A Visit to the Doctors Office

Over the course of more than half a century, I have had the opportunity to visit medicos of all kinds, for various ailments and afflictions, just as we all do. But it has taken me all this time to realize that patients are assigned specific appointment times . . . when we are supposed to be present, but the doctor is NOT?

Rarely do we show up on time, or even early, and are whisked off into the various cubicles and cubbyholes of examination rooms as in Bing-Bang-Boom!

No. It is come in, check in, read through ALL the out-dated, and time-worn magazines, and WAIT, and WAIT, and WAIT! Then, we are escorted through a maze of hallways into a small, airtight room with (usually) no windows, but brightly illuminated by several banks of blindingly, high-intensity florescent fixtures.

Then, we WAIT some more. Oh, look, another small batch of out-dated magazines, which are castoffs from the large waiting room.

Time goes by much more slowly in this chamber, than in the outside world.

Finally, some rumbling and fumbling out in the hallway, the door knob rattles . . . and in comes . . . . the nurse to ask some rather obscure questions.

Back to intensely watching the second hand on the clock or my watch. Wonderful, I have a digital watch with no second hand. Darn, I wish I had brought my auto owners manual, I could have planned my next overhaul.

Ah, Ha! A knock on the door . . . . and it's . . . . my Doctor.

We have a few seconds of cordial conversation, he/she checks the notes, makes a brief comment, asks how I'm doing, "Good." Here's the latest info on my situation. See you in several months, here is a prescription, hands me a sheet of paper with a thousand little checkboxes, says "Get dressed and see the nurse, Good-Bye."

Maybe three minutes have elapsed. My insurance company is billed several hundred dollars (must be $50 per word uttered), and I am sent on my merry way, only to experience the same process all over again in several months from now.

This is just the office visit. When I have to actually have a 'procedure' in the hospital . . . . that is an all together entirely different episode.

I have to thank my lucky stars that I have been trained for such scenarios by the U.S. Government - Military Service, you may know it as "Hurry Up and Wait." So I voluntarily call for appointments to join small groups of other humans to sit and wait and watch dust slowly fall upon our patient heads. OH! I think I now know where the medical profession came up with the word for people who come and congregate in their offices . . . . PATIENTS!

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Epilogue: OK, maybe I've elaborated a bit more than the actual scenario. This doesn't usually happen to me as I have a wonderful physician; but as I sat and waited recently in another medical office, the previous thought pattern developed, and I had to share. I had nothing else to do, but to think. Voila! Todays post! But, hasn't it happened to YOU?

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