Hey Everyone!
Let me begin by saying, I love my job. I enjoy meeting new faces and hearing life stories from the elderly. However, I find that in my normal grind at work I occasionally meet people who have an attitude that makes even the nicest of people wish for the bird of happiness to fly up their nose. For example, yesterday at work one of my patients called to inform the office that she would be bringing her daughter 15 minutes late to her appointment. Did she call a couple hours before her appointment? No..she called at the appointment time to inform us she would be late. I have never understood people who do not have the same feeling of responsibility to keep appointment times THEY set. It's not as if we are holding them hostage until they schedule an appointment with us. What possesses these people to make an appointment they know they will break? Anyways back to my story. At 20 minutes after the hour (just a tad later than she said), our beloved patient strolls in waiting to be helped.
Despite the frustration in the office, we continued to accommodate her and her family. Part of our initial paperwork includes asking for insurance information...basic and simple request right? Not for this wonderful woman. After yelling at us for not having her insurance number handy, we were able to calm her down enough to have her fill out the necessary paperwork. I would just like to pose this question...Where did patient etiquette go? As a public servant, I want to provide the best service I can but it's hard to do when your patient comes at you with claws drawn and teeth at the ready.
I personally feel that we were providing a nice service to this woman by letting her come 15 minutes late. I don't mind when patients are a little late, but if you ever find yourself in this situation, please remember that we are people too and do not like to leave work with bruised and battered feelings.
On a happier note, I am proud to say that our office is one of good times and laughter. I often envisioned my place of work to be one filled with smiles and am happy to report that I have my dream job. Aside from my earlier complaint, I love coming to work. In reality, those situations are few and far between. We have great patients and I enjoy spending time with them day after day. The bird of happiness flies freely here!
