Rudeness and Hormones don't mix

Life is too short to allow a medical assistant to shake their head at you and tisk tisk the answers you give them. Life is too short to stick around when a medical assistant tells you, "you are not going anywhere." Life is too short to be lied to. When I specifically ask if I will be given an opportunity to talk to the doctor first, don't tell me what you think I want to hear. Be honest. And when I find it necessary to ask for questions to be repeated because English is not her first language, lets not waste any more of her time. Be honest. Why do medical assistants think it saves time to perch you on a high table half dressed to take your whole medical history? I am 52 years old, this is going to take a while. Why do they assume you know the drill? Why do they assume you are compliant?

When a doctor hires rude staff, that is not a good sign in my opinion. I know doctors are busy, and the medical profession is in trouble, and they are trying to pack in as many patients as they can. I know. But, we vote with our dollars. And I do not tolerate rudeness at eating establishments nor where I choose to get my hair cut, nor where I shop for groceries. Life is just too short. It is bad enough that where you have insurance, or whether you even have insurance is more important than anything at the beginning of the visit. This group even wanted to make a copy of my drivers license AND insurance card. And when they ask you certain questions over and over again--okay, I realize it is just easier to ask instead of getting copies from the front desk. Maybe they don't know you have already given this information on the phone and at the front desk.

And, as my husband says, things will probably only get worse during the next four years as we march toward socialized medicine. But, to top it all off, when I called my regular doctor to let him know I'd had a bad experience with his referral, the receptionist who answered the phone told me that Dr. G was out of the office today and there was NO way to leave him a message. When I asked if it was possible to write down my information on a piece of paper and leave it in his inbox, she said, no, because then they would have to pull my file, and something about the file runners, and she just could not take a message. Wow. Why don't these doctors pose as patients and try to communicate with their own offices and see how they are treated? The whole 'check - with - your - doctor' thing is getting harder and harder to do. Stunning.

I don't argue. I don't send food back to be spit upon. So I am not about to piss off the folks who lay out the instruments they are going to insert in my private parts. Do I look stupid?

The best, most courteous treatment we have received lately is from our auto mechanic. Maybe he can refer us to a good doctor.