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April 2006

A bummer of a wait

So I grabbed a sandwich from the local deli the other day for lunch, and as I was leaving I ran into a patient and her mom. Mom told me she�s coming in to see me after lunch because her child is sick, but her appointment isn�t for another half hour and they�re just killing time until then. I told her to head on over now and I�d see her now.

So I head back to the office, scarf down my lunch, then start seeing patients again. I noticed it was unusually busy for right after lunch, and figured that patient I talked to was first on the list. But she wasn�t. I then spent the next hour rushing through a bunch of sick kids, my encounter with that patient long forgotten in the rush. I then walk into a room, and hey! There�s that patient and her mom . . . about an hour and a half after I�d seen them in the sandwich shop.

Now I know sometimes when we get busy a patient may wait a while. An hour isn�t unheard of when we�re REALLY swamped, like this particular day. So I didn�t feel too bad. But then the mom told me why they were there . . . her nine-year-old daughter�s left nipple was a bit swollen and she wanted me to make sure it wasn�t anything unusual. Well, that took me all of 2 minutes to examine and declare it as a sign of normal puberty. I thought about just sitting there for another five minutes pretending to think about it and check her out thoroughly just so mom would feel glad she came in. But I didn�t. As I walked out, I felt bad. Not because she had to wait, but because she had to wait so long for something so normal.

Note to self: next time I run into a patient at lunch who tells me they�re coming in to see me that day, ask them why! If it�s something easy, I�ll just save them the trip (and the time!) and handle it in the sandwich shop. Unless, I supposed, it involves something that requires them to undress. That would be a little weird.

Dr. Bob

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