Dr. Mom: My office would run on time. What a concept.
Allow me to vent my frustrations with Pediatricians — although I probably don’t mean to indict the whole profession with one fell post swoop, I’ve had a couple of experiences this week that make me want to pull my hair (or someone’s) out.
As the parent to four under the age of 14 I have had many years of pediatric experience, as well as pediatrician experiences, and I fully expect to have about 10 more years (give or take a couple). I know my way around pediatric illnesses, vaccines, growth charts, dosing charts….I’m not new at this.
I’m really tired of being treated badly, indifferently or even ignored when I go to the doctor. Case(s) in point:
When we check in at 9:50 for a 10 am appointment, kindly tell me that the doctor is running 30 minutes behind. While that in itself is annoying, it is less so than having a sick child on my lap for 40 minutes asking every 90 seconds what time it is and when it will be our turn. I get it — things can get slowed up. But if I was 30 minutes late for my appointment with the doctor, certainly the Wrath of the Receptionist would rain down upon me….and I may or may not get to see the doctor at all.
When you finally put us in the room for our appointment, please don’t close the door with the words, “The doctor will be in shortly,” when we have just established that “shortly” is probably not in this lifetime. Being trapped in a small, not-well-ventilated room with a sick child (or a well one, for that matter) is no picnic. (Particularly as there is now a trend to hide the tongue depressors which, back in the day, used to make a really cute puppet with which to amuse the offspring.)
Once the doctor finally arrives, it serves no purpose to question why Mom (me) waited “so long” to bring the child to be seen. Listen, Baby Doctor: I was seeing ear infections in children before you were even out of college, and I choose to treat very conservatively and take a watchful waiting approach. Like they do in Denmark. You know, to avoid over-antibiotic-ing our kids. Spare me the lecture — I didn’t know it was a swimmers’ ear and not otitis media. Just get out your prescription pad and make this thing go away.
And that’s just the other day’s issues. I don’t have the blog space or the memory on my servers to go into missed pneumonias, arrogant attitudes when I ask for one test vs another, debates about meds or vaccines….etc. etc. etc.
I know we’ve got Health Care Issues in this country, and what I’m describing is very minor in the Grand Scheme. But I’ll tell you, it sucks the life out of me every time I have to go….and that means that Mommy needs to be medicated or otherwise treated: more medical care, not less.
Ugh.
Tags: mothering, pediatrician, pediatrics, sick child visits, well-baby appointments
August 8th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Here, here! I usually make appointments first thing in the morning, and they’re still always backed up and running behind. Waiting rooms are so aptly named.
I also get scolded for bringing food into the waiting/examining room, which I also don’t get. I understand how things can get behind schedule, but I wish they’d get that giving my kids snacks to placate them is actually doing them, and everyone else in the waiting room, a favor.
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