Doctor This........

I had an appointment this afternoon for my yearly "Well Woman" exams. This was an appointment that I waited two months to get, being that it was with a new doctor--- my "old" one retired, sadly.... I loved that doctor and was sorry to get the notice that she was selling her practice. I chose not to go to the doctor who bought her office...... for the simple reason that I prefer a female GYN to a male GYN.

So on went my search for a local female GYN...... I found one through my friend A, and happily made an appointment, even though I had to wait such a long while. And that's another subject altogether-- why do "new" patients have to wait so long for their first appointment?

I was early for this afternoon's appointment, given that you always have to fill out so many forms on the first visit. By the time I filled in all the information they wanted, it was time for my appointment. However.... half an hour after my appointment time, one of the girls told everyone in the waiting room that Dr. T was an hour behind schedule.

There are four doctors in that office, all female GYNs, and their pictures are hung up on the wall above the reception desk. They tend to do that a lot down here-- post the photos of the doctors whenever possible. Which is kind of nice..... you can see who you're getting before you actually meet them.

So while I was waiting for Dr. T to catch up with her own schedule, I was studying the photographs. Dr. T looked nice enough, but I didn't like her eyes.... they weren't kind eyes, they were hurried eyes. Looking at the three other photographs, I put them in the order in which I would've picked them as my doctor, had I seen the photos before making the appointment--- Dr. T landed in third place, fourth place being taken by a Muslim doctor, photographed with all her head-covering.

I brought along a book to read this afternoon, so I got busy with that.... "Once Upon A Town," by Bob Greene--- fascinating true story about a little town in Nebraska during WW II--- wonderful reading, but have some tissues handy because it will bring tears to your eyes more than once.

Back to the doctor's office........ Around 1:30 or so, there was another announcement for the patients waiting to see Dr. T--- she had been called to the hospital for a delivery, and would be at least another half-hour behind her schedule, if not more, depending on how long the baby in question decided to take in making his/her entry into southeast Texas.

So there I sat...... already an hour past my appointment time, and looking at possibly another hour and an half wait, and quite probably more. Enough was enough.

I went to the reception desk and asked if I could re-schedule my appointment. The girl told me that it would be a good idea if I just sat and waited it out. And why was that? "Because you're a new patient, and if you leave, I can't give you another appointment with Dr. T because she said that she isn't taking on any more new patients."

But she's going to be at least an hour and a half behind her schedule now.... I don't have all afternoon to sit here and wait--- and what if there's a complication in the delivery room-- I could be here for the rest of the day.

The receptionist would not budge. If I left, she couldn't give me another appointment with Dr. T because of the no-more-new-patients rule.

Fine. I told her that I didn't have to see Dr. T, being that I hadn't seen her before and I'm not really her patient until she sees me for the first time. I asked her if I could get an appointment with one of the other doctors. "Which one would you like?"

My eyes went to the photographs on the wall....... I picked my first choice-- Dr. C, who had the kindest, most gentle eyes (as opposed to the hurried, smug eyes of Dr. T). The earliest appointment with Dr. C was the week after Easter. Fine..... I'll wait. (But at least I won't be waiting in the office till then.)

Honestly..... every time I go to a doctor's office, I can hear the words of my dad echoing in my head: "Be careful of doctors... they didn't all graduate in the top ten of their class. Instead of hanging their diplomas on the wall, they should be hanging up their report cards."

There's a reason it's called a "Well Woman" exam------ because as you're sitting in the waiting room looking at the hands of the clock moving past your appointment time, you're thinking: Well, woman, how much longer are you going to keep me waiting out here before you call my name?