Tuesday, July 20, 2010

I'm Onto You...

No one likes going to the doctor Okay, well there might be some hypochondriacs or people who's doctor's are really hot; but I think it is pretty safe to say that most of us could think of a lot of things we would rather be doing than go to the doctor.

You get to the doctor, sign in then go join the mass of others waiting. Sometimes you will get lucky and there will be an amazing waiting room. My perinatal doctor had free wi-fi. I could have sat there all day. My heart doctor had a big TV that was usually on to HGTV and I could hear the program as I was easily the youngest person in the place. And then there are always the pediatricians were there are germ laced toys and hacking snotty children all around.

But no matter what the condition of the waiting room no one likes to wait. They want us to think we like waiting, even callings us patients, but yet most still don't like waiting. At my last cardiology appointment I settled in, book in hand, but was soon distracted by the home makeover going on. I was happily watching completely content.

"Emily", my bliss was interrupted. 'Oh wow, that was a fast wait'. I think to myself. The nurse happily chats with me, gets my blood pressure, my weight, and then shows me too my room. "The doctor will be with you in a minute" she says with a smile.

Slam. The door is closed. Tick.. tick... the clock in the room loudly ticks away. I sit on the exam table, my legs dangling. I look around, some diagrams of the heart, some gloves, and the other usual doctors stuff.

Tick... tick.

I eye my book sitting in my purse way over on the chair. Should I get down and get it? I know as soon as I do the Dr will come. So I just wait.

Tick... tick...

I wonder how that home makeover is going? Wish I could have finished watching it.

Tick... tick.

"Hello!" I hear the Dr. say as he enters the room next door. I sit there for the next few minutes listening to how high the cholesterol is of the patient next door. Note to self, when the Dr comes in, talk quietly, these walls are thin.

Tick... tick.

All the quiet, not used to it. Used to having my kids talking my ear off nonstop.

Tick...tick

The quiet is helping me think, think and ponder and suddenly, eureka! I figured it out. The doctors are very smart, oh so very smart. No one wants to wait long and they know it. If you had a bunch of patients flooding the waiting room they might start talking. Talking about how long they have been waiting and soon you will have an uproar. So they build these nice waiting rooms filled with wi-fi and TV and magazines to help distract you and before you get a chance to start to wonder what is taking so long they call you back.

You enter the room thinking it is your turn next and you will be seen any minute. But then you wait and you wait. Where is the TV, why is the wi-fi not working back here?? But who do you have complain to? No one. You are there all by yourself, often sitting in your underwear with nothing to do and no where to go.

Genius, pure genius. No wonder why doctors get paid so much.

15 comments:

  1. Doesn't it stink - it's like the second waiting room... my time is your time, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HA! You're so right - it's the worst when you're sitting in your underwear, or yet, laying there NAKED with just a thing little sheet. Hello? I'm naked in here. Can you hurry it up!?
    But when I am clothed, I use that time to take a nap. It's the only time in my day when my 2 chicas aren't needing me every second.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh how I hate that trick! Of course the time we spent 3 hours waiting for the neurosurgeon was probably the worst waiting room experience I've ever had but usually it's only an hour. We bring the portable DVD player, the cord and a ton of movies now. People give us funny looks but I've sat in a waiting for for 3 hours with a non-verbal highly spastic screaming kid getting dirty looks from all the parents who were there for genetic testing. I learned my lesson and never leave home with out the cord!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just took Miyah to the doctor last week and when they showed us to our room they told us we were the next patient in line. Well we waited at least 45 minutes! And you would think at the pediatricians office they would make the rooms fun - maybe at least one picture on the wall or something! But no. So we played the hokey pokey, went and took a short walk in the hall (which IS cutely decorated), and played with the tissue paper that covers the bed including tearing it off and coloring on it. :) I wish the wait wasn't so long, but with a 1 year old she can always find something to do I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was just at the doc yesterday with Kristin (check up) and we were there an hour. And I am guessing that at least 45 minutes of it were spent waiting. The waiting room is small and it was jam packed. They have a HD TV and they were playing Monsters Inc. Once in the back, you are stuck with your thoughts(or lack thereof) or in my case a very chatty 12 year old. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Exactly! It's so funny you posted this. We had to ride up to the ER and visit hubby's cousin on Saturday night. There were tons of cars in the parking lot, but no one in the ER. Jdaddy was amazed. I just laughed. I used to work there, and I told him they built the new ER with lots of private rooms so that no one was ever waiting in the actual waiting room.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've gone out in the hall and asked "is anyone here?" and then when someone came over I asked why they brought me back here to wait for an hour. I was really ticked off though. It was really amazing, though because the doctor was there in like a minute.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thats what always happens at our Dr too! If we dont wait too long in the waiting room you can bet you will wait a while in the exam room!

    ReplyDelete
  9. that is hitting the nail on the head! All us patients should work out a kind of "knocking on the paper thin wall" system so that we can figure out how many of us are waiting on any given day!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Makes you feel like saying when they call you back, "oh, thank you, but I'll just wait right here until the doctor is ready to see me." I wonder what they'd say to that. haha

    ReplyDelete
  11. Makes you feel like saying when they call you back, "oh, thank you, but I'll just wait right here until the doctor is ready to see me." I wonder what they'd say to that. haha

    ReplyDelete
  12. We've been duped and scammed and paper gowned!

    ReplyDelete
  13. And they require you to show up "at least 15 minutes early!"
    Aggravating!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I never go without my book. never.

    ReplyDelete
  15. There is nothing I love more than waiting in a small room, neked or mostly neked wondering if my bum is showing in the back and wishing I could will my body to stop sweating in awkward places...

    ReplyDelete

ShareThis