Drabble by Kevin Fagan for May 03, 2022

I read you loud and clear!

I figured that one out a long time ago……waited in emergency room for three hours, was ready to walk out when they finally came in. I had a broken arm! They asked me why I didn’t tell them that when I came in? I did tell them! My arm was deformed and they couldn’t see that when I came in?!

Doctors generally penalize us when we miss appointments. Why can’t we do the same when they miss same? ;D

Gotta wait in the waiting room for them then when you’re called up, you gotta wait in the doctor’s room until he gets through with another patient.

A few years ago he was went to the emergency room because his blood oxygen level was way too low. I got a wheel chair (they have a number of them at the entrance) & parked the car. He was still waiting when I got back. He was sitting there gasping for breath when I handed over the papers from his Doctor & said he can’t breathe. 30 minutes later & after several others had been taken, I went back to the desk. She asked why I hadn’t told her. I said I DID tell her, plus the papers said it plus he was sitting there gasping!! She said if they weren’t so concerned during the triage it wasn’t that important,. I was pretty upset when I had to tall he he never got that far because she had just shoved the papers in the pile, They came & got him immediately wondering why he had been left there for so long.

Last eye exam, I had time to catch up on my e-mail and do other things on my phone…

Geez, Ralph! 1. Why doesn’t your doctor have a television to keep you occupied? 2.Who goes to a doctor without a book or a puzzle book??? 3. Get used to it, because, apparently, there’s a shortage of doctors in this country. We have a LOT of nurse practitioners here in central FL. . .they’re almost like the old GPs. . .specialists for everything else. . .

Friday my wife will embark on her fourth attempt to get someone qualified to look at her foot. Kaiser’s computer ate the last three referral appointments. It’s only been five months of constant pain.

“Patient” comes from the word “passion” meaning “to suffer.” To have patience is to suffer in wait. Ome who is a patient is one who needs help from suffering.

You had a lot of patience figuring that out.

Old joke—but true.

Certain GYNs stopped delivering babies because it pulled them away from waiting patients. I once waited over 2 hours with women sitting on the floor because the Doc got called out for a delivery. Once after an exam for a serious problem the Doc left and I wound up writhing in pain on the exam table. The nurse found me and called the Doc who had to attend to me and left patients waiting. Another time, my Oncologist discovered my cancer had returned and had to start arranging surgeries, chemo, etc. and the nurse had to go out to the waiting room and tell patients waiting to be seen that it would be a while and they could either wait or come back later. The same has happened to me where a cancer patient with serious problems had to be attended to and we all waited patiently as it had happened to us at one time or another.

Having an appointment time, but not actually seeing the doctor until almost an hour AFTER the appointment has become “normal” these days.

The waiting room is where you wait, wait, and wait. For how long? Wait and see.

Incompetence is the rule — not the exception. Sad but true.

It’s like the military…hurry up and wait. I learned that in 68-70.