Afternoons are THE worst possible time for appointments for our family, so I try really hard to schedule things for mornings. We run errands in the mornings and then come home, have lunch, and do naps. That's just the way things function the best for our family.
When I called The Rock's doctor for a medication checkup and FMLA forms (which we have to do every 6 months), the receptionist told me he's only coming in at 1 these days. Well crap. We took the 2:30 appointment and cringed, knowing it would be a bad day.
On top of lack of naps for the littles, we had my niece today because her parents and my parents were at a funeral for a long-time family friend. Now, I would have gone except we know that funerals are bad news with my kids. I brave them for certain members of MY family, but I'm not going to subject other people to their busyness at a funeral!
So we loaded up 3 tired kids and off we went to the doctor. We were in the car for almost an hour before we got there because of traffic and an emergency potty stop and stuff, so we were a few minutes late. We had gone to the store earlier in the day, so they were sick of being in the car and being cooped up so I was letting them run around a bit. They weren't screaming or making horrible screech noises, just being very good, a bit busy, and, after about 45 minutes, they were getting a bit loud, though it was still quiet for my kids.
One of the receptionists came over and told us to hush them up. "We have elderly patients," she said. Well really? If we hadn't had to WAIT so freaking long, we wouldn't have had a problem!
Now, I know my kids are busy and active, but keeping them waiting for an hour? And expecting perfect silence? IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. One of the old ladies kept telling Little Mister to be quiet. HE WAS BEING QUIET. FOR HIM.
We left 15 minutes later without seeing the doc but did get our co-pay refunded. The other receptionist said it was another doctor sharing the exam rooms with ours that backed him up so much. Well, our doctor has been there longer but ... he's not really a doctor. He's a PA. So he and his patients get shafted by all the doctors in the office.
On our way home, we talked about never going back to the office. We both felt like we'd been treated unfairly and, frankly, if not for the fact that The Rock has never had a primary care doctor and actually likes this PA so much he's gone to him for 5 years, I wouldn't ever go back. I've been a patient there for 9 years. It's a family practice; I really didn't think one age group was more important than anyone else before, but apparently, keeping grouchy old people happy is more important than keeping bipolar patients sane.
After talking it all out, we realized that he needs his FMLA paperwork ASAP and he needs blood work for his followup, and we know it'll take a while to get into anyone new, so I suggested that I call and see if they'd just do that and not make an appointment. The Rock reluctantly agreed.
I dropped him off at home and went to trade kids back with DisGrace. I called the office and actually found out his PA is really there in the mornings, just not today. I grabbed an appointment for Friday and said, "now, I might have to call and cancel, but that depends on my husband." She said that was fine and put us down for the appointment.
While I was on the phone with her, I missed a call. From the PA. He left a message that he was calling to apologize for getting so backed up and wasting OUR time. He said he'd try to call again later and asked if I would please talk with him and let him know if there was anything he could do for me/us.
And THAT is the reason we see him. The rest of his office sucks, but his call made me cry and The Rock said he'd go to the appointment on Friday. Just because he called.
4 comments:
Is there a reason why he can't go by himself? It does sound like a great PA and there could be a reason, I can actually think of a lot of them, but if possible I'd let him go by himself rather than take the children. I've been known to drop my mother off at her drs office and take my boys to the nearest park so they don't cause problems in the drs office.
Yes. There is. :)
Wow. I might have bit the receptionist's head off. Or started crying. (Probably the latter.) Yikes.
But hooray for the PA. What a great example of caring and compassion. Hooray for him.
And for all of you! Life gets messy sometimes, doesn't it? You can always call me and I can help with the kids if you need it.
You are far more patient then I would have been with the staff! But I'm really glad it worked out for you. Sounds like you have a great doctor. I prefer the PA to the "real" doctors at our office, too.
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