Okay, after working in a Dr's office for more than 11 years sometimes I'm just shocked and wonder what rock some people came out from under... that is why I have come up with some info especially for those of you who've never been on "this end" of the Dr's office.
1. Please show up on time. IF we're running behind I can guarantee you that we don't like it, we didn't do it, and someone else has screwed up ours and your day.. which leads me to # 2..
2. If you make an appointment to come in to have your acne checked, PLEASE do not come in and want your acne checked, a mole removed, two warts on your finger sprayed, plantar warts on your feet treated with acid, and oh yeah, your dandruff looked at. THAT is what puts people behind folks.. along with my #3..
3. DO NOT BRING YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!!!! You really wanna honk us off?? Bring your hubby, son, mother, daughter, cousin's neighbors cats uncles brother in law and say, "Oh yeah, while we're here can you take a look at ...." It's not right people!!! It's annoying, it puts the Doc on the spot, it's you trying to get something for free, it's you putting the doc behind because you want a "freebie", and it's you being rude and disrespectful!
4. Do not come in and NOT know what medicine you take. HELLO PEOPLE?!?! Who the hell do you trust well enough to put something in your mouth and swallow it and not know what it is??? You would be amazed at the people who don't. I would safely say, 1 out of 2 people don't know what they take or what they take it for. That's just freaking scary! I don't even trust the love of my life (dear hubby) that much! lol
5. Do not come in with two notebook pages full of complaints. As a general rule anything over three complaints and you're a hypochondriac! Plain and simple! (please refer to #1 for more of an explanation on the problems this causes)
6. Do not treat the nurses and staff like crap, we do run the place, and we do make your appointments, we can either make them soon, or we can make them the second tuesday of next week! Know what I mean???
7. Do not come into your appointment and try to talk to the Dr about your insurance or your bill, I guarantee you that he/she doesn't know CRAP about any of that! Ask the billing/receptionist/nurse. The Doc is simply the Doc. We don't try to do his job, he doesn't try to do ours. Works out for us.
8. If you come into your appointment 30 minutes late and you don't even call and we tell you we might have to reschedule you because you're running behind, do not say the following things.. a) Well, you're always running behind (because my answer is gonna be, "yes, because of people like YOU) b) Well, I drove all the way here! (because my answer is gonna be, "you should have called first") Again, refer to #1 about how this puts us behind.
9. Do not come to the office and be flabergasted, pissed off, put out, upset or down-right rude because you have to fill out paperwork. OH MY GOD! Do you want quality health care!?! There is a reason we need to know these things, we aren't just nosy!
My last rule of etiquette is by far the most important one you will ever read about.. EVER.. as in all of eternity.. UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ONE! Even if you're so ignorant as to commit all 9 crimes above, NEVER, EVER ,EVER commit this one.. focus people...
10. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT.. get on the freaking internet and self-diagnose. This is by far the stupidest thing you can ever do, no wait, something a little more stupid than actually doing it, is to tell your Doctor that you did it. THAT will , not might, it WILL piss him/her off. There is just enough information out there to be dangerous. Unless you yourself are a medical provider, you WILL give yourself cancer, aids, psoriasis, kidney failure, heart problems etc, just by clicking online. Seriously people, there is a reason these Doc's go to Medical school. Most articles written online that you are using to determine that you have some fatal disease is not even written by a nurses aid, much less a Doc. Oh another thing NEVER to do, that's related to this, is to ask your Doc on the way out, "Now, how do you spell that, I want to go home and look it up on the internet". Dumb people... dumb dumb move.
***Bonus rule to help you out in life*** If you think you're special by having 42894 different "mystery illness" issues that happen to you on a daily basis and you think your Doc is gonna be so excited to be able to solve the "next medical mystery" you are sadly mistaken.. you are automatically a nut-case.
Now, I hope that you don't think my rules were overly crass, nor do I want you to think you should keep anything from your physician. I'm simply asking you to use some common sense, be polite, shut your mouth and let him/her talk and do their job, and just trust in them. If you don't trust in your Doc or you're uncomfortable with him/her, then by all means you should find one that you can trust and you can feel comfortable talking to.
Whew, I feel better :)
Peaceout Girlscout
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Dying
Wow.. seems I haven't blogged in a long time! I've been so busy with Marching Band season and things like that. A quick update to that before I blog about my title.. we've done awesome! The kids made it out of Regionals and we are on to semi-state this coming weekend. These are amazing kids! I'll blog more about my band kids tomorrow or soon.
On to the title.. I've been thinking about dying a lot lately. No, I don't mean me personally. I guess Death would be more the title I should have used.
There was a band student from Concord schools (Elkhart IN) who went to bed one night, and didn't get up the next morning. A 17 year old boy who died of natural causes. Unreal. THAT is all parents worse nightmare, losing one of our kids. I don't understand and it saddens me to know that his mother has to live with "natural causes". That really wouldn't be an answer for me. Also here recently a 33 year old former band student from New Castle died. She had a seizure, and two young boys at home. A woman who's blog I have followed for several months passed away. Talk about an amazing woman! I highly recommend you go and read all of her blogs, she will change your life! www.diaryofadyingmom.blogspot.com I know you know the end of her book, but truly you should go and read each chapter from the beginning. Reading her blog changed my life, though I never met this amazing woman.
A girl that works in the same building as I do, and actually I consider her a friend has a father dying of pancreatic cancer. He is the same age as my father. 61. There is not an hour that goes by that I don't think of Jennifer. Her family. Her dad. It truly breaks my heart that she will soon lose her daddy. Maybe it's because I'm a daddy's girl, maybe it's because I remember as a little girl, I want to die before my dad, maybe it's because I still feel that way. I don't know. Maybe it's because Jennifer is an amazing, funny, beautiful, wonderful woman, and mother, and friend.
Her dad was sent home from the hospital on Friday, essentially to die. I spoke with Jennifer today about her dad's prognosis, and things of that nature. I told her, in some sort of way it's a blessing that he can be here to make his own final arrangements, music, funeral home etc. and it does truly take a lot of weight off of his family to do this. I think in a lot of ways it's an awesome last gift to your family. Jerry Newland is a father, a husband, a teacher, a friend to many. Neither of my girls had him as a teacher in middle school (he teaches middle school history) but he has been a patient where I work for many years, plus I've seen him around school for many years.
It's just not fair. I know I feel bitter about it for Jennifer, for her sister, for Jennifers son Wyatt, for Sheila, his wife. I feel like his time has been cut so short and he's dedicated so much of his life to his students and his kids and grandson. I hurt for Wyatt not having a grandfather passed his young age of 9. I hurt for Jennifer and Angela because I know what I would feel like to lose my dad. I hurt for his wife who spent years looking forward to the years they would grow old together and I mourn the years they won't have.
Truly, I don't know why her dad's impending death affects me so greatly, other than she's a friend and he's a great man, but it seems to be all I can think about.
I think about my own death, my own mortality. I want to be able to prepare everything myself as well. I sure don't want any damn organ music!!!!! Give me some Bruce, some Train, some Dobie Gray, but NO organ music! Have coolers of Pepsi, make a toast to me and raise your pepsi's high! Bury me in shorts and a t-shirt, and for gods sake don't bury me in shoes, if you know me you know I hate shoes!! I will seriously haunt you if you put my ass in a dress!
I suppose it's not death I fear, it's missing my girls, my family , my friends. It's not being there for all of those people. That's what I fear. I still need my mom. I can't imagine not needing my mom. I can't imagine my girls not needing their mom. I can't imagine being without them in any way.
I have a very unhealthy fear of something happening to one of my girls.. truly. It sometimes consumes me, and if I can't reach one of them via cell phone I immediately panic, I immediately know cops are going to show up at my door. I am on the verge of a panic attack. I am consumed, enveloped, and paralyzed with fear. Till finally I can breathe again when I can reach them. I hear sirens and I immediately call Ashton. If she's where she can hear them she answers, "I'm fine mom". No Hello, Just "I'm fine, mom". I still check to make sure they're breathing at night, I still cover them up, hell I still have to order Ashton's food and she's 18 years old! ha!
I'm a worrier by nature I know, but sometimes I wonder, is that even normal? The fear that lives inside me!?!
I suppose I should end this, but think about a couple of things, 1. Have you signed your organ donor card? Is it on your license? It should be! 2. The last thing you said to someone that you love, was it I love you? It should have been. One never knows.
Peaceout Girlscout.
On to the title.. I've been thinking about dying a lot lately. No, I don't mean me personally. I guess Death would be more the title I should have used.
There was a band student from Concord schools (Elkhart IN) who went to bed one night, and didn't get up the next morning. A 17 year old boy who died of natural causes. Unreal. THAT is all parents worse nightmare, losing one of our kids. I don't understand and it saddens me to know that his mother has to live with "natural causes". That really wouldn't be an answer for me. Also here recently a 33 year old former band student from New Castle died. She had a seizure, and two young boys at home. A woman who's blog I have followed for several months passed away. Talk about an amazing woman! I highly recommend you go and read all of her blogs, she will change your life! www.diaryofadyingmom.blogspot.com I know you know the end of her book, but truly you should go and read each chapter from the beginning. Reading her blog changed my life, though I never met this amazing woman.
A girl that works in the same building as I do, and actually I consider her a friend has a father dying of pancreatic cancer. He is the same age as my father. 61. There is not an hour that goes by that I don't think of Jennifer. Her family. Her dad. It truly breaks my heart that she will soon lose her daddy. Maybe it's because I'm a daddy's girl, maybe it's because I remember as a little girl, I want to die before my dad, maybe it's because I still feel that way. I don't know. Maybe it's because Jennifer is an amazing, funny, beautiful, wonderful woman, and mother, and friend.
Her dad was sent home from the hospital on Friday, essentially to die. I spoke with Jennifer today about her dad's prognosis, and things of that nature. I told her, in some sort of way it's a blessing that he can be here to make his own final arrangements, music, funeral home etc. and it does truly take a lot of weight off of his family to do this. I think in a lot of ways it's an awesome last gift to your family. Jerry Newland is a father, a husband, a teacher, a friend to many. Neither of my girls had him as a teacher in middle school (he teaches middle school history) but he has been a patient where I work for many years, plus I've seen him around school for many years.
It's just not fair. I know I feel bitter about it for Jennifer, for her sister, for Jennifers son Wyatt, for Sheila, his wife. I feel like his time has been cut so short and he's dedicated so much of his life to his students and his kids and grandson. I hurt for Wyatt not having a grandfather passed his young age of 9. I hurt for Jennifer and Angela because I know what I would feel like to lose my dad. I hurt for his wife who spent years looking forward to the years they would grow old together and I mourn the years they won't have.
Truly, I don't know why her dad's impending death affects me so greatly, other than she's a friend and he's a great man, but it seems to be all I can think about.
I think about my own death, my own mortality. I want to be able to prepare everything myself as well. I sure don't want any damn organ music!!!!! Give me some Bruce, some Train, some Dobie Gray, but NO organ music! Have coolers of Pepsi, make a toast to me and raise your pepsi's high! Bury me in shorts and a t-shirt, and for gods sake don't bury me in shoes, if you know me you know I hate shoes!! I will seriously haunt you if you put my ass in a dress!
I suppose it's not death I fear, it's missing my girls, my family , my friends. It's not being there for all of those people. That's what I fear. I still need my mom. I can't imagine not needing my mom. I can't imagine my girls not needing their mom. I can't imagine being without them in any way.
I have a very unhealthy fear of something happening to one of my girls.. truly. It sometimes consumes me, and if I can't reach one of them via cell phone I immediately panic, I immediately know cops are going to show up at my door. I am on the verge of a panic attack. I am consumed, enveloped, and paralyzed with fear. Till finally I can breathe again when I can reach them. I hear sirens and I immediately call Ashton. If she's where she can hear them she answers, "I'm fine mom". No Hello, Just "I'm fine, mom". I still check to make sure they're breathing at night, I still cover them up, hell I still have to order Ashton's food and she's 18 years old! ha!
I'm a worrier by nature I know, but sometimes I wonder, is that even normal? The fear that lives inside me!?!
I suppose I should end this, but think about a couple of things, 1. Have you signed your organ donor card? Is it on your license? It should be! 2. The last thing you said to someone that you love, was it I love you? It should have been. One never knows.
Peaceout Girlscout.
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