Wednesday, September 13, 2006

The Waiting Room

Yesterday I took R to a doctor, (don't worry, everything is okay) and had a very Interesting Experience in the waiting room. We were perfect patients and arrived 15 minutes early to fill out new patient paperwork, file insurance, and etc. Then, we sat in the already crowded waiting room and waited... and waited... and waited...
Interesting Experiences:

1. 50-something woman answering cell phone: "HELLO?" pause "Wait, I can't hear YOU!" pause "She's getting the cath today, but I don't know WHEN!" pause "Do you have Aunt's number?" pause "OKAY, I'm at the doctor's too, so I'll just call YOU when I LEAVE!" I swear, if she had started calling out her "aunt's" phone number, I would've obviously written it down! She was just SO LOUD!

2. R and I were making chit-chat and I was working on the Reflector's crossword and sudoku puzzles when another patient wheeled up and asked me to "explain" how to do sudoku. I have nothing against "special" people, but this guy made me feel really uncomfortable. He seemed to be mostly "there," but enough "off" to not understand "personal space" and "self-invitation." He was extremely overweight (probably the reason he was in a wheelchair), and was wearing a tight t-shirt, socks, and spandex pants!

3. It started pouring down rain outside and the door had been left open (the waiting room was probably 12x20 with about 25 chairs). One old man huffed and puffed, mumbled to himself, and stomped over to slam the door shut! 5 minutes later, I felt for sure that I was Absolutely Suffocating!! Would it be rude if I had just stepped outside and waited?

An hour and 15 minutes after arriving, R was finally called into the back, and left me to be oogled by the Spandex Guy.

4. Of the 15 or so patients, I noticed that 12 were "over 50," 10 were men, and I was the only woman under 40 in the room! Then, a 30-something business-type man started ringing: "DOES THAT MAKE ME CRAZY? DOES THAT MAKE ME CRAZY? PRO-BAB-BLEEEE!!!" You know, the Gnarls Barkley song "Crazy?" He not-so-quickly answered the phone, had an entire conversation, and started text messaging (at least, that's what I assume he was doing: see #6).

5. The walls must be really thin, because then I heard the doctor (nurse, whoever) WHISTLING the "Crazy" song!! I just hope that wasn't the doctor who was examining R!!

6. "Crazy" ringtone man didn't turn his ringer off, because a few minutes later, it started to rev like a NASCAR engine, and "bvvvvt, bvvvvt" like the air lug wrench used in the pits! I mean, DUDE, this is a DOCTOR'S WAITING ROOM!!

R was only with the doctor for about 15 minutes! WHAT? We waited 1 HOUR and 15 MINUTES for him to see R for 15, and say "oh, everything looks okay to me." Of course, we are thankful that everything is okay, but it feels kind of frustrating when you KNOW something doesn't FEEL right, but the doctor says it's "Just Fine!"
Nevermind that R missed half a day's work AND I missed my first class of the semester (and a quiz--which was also mentioned to my boss)!

2 Comments:

At 8:39 AM, Blogger Fizzgig 's valuable input...

Ugh, I hate the Dr. office! My regular Dr isn't bad at all it's a small family practice. But my GYN? Omg! Call 6 months in advance minimum to get an appointment. Get there early to answer the questionaire, then sit for an hour until you are taken into the room. Wait 20 min for the dr to come in and spend 5 min with you and send you on your way. Nothing like waiting around to be violeted!!

 
At 12:18 PM, Blogger ccw 's valuable input...

I hate going to the doctor. It takes forever to get in and then like 2 seconds to be seen.

My ob/gyn is a completely different story. The waiting when pregnant is nil and for a regular exam it is minimal.

I am dreading winter b/c I don't want to go to the regular doctor's office.

That is an odd, odd experience that you had.

 

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