I'm A Person! Don't I Count?

I’m A Person: Don’t I Count

This has been a really enlightening week. This week has taught me that unless you are rich and famous or the wife or relative of a doctor, you do not count and your life is definitely expendable. I spent the last week dealing with doctors and the emergency room of a hospital. I have a doctor that I have used for over 30 years and have always been able to depend on. He has seen me through many hard times. He even operated on me this year and saved my life. Then, all of a sudden after the surgery he stopped caring and stopped returning phone calls and even calling with test results.

As a result of this I realized that I needed to reassess my feelings and trust for this doctor. Before my surgery I went for numerous opinions and finally realized that he was the most skilled and the best to handle what needed to be done. I should have realized when I came for my post op visit that things were about to change. I had a problem that I knew needed to be addressed and instead of giving me medication to alleviate the problem he waited a whole week before prescribing the antibiotic that I needed. Although the test results came back within 2 days, he never returned my call until I became confrontational on the phone with his office manager. I guess that is one way to get results. However, it only got worse. Although I am fine I had to return to his office in September and the last week. He did several procedures and took some basic tests. When I called this week for my results and to ask some pertinent questions regarding the procedures and the ramifications of my problem done the line, he never returned my calls. I spoke with his receptionist and she definitely gave him the message. She stated the only way he would not return a call is if one of her co-workers took my chart off of his desk or removed the message or he just did not return the call. This is so frustrating since he claims that I am one of his favorite people and have known him longer than anyone else.

If that is not bad enough, my husband did not feel well in the middle of the night and we went to the emergency room where he got fairly good care. He was told by the doctor in the emergency to follow up with several other doctors to make sure that his heart was okay and there were no other problems. When I called my primary care doctor, since he has no one that he sees, his office manager said that he would see him in January of 2008 when he is taking on new patients of relatives only. How wonderful is that? You could have serious problems waiting that long. She gave me the name of a heart doctor and told me to try and get an appointment and they would see my husband 2 months later. How ridiculous does that sound? I was lucky to get someone that was kind and caring on the phone to help me get the appointment. My mom had a cardiologist who whose office manager was really compassionate and caring and she helped me to get an appointment on Monday of next week.
It is really scary that you cannot get to see a doctor when you are really in danger and really sick. It is even scarier that they tell you that you can see the doctor in four weeks or even longer when you are either dead, or worse. No matter how hard you try to explain to these unfeeling and uncaring people that you are sick now, they do not care.

I have heard many instances where doctors have office hours and have walk in patients that they see and have turned people away because they don’t feel like adding another person to their schedule even though you came in or called early in their work day. I have heard instances where you call and have been told to call the doctor when you have a real migraine or a real head cold, and have been told that the doctor can see you the next day or the next week, and please feel better they say before hanging up. They even have the gall to tell you how sorry they are that you cannot be seen. They push you aside and suggest you go to the emergency room where the entire cycle will only start over again. Why bother!

What happens when a doctor’s wife or a doctor needs help do they wait? Do they get put on hold to wait for the next available operator or their test results? Of course not. They get the other doctor’s direct line or cell phone and all is well and taken care of.

I am so frustrated that I had to vent and write this. Doctors are there to help us when we need them. They are so dedicated when they first start to practice and after a while they become jaded. I taught for over 36 years and never once did I ever tell a student or a parent or anyone that I did not have time to talk to them or help them with a problem. I would never think to say my time is more valuable then yours. Doctors feel that their time is precious and waiting to see them is what you have to expect. They never apologize for the wait and assume that we will sit there like little puppets, and we do waiting for the five minutes they give us after waiting 2hours or more. I just love when I get taken right away and have to wait in a cold exam room for over one hour until the doctor remembers how to read the number on my room or the nurse tells him that I am next.

I don’t know about anyone else. But, I am a special person to my family, to me and to my friends. I treat everyone with respect and I care about people. Why do I feel like doctors think we are beneath them and have to wait until they grant us an audience to see them? Why do I feel like asking questions is against the law because they don’t like inquisitive patients that are intelligent and want answers to questions? I feel that way because it is true.