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Waiting room means exactly what it says
(by Lauri Gross - November 12, 2009)
VITAL TRIFLE, BY LAURI GROSS
Waiting room means exactly what it says
Perhaps the problem is in the name: Waiting Room. Perhaps if we called it the "You're Next" room or the "We'll be Right With You" room, things would be better. But, as things stand now, there is entirely too much waiting happening in the waiting rooms of doctors.
To be fair, I have also been in many well-run doctor's offices, where patients are always called in at their exact appointment time. My kids' orthodontist is the best, and 100 percent efficient. Others, not so much.
Once, in an exam room, wrapped in a paper "gown," I grew so tired of waiting for the doctor that I actually fell asleep. When I awoke, I poked my head out into the hall only to discover eerie silence in a darkened corridor. I yelled a tentative, "Hello ...?" Luckily, someone was still within earshot, but the office staff had shut down for their lunch break and left me in the exam room. A nurse and doctor rushed in and apologized, chalking it up to someone who had misused the signs on the exam-room doors that are supposed to indicate who is in what room waiting to be seen.
Another time, at a vet's office, my dog and I sat alone in an exam room for an hour. My dog looked like he had to pee, so we left the room, and I explained the situation. When we returned to the exam room, a frantic doctor barged in and breathlessly explained all the crises she was dealing with and why she couldn't possibly have gotten to me sooner. She assured me someone would attend to us eventually.
I didn't really care about her crises. I just didn't want to be sitting in an exam room for an hour. Did it not occur to anyone to pop in, after, say, 20 or 30 minutes, and apologize and say something like, "We are really busy. It might be another 30 minutes till a doctor can see you. Would you like to keep waiting, or reschedule?" Would that have been so hard? Would that have required rare insight into the human condition? I don't think so. But, apparently, people who run medical offices lose the use of that part of their brain that allows them to feel empathy or to understand that people might have better things to do.
Later, my friend, who worked at that vet office, told me she was defending me to her colleagues, who were sure that my behavior indicated I was a terrible, mean, impatient, raving lunatic, even though I never raised my voice or used bad words.
One time I was at the doctor's office with my young son. The appointment was dragging on and on. Someone would come in and conduct part of the exam and then leave, and then we'd wait, and then someone else would come, and then we'd wait and on and on. When I explained that we would have to leave at a certain time, I was met with blank stares, because, again, it was apparently inconceivable that we would have someplace else to be. Eventually, I left the exam room to repeat that I really had to leave. The staff in the hallway looked on with horror at the very idea of it. I grabbed my son, paid the bill, said I would call to reschedule, and off we went. No one ever apologized or expressed regret at the inconvenience.
Once, when my son and I arrived at another appointment with this same doctor, we came across such a heap of humanity piled nearly on top of each other, spilling out of the waiting room into the hallway, I thought it must be April 14 and we had mistakenly arrived at an IRS office. Everyone was calling friends, neighbors and spouses to make alternative arrangements for picking up kids, running errands, making dinner, etc., since we all knew we were not getting out of there anytime soon.
Recently, I was with both kids at a double doctor's appointment. After 20 minutes waiting in the waiting room, I inquired at the desk. A polite but clearly put-out receptionist went "to check." After 10 more minutes, we were led to an exam room, where we waited another 30 minutes. At this time, I entered the hallway to say that we had to leave and that we had been waiting for an hour. Again, we were met with horrified stares, and, again, I was not yelling or using bad words.
Later, at home, I called to reschedule. The girl on the phone said, "Oh, you were here earlier today, weren't you? They said you left after 20 minutes." I explained that I actually left after one hour. She was only counting the initial 20 minutes in the actual waiting room. Then she shrugged it off, saying, "That's how our office works," like this was a good thing. Again, no apology or empathy.
Other times, I have arrived on time for an 8 a.m. doctor's appointment only to find that, although it's their first appointment of the day, the doctor doesn't show up till 8:30, at which time I am waiting, along with at least one other person who was scheduled to be seen at 8:30. What's that about?!
Now, when I go to the doctor, I don't just bring a book or magazine, but often my laptop, so I can get actual work done while waiting. My kids bring homework. When it's my turn to be seen by the doctor, the nurse is usually none too happy waiting for my laptop to shut off before I stand to follow her. But that's just too bad for her.
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