Remembering other waiting room disasters

I guess I have mellowed. Yesterday's waiting room fiasco wasn't really that irritating. If I got tired of observing people, I had a good book. My choice of book was, however, off. It is a book that takes more thought.

The people. Well, you have to remember it is a pain clinic. Dispensing highly controlled substances, and here in Swampland that is biiiig business on the black market. We do have many fake clinics about that are there to prey on these folks, make the "doctors" who are "in charge" wealthy, and some of that money filters on down to the local pusher. This clinic has several measures in place to try to stop this activity, but all I have to do is look at some of those souls who share the waiting room with me, and it is apparent they are trying to get the drugs for another reason - money.

Ok, that said, I was reminded of a couple of other instances. One was that I had taken a "sick day" from teaching (if you needed to be off - it was a sick day regardless). I scheduled two appointments for the same day trying to make the best use of the day. The morning was a check with the PCP to follow up on blood pressure meds and the second was an eye exam for the afternoon.

I sat in the PCP's office for an hour. Then in flits Miss Drug Saleswomen. They take her back immediately to see the doctor. WTF! She stays with the doctor at least 30 minutes, and on her way out spends time with the staff. It was then I found out his one of the office staff was his WIFE. They were planning a get away sponsored by the drug company.

There were at least 4 other patients in front of me, and I was getting close to the time I had to be in the other doctor's office. I needed to stop at home for paperwork also. As soon as Miss Prissy left, and the finally called the next patient, I told them I had to go and walked out. I never went back.

The second was when Daughter was three months old. I took her to the doctor because she had a rash. I was a new mother. I had no idea what was wrong with my baby. She had a rash, a fever, and was irritable.

The snake oil salesman, err, doctor was out of the office, but his Physician's Assistant was there. They put my off in a back room. The only thing farther away from the front door was the back door! I waited, and waited. Daughter was surprisingly good. And we waited. I think we were back there for 45 minutes. I got tired of waiting, and I irritated daughter so she would cry.

That brought results! We were seen in about three minutes. But this isn't the end of this story. Oh, no - not at all. The PA examines Daughter. She. Does. Not. Know. What. Is. Wrong. So she sends me down the way to a dermatologist. Really??

We are seen almost immediately. He looks in her mouth - which the PA didn't bother to do. He was dumbstruck. There were the little white bumps on the insides of her cheeks. He, almost laughing, said she had measles. Simple measles.

The good thing that came from that fiasco was we found a great dermatologist who then followed my kids through the teen years and their acne. He was really great.

I guess I would like to say there are good things about spending part of your life in a waiting room; waiting for a medical professional that the office staff double booked so that when you finally get to the secret shrine of all things medical you only see the doctor for 5, maybe 10 minutes. No, it doesn't always end as we would like, but we really have little choice!