 weeks ago and that's why he wasn't able to provide the time he had in the past.
Hi Renee,
ReplyDeleteI think it's horrible the way you came out of that appointment feeling - or more to the point it's horrible why you did. Spending a minute and a half with you and not allowing for time to talk and get your questions at least asked, was just plain unacceptable. I'm sorry you had to experience that. IMO you deserve a whole lot better - busy is not an excuse in my book.