Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Why

Why do manipulative patients wait until 5 minutes before the office closes to call for a medication refill?

Why does poor planning on someone else's part constitute an emergency on my part?

Why would a clueless patient page me at 3 o'clock in the morning and ask me for a test result that happened 2 wks ago?

Why do I have to stay calm as people are yelling at me through the phone?

Why do arrogant specialists only want to talk about the car that they're driving?

Why do helpless primary care docs only bitch and moan and not be proactive to come up with a solution to the problem?

Why is it when I walk around the hospital that the only thing I hear staff concerned about is when they're going on break?

Why doesn't it bother me that radiologists sit in a dark room all day?

Why do hospital case managers bug me every day about discharging patients because they do not meet "criteria" for hospital admission?

Why does hospital administration only care about quality data and federal/state regulations?

Why does the hospital security guard always give me that look when I enter and leave the hospital?

Why do I even get up in the morning after a rough night of call?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Um, I can give you the name of a good therapist, Dr. A . . .

. . . and you are up because you are addicted to blogging. ;o) Now, go get some rest.

Lea said...

Another one: Why are we here? (No, not this blog - on earth.)

Sorry you've had a tough night.

Mother Jones RN said...

I’m guessing that these things bother you because you are a caring, empathetic human being who always tries his best to treat people with respect and dignity. Unfortunately, most of the world doesn’t operate that way, and it grinds you down. Please, don’t change. We need compassionate people in health care. Don’t let the bad guys get you down.

Words of advice from a your private duty psych nurse.

Mother Jones, RN

Anonymous said...

"posted by Dr. A @ 3:33 AM

Ouch!

That makes me think that you probably did write that post from your heart - I was hoping it was a cut and paste ...

You know, I sometimes wonder why physicians go into medicine at all. It's got to be one of the most demanding, thankless and unforgiving of all professions ... you're not allowed to be human ... have bad days ... be tired ... be in a bad mood ... have a head ache ... have a personal life ... or ... make a mistake.

Please hang in there. You know ... you will always have the satisfaction of knowing that you're doing something good ... and through the fatigue and the fog of putting one foot in front of the other, day after day, you'll still be able to feel good about yourself.

No, it's not enough ...

... so ...

... blog your little heart out, and we'll all be here to listen, and do our best to support you - and each other.

And that's what "community" is all about.

Dinah said...

Dr. A,
Time for a vacation. It's gonna be okay.

The Tundra PA said...

Sounds like a pretty tough call night, Dr. A. That your post went up at 3:30 a.m. says something about the state of mind it put you in, too. Your frustrations reveal what a caring human being you are, and (from what I can tell through your writing) a sensitive and intelligent physician. All the bureaucratic (sp?) BS in hospitals can surely make it hard to remember why we went into medicine in the first place. Sometimes I wish I were a simple healer in an earlier time.

If you don't have some vacation time coming up soon, then I hope the support of your blogging community is a comfort to you. I think most of us are of like mind...

Anonymous said...

*comfort*

and

Prayers

HP said...

Think you should have hung out at the Hawaiian BA meeting a little longer, Dr. A!
Sounds like you had a rough night on call and it impacts you more because you are a caring and considerate doctor. I hope a good night sleep puts a fresh face on things.

Dreaming again said...

I'm a little late in this ...but *hugs and prayers*

hope today went well after your rough night on call!

NeoNurseChic said...

Oh, um...er....I'm sorry that I'm one who has called their physician for medication refills - although not 5 minutes before the office closes and I'm always very aware of the fact that just because I called for it at a certain time doesn't mean it will happen that day. However, I do feel guilty for my occasional "poor planning." I guess my only excuse (and it is, afterall, an excuse) is that with the number of medications I'm on and the fact that some have to be filled every month while others have a 3 month supply, sometimes it is very difficult for me to keep track of what needs to be refilled when! But since you brought it up, I apologize to you in the hopes that my apology will carry over to all physicians I've ever done this to!

Hugz and hang in there....We all have times like this...
Carrie :)

GaffLady said...

man oh man have i been asking that question ALOT today!!! why-o why-o why-o.

loved the post. i understand.

ipanema said...

Why didn't I see this post? :)

Sid Schwab said...

Hey wait a minute! I talk about my bike, not my car.

Anonymous said...

Oh man, I can FEEL your pain, and I'm a nurse, not a doctor.

While I do not have a car to chat about I do have a penchant for rock and roll trivia.....

Anonymous said...

Come spend some time in my ER