Let me first clarify that it is not inexcusable that anyone is not treated with
dignity or respect, whether it is the doctor, his nurse, bookkeeper or
receptionist. Double standards are a no no.... Secondly, one of the thinks I
find that my Doctor is doing and it works very well, is he is having his nurse
make the appointments for me; especially when I need to go out and see another
doctor. It is amazing how soon you can get into seeing this other doctor when it
is done this way. My doctor has newly implemented (because he has 2,0000)
patients of his own) if he can't call you a report, he will have his nurse call
you and either set up an appointment or touch base as to when he will be able to
call you. I hope some of these suggestions help everyone involved. Your friend,
Lillian
Elizabeth Patterson wrote:
> I can empathize with your experience, Cathy. When I called yesterday to
> schedule my follow-up appointment, the receptionist's reaction was totally
> inappropriate. It was like I was some stranger who should be put off. I
> explained that I had had surgery on Friday and was instructed to call in
> for a followup appointment this week. Her attitude was "we'll have to see
> if we can squeeze you in next week sometime. She didn't even know what an
> appropriate length of time lapse between the surgery and the follow up
> would be. Nor was she concerned enough to ask anyone else. There is a
> definite lack of training for receptionists in that office. I'll be calling
> back today to talk to the nurse. I know she is competent. You might ask
> them to let you talk to someone who can give you some answers.
> Liz P.
>
> >Dear Cathy,
> >
> >You are so very right...it is one thing for the doctor to be a bit rushed
> >for time but totally inexcusable for a secretary to act without
> >compassion...especially at a Cancer Center. I guess it takes all types
> >to make this world turn. The important thing is that you were in touch
> >with your upset, but kept your cool and let it be known to your onc's
> >secretary. It is usual practice for the receiving oncologist (at
> >Memorial Sloan) to want to talk to the referring onc before setting the
> >appointment. Depending on the severity of the case, other patients may
> >be "bumped", but that decision can't be made till an initial clinical
> >discussion takes place between the two physicians.
> >
> >I know it is difficult and that you wish this could all be made to "go
> >away" tomorrow, but you are learning another important aspect of this
> >journey...patience! Now don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about laying
> >down...just giving a bit of time for "the system" to work. If it looks
> >like it is bogging down, then hit it with a hammer to get it moving
> >again!!
> >
> >Please keep me posted on what is happening and I will be keeping you and
> >your family in my prayers. By the way, receiving "vents" is what I do
> >best!
> >
> >God Bless.
> >John
> >
> >Cathy Telesco wrote:
> >>
> >> John, Thanks so much for responding to my message. It's nice to know
> >>there are people out there who care.
> >> I did call and the secretary that answered the phone for Dr Kampel
> >>(that's who we are going to see) wasn't
> >> very nice. I know that I am just a number to them but I still think
> >>that people in these types of positions need
> >> to demonstrate a little more compassion and understanding. I told her
> >>that we needed an appt asap (that's
> >> what my Dad's onc said) and she said that the onc here would have to
> >>call the onc there and "we'll see if we
> >> can squeeze you in". I told the secretary at my Dad's current onc's
> >>office that I didn't appreciate the way the
> >> secretary handled the call. People have enough on there minds. Thanks
> >>for letting me vent, Cathy.
> >------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >This is an automatically-generated notice. If you'd like to be removed
> >from the mailing list, please visit the Medicine-On-Line Discussion Forum
> >at <http://www.meds.com/con_faq.html>, or send an email message to:
> >majordomo@lists.meds.com
> >with the subject line blank and the body of the message containing the line:
> >unsubscribe mol-cancer your-email-address
> >where the phrase your-email-address is replaced with your actual email
> >address.
> >------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> This is an automatically-generated notice. If you'd like to be removed
> from the mailing list, please visit the Medicine-On-Line Discussion Forum
> at <http://www.meds.com/con_faq.html>, or send an email message to:
> majordomo@lists.meds.com
> with the subject line blank and the body of the message containing the line:
> unsubscribe mol-cancer your-email-address
> where the phrase your-email-address is replaced with your actual email
> address.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an automatically-generated notice. If you'd like to be removed
from the mailing list, please visit the Medicine-On-Line Discussion Forum
at <http://www.meds.com/con_faq.html>, or send an email message to:
majordomo@lists.meds.com
with the subject line blank and the body of the message containing the line:
unsubscribe mol-cancer your-email-address
where the phrase your-email-address is replaced with your actual email
address.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
