This week it was time for the dreaded visit to the doctor so that V could be cleared for anesthesia. Next week she has a dental cleaning scheduled at Shady Grove Hospital, and any necessary scaling or restoration work that they find necessary. Last year, this medical appointment was a disaster because her new doctor and his staff did not understand how badly things can go when V has to wait in an office for a long time.
This year, I called the doctor's office before leaving our house for the appointment, to make sure that the doctor was running on schedule. Good thing that I called. He was not even in the office at 15 minutes prior to our appointment and still had 2 patients waiting ahead of us to see him. The nurse agreed to call me when he finished with the first patient, and we agreed that we would wait at home for that call, and only leave home after we heard from her. An hour later she called us, we left home, and when we arrived at the office the doctor was ready to see us immediately. V was reasonably cooperative during the exam and transitions in and out of the office. I had time to talk with the doctor about her health and to get a blood work order as part of an annual physical exam. This was a dramatic improvement over our experience last year.
We have started calling the psychiatrist office ahead of the appointment to determine if she is running on time as well, and then adjusting our arrival at the office accordingly to avoid the wait in the office or sitting in the car for a lengthy period of time. This is reducing the stress and anxiety related to these appointments for us all.
Yesterday, I spoke to the nurse at the hospital regarding the procedure that is scheduled for Monday morning. She was very understanding about the difficulty of waiting in a waiting room, and suggested that we arrive an hour before the procedure instead of the standard 2 hours. Then, I will go inside and register her while she waits in the car with my husband. When they are ready to take her back to a room, then we will bring her inside the hospital and avoid time sitting in the waiting area.
As the Beatles sing, "It's getting better all the time." So true.
This year, I called the doctor's office before leaving our house for the appointment, to make sure that the doctor was running on schedule. Good thing that I called. He was not even in the office at 15 minutes prior to our appointment and still had 2 patients waiting ahead of us to see him. The nurse agreed to call me when he finished with the first patient, and we agreed that we would wait at home for that call, and only leave home after we heard from her. An hour later she called us, we left home, and when we arrived at the office the doctor was ready to see us immediately. V was reasonably cooperative during the exam and transitions in and out of the office. I had time to talk with the doctor about her health and to get a blood work order as part of an annual physical exam. This was a dramatic improvement over our experience last year.
We have started calling the psychiatrist office ahead of the appointment to determine if she is running on time as well, and then adjusting our arrival at the office accordingly to avoid the wait in the office or sitting in the car for a lengthy period of time. This is reducing the stress and anxiety related to these appointments for us all.
Yesterday, I spoke to the nurse at the hospital regarding the procedure that is scheduled for Monday morning. She was very understanding about the difficulty of waiting in a waiting room, and suggested that we arrive an hour before the procedure instead of the standard 2 hours. Then, I will go inside and register her while she waits in the car with my husband. When they are ready to take her back to a room, then we will bring her inside the hospital and avoid time sitting in the waiting area.
As the Beatles sing, "It's getting better all the time." So true.
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