Apparently some people's time is more valuable than others...

So last Friday I went to yet another doctor in an effort to get some relief from this blasted arm/shoulder horror that I've been going through. This time I was referred to an Orthopedic Surgeon. Now, I had previously been to an Orthopedic Surgeon for a knee problem earlier this year and I asked if I could just go back to that guy because I quite liked him and got good treatment there. I was told that he was a "knee" guy and this new one was a "shoulder" guy so I guess that made sense though I didn't realize Orthopedic Surgery was quite that specialized. Anyway...

I made an appointment for Friday at noon with the intention of going to work and running over there on my lunch hour. Silly me thinking a full hour would be enough time! As luck would have it, I did not go into work at all that day. I had a pretty bad pain filled night with next to no sleep so I called in sick to work. I got to my appointment at 11:45am, as I was told to do, because I was a new patient there and there would be paperwork to fill out. I filled out the paperwork and took a seat in the waiting area just before noon. And then I waited. I waited and waited and waited. People were coming in and the waiting area was fast filling up and still no one was getting in to see the doc.

There was a sign at the desk that said "IF you are waiting longer than 30 minutes, come to the desk." Well, one by one everyone in the waiting room went up to the desk. The poor ladies behind the desk had no excused as to why the doc was taking so long. No, he wasn't in surgery. No, they didn't know why he was running so late but they were sorry about it. Medical Transport people were dropping folks off and returned to pick them up only to find the person hadn't even been seen yet! It was maddening. A full hour passed and finally they called my name.

I was ushered to an examining room where a nurse took the preliminary information. No, there was no injury. Yes, the pain is at about an 8. No, I've never had this before. And so on and so forth. Then she said, "The doctor will be with you as soon as he looks at your MRI." And she left.

So I sat there. All alone. Sitting in the exam room, hearing full on conversations about other people's medical care right outside my door. Talk about breaching the Health Information Privacy Act! I was hearing stuff I shouldn't have been hearing. I know who had recent surgery and why and who they thought was simply med seeking and who was coming in for a consult and more. Unbelievable that this loud conversation was taking place right outside my door! On the other hand, it made the time go faster because clearly no one was coming in to see me any time soon. In fact, I sat in the exam room alone for almost 40 minutes! I was beginning to think they had forgotten me when the door finally opened and the doc walked in. He said, "Sorry I'm running so far behind. I still have to take a look at your MRI. Be right back!" And POOF! He was gone! In that 40 minutes, he hadn't even looked at the damn thing. I sat there for another 20 minutes and finally he came in, apologizing all over himself, but still no reasons given as to why I, and everyone else there, had to wait almost two hours to be seen. 

Here's the kicker - he told me that he saw some "messy" cartilage in my shoulder and gave me a shot of cortisone. He said if this didn't help he would refer me to his colleague to give me another type of injection directly into the bone of the joint. And if that didn't help - I would need surgery. All of this took approximately 15 minutes. And then I was done.

Now I wasn't expecting him to have lunch with me or anything like that but the actual time I spent with him was rushed and impersonal. After waiting for two hours, I was given the minimum of attention and pretty much felt like they wanted me out of there ten minutes before I actually left. He didn't even give me any follow up orders or ask me to call him if this shot didn't work. It's just as well because I won't be going back there. I will call my other Orthopedic Surgeon, the "knee" guy, and follow whatever course of treatment he recommends. He treats his patients with respect and realizes that their time is just as valuable as his time. That alone is worth going to him. I should have listened to my first instinct!