[Uterinefibroids] - Inconsiderate Office Staff -- Here, Here Pat!

[Guest guest]

Initially, I elected not to put my two cents in on the issue of inconsiderate,

disrespectful office staff, particularly after Pat expressed my precise

feelings on the subject. In short, I firmly believe it is entirely

unacceptable, disrespectful and arrogant for office staff to treat patients in

such an unprofessional manner. And, I agree that it is our responsibility to

make sure our doctors are aware of it, particularly those physicians with whom

we are otherwise very happy and confident. Perhaps they are unaware and only

when you bring it up will you be better equipped to assess whether the

disrespectful treatment by staff is something that is just tolerated by the

doctor or something he/she was totally unaware of and willing to correct.

ly, until I found my fibroid specialist (another shameless plug for Dr.

!!!!), I had been willing to tolerate a bit of being kept waiting for

appointments, feeling more like a chart than a name or a person to the staff or

doctor, being a bit rushed in my appointments (where I admittedly often have

many questions), etc. I, however, saw -- really for the first time -- how nice

it is to be treated as if the doctor, each of his staff (and even his partners)

actually cared about me as a person, respected me and my time and essentially

all of my concerns and needs. Though I never expected it (and am still amazed

by it), when I walk into Dr. 's waiting room, his staff is genuinely

enthusiastic to see me, they greet me in that way and among all of their

patients, they always remember my name and greet me by name. In all of my

appointments (there have been several before and since my surgery), I have

never, ever been kept waiting. Not once. I have always been treated with the

utmost of respect and without arrogance, rudeness, etc. The entire office is

set up with the patients needs and comfort in mind, in every detail. You feel

cared about, not just in what they say, but in the way they say it and in the

little details designed totally for you. Each restroom is well-stocked with a

host of feminine products to meet most feminine needs; each of the exam rooms is

equally stocked. The gowns are soft pink cotton and are not open the entire

length in the front. The exam room I visit has a silk " mural " of a hot air

balloon hanging from the ceiling above the exam table -- something nice and

pretty to look at during your exam. I could go on.....

What does this tell me. It's not just nice and convenient. It shows me that

Dr. and his entire staff think about -- AND CARE ABOUT -- what their

lucky patients need and what may just make things a little bit nicer for them.

That's not just respect and a lack of arrogance, they care. When every one of

them says hello and asks how I am, it's not perfunctory. They really, genuinely

are interested and care.

Ladies, isn't that what each of us deserves???????? While Dr. 's surgical

skills, his experience, knowledge and approach to patient care are probably most

important to me, his approach and values about the care of his patients is

evident from what he no doubt expects of his staff and the little details of how

you are treated when you visit or call his office.

I disagree with some of the opinions offered on this subject. Namely, that we

should be willing to subject ourselves to rudeness, disrespect, arrogance etc

from our doctors or their staff if the doctor is good enough or we are happy

enough with our doctors and that we do not have a responsibility to ourselves to

let our doctors know when their staff treat us less than professionally in any

way. As long as a doctor is made aware of this sort of treatment, if he or she

tolerates it, then in my book, the doctor's priorities, values and sense of his

or her own importance has unacceptably slid too far away from patient care

towards self-importance in his/her expertise.

By way of example, years back I had an abnormal pap and was returning to my

regular gynecologist for a colposcopy. I was very scared and my family had just

endured a family member's bout with cancer. In hindsight I was unnecessarily

worked up over the colposcopy, but I was on an emotional edge when I stepped

into the doctor's office for the procedure. The receptionist was repeatedly

rude to me and reduced me to quiet tears in the waiting room. The roomful of

other waiting patients noticed, making me even more stressed and uncomfortable.

Then, I heard one woman speaking to the receptionist and asking her if she

realized that her rude treatment of me had reduced me to tears and that she

thought the receptionist should do something to help me. By the time I was led

to the exam room, I had sort of pulled myself together but continued to feel

emotionally raw and ever more scared. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back

the tears when my doctor came in. I debated telling the doctor what had

happened. Ultimately I told him how I'd been treated and that I was especially

surprised because his staff had been historically so good. I could see he was

appalled and he thanked me effusively for letting him know what happened.

Suffice it to say, I never saw that receptionist in his office again. If you

were a doctor, wouldn't you want to know if your patients were being treated

unprofessionally by any member of your staff????

Each of us are entitled to be more than a chart or a chart number to our doctors

and their staff. Maybe not all doctors care enough to adhere to that principle,

but from what I can tell, the good ones seem to -- as long as they are aware of

what their staff does. If your doctor's staff is unprofessional, rude, etc., if

I were you, I would have serious concerns about how much the doctor cares about

his/her patients, who they are, their needs and their comfort and care. Don't

so readily sell yourselves short ladies. There ARE good doctors out there who

are truly committed to giving you the BEST care and treating you well

interpersonally, emotionally and physically. We all owe it to ourselves to

insist on nothing less. How will things ever change if we don't?

I know this is long, but I got on a roll!