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Find another hospital. Healthcare professionals have to understand they aren't the last bottle of water in the desert...there's always someone else.
Some of the most compassion fatigued, or compassion-devoid, workers are those in the health care field. You'd think they're all in the health care field because they care, but too many are there just for the pay, or higher pay.
I work in a LTC/Rehab facility, and I don't believe most of the workers there even know how to spell the word compassion, and I believe that you might even find an assembly line worker or auto mechanic to have more compassion.
The Smartphone has only made matters worse. Rush, rush, rush, so they can get back to their Smartphones!
Who is impersonating a nurse? If you are acting like all the MAs are worthless, then that may be why you are getting this particular attitude you saw from them in the office. Everyone in the medical office (or any professional environment) should be treated with respect. I had a friend in my old town who has been a MA for the same doctor more than 30 years and she’s certainly not worthless and provides a valuable service to the medical practice. My father is a retired physician and considered his secretary, nurse, and PA all valuable members of the medical team/family.
I agree that all staff should be treated with the same respect we want for ourselves. MA's do provide a necessary service but they often are very minimally trained. Last year I had an upper endoscopy at a large teaching hospital. First the MA takes my blood pressure and it high. I tell her that is not a normal reading for me. She doesn't know what to do about that, then she hands me a gown and says "everything off, including underwear". I politely ask why I need to totally disrobe for this procedure. She says because I have to. A nurse walking by the room hears the exchange and says it is because I'll be sedated. I tell her I'm not being sedated, that's already been arranged. The nurse then says no problem I can keep my clothes on. She also retakes my blood pressure and it is normal. Had I blindly followed the MA's instructions I'd of needlessly disrobed.
On the taking of blood pressure I had the same scenario with my PCP's office and at the cardiology office this past year. The MA doesn't know how to do it right, the result is very high, then a nurse redoes it and it is normal.
In toby's case it could well be that the reason he was there did not require he disrobe, but that the MA has not been trained to differentiate how a patient is to be prepped for the doctor based on why the patient is there. That's not her fault, but it also isn't toby's fault. Where it becomes difficult is not every man wants to discuss what might be intimate matters with a teenage or 20 something female MA, and so she may not know why he is there and defaults to her one size fits all solution of "everything off". Again that's not her fault but she should be trained in solutions other than bullying the patient.
This is also a reminder that urology offices really do need to move past their 100% female staffing models. Just as women are assured of female staff in a GYN office, at least having the option of male nurses & techs in a urology office would be appropriate
I have never experienced rudeness either in the hospital or doctor’s office, but if I did, they wouldn’t be my doctor anymore.
I have seen a few surgeons who are rushed and brusk, but I get that.
I’m encouraging my dh to find another doctor for a procedure he gets periodically, because of the bad vibes in the office and the way we were kept waiting, without explanation, last time.
The problem is there are only a few doctors in the area who do the procedure with anesthesia.
My pet peeve is when a doctor seems to have no regard for the time or comfort of the patients. This is enough to make me change doctors.
I have never experienced rudeness either in the hospital or doctor’s office, but if I did, they wouldn’t be my doctor anymore.
I have seen a few surgeons who are rushed and brusk, but I get that.
I’m encouraging my dh to find another doctor for a procedure he gets periodically, because of the bad vibes in the office and the way we were kept waiting, without explanation, last time.
The problem is there are only a few doctors in the area who do the procedure with anesthesia.
My pet peeve is when a doctor seems to have no regard for the time or comfort of the patients. This is enough to make me change doctors.
In a doctors office the culprit is the medical assistant (MA's),their just kids and they can be nasty,the doctor may not know this go's on and he should.Also if you have a complaint contact your state medical board or HIPAA just to name two .
In a doctors office the culprit is the medical assistant (MA's),their just kids and they can be nasty,the doctor may not know this go's on and he should.Also if you have a complaint contact your state medical board or HIPAA just to name two .
I think sometimes offices have trouble finding the lower level employees, so they take whatever they can get. Anyone who works with the public should be hired for their personality as much as their skill. If your only contact in a medical office is a surly lab technician, that forms your judgement.
The main complaint I have with medical staff at this point - they won't get off their private cell phones when patients are around. I have to interrupt their Candy Crush, they look annoyed, they listen to my request/need and they roll their eyes, give jilted answers then immediately go back to their private phone time. I just have a higher standard when it comes to a medical setting.
I had surgery a few months. I joked to everyone that as soon as I was out I knew they were going to whip out their cell phones to facebook and watch cat videos. Because you know - their personal life is more important than other people and jobs they get paid to do.
The main complaint I have with medical staff at this point - they won't get off their private cell phones when patients are around. I have to interrupt their Candy Crush, they look annoyed, they listen to my request/need and they roll their eyes, give jilted answers then immediately go back to their private phone time. I just have a higher standard when it comes to a medical setting.
I had surgery a few months. I joked to everyone that as soon as I was out I knew they were going to whip out their cell phones to facebook and watch cat videos. Because you know - their personal life is more important than other people and jobs they get paid to do.
So true. It seems like the doctors themselves do not concern themselves with this kind of minutiae, because they dont realize how much it reflects on them.
Another thing I hate is how they don’t pay attention to the reception area and the comfort of the patients.
Just yesterday at the dentist I noticed that the furniture had not been updated since the practice opened...10 years at least. I think “Mrs Dentist” probably decorated it from Pier One or World Market and it is extremely uncomfortable furniture, not meant for commercial use.
My GP’s office is a dark dingy place with ugly furniture and faded “art”. For years, they had these itty bitty side tables with lamps with huge lampshades on them. The bottoms of the shades were bigger than the tables. Cringeworthy. The exam rooms have cupboards with Formica designed to look like fiberboard. You get it.
Oh, and my worst doctors office peeve is a TV with an annoying show going. Sometimes there is also a second TV with infomercials from medical companies. Please, I only want silence, or soft music. A nice fish tank is ok, too.
So true. It seems like the doctors themselves do not concern themselves with this kind of minutiae, because they dont realize how much it reflects on them.
I think a good physician who is contentious about customer service knows very well how poor interactions with staff can reflect on them directly and their practice, and aren't hesitant to counsel people and adjust processes when necessary. Anyone who runs a business should be constantly striving to improve customer/client experience.
Last edited by Texas Ag 93; 02-02-2018 at 11:41 AM..
Here's a long term pet peeve about rude office staff that I again experienced today, yet worse than any prior event.
For a dermatology exam I had literally just finished totally disrobing and was just reaching over to grab the gown to put on when there is a knock on the door and a woman saying "OK to come in". I immediately respond loud enough for anyone to hear "No, not yet". She opens the door anyway and pulls the curtain back as I'm scrambling to grab the gown. I then yell loud enough for anyone anywhere near the room to hear "I said I was not ready". She hastily backs out apologizing saying she didn't know I wasn't ready, and I yell again loud enough for everyone to hear "That's why I said no not yet". I think she was the scribe for whom I had already made arrangements that she was not to be present for the exam anyway.
It is as if the knock on the door is just a formality because they rarely ever wait for an answer. They're usually opening the door as they knock. Sometimes they open the door and then knock. Why have doors on exam rooms if they don't mean anything? Why have curtains if they don't mean anything?
In a doctors office the culprit is the medical assistant (MA's),their just kids and they can be nasty,the doctor may not know this go's on and he should.Also if you have a complaint contact your state medical board or HIPAA just to name two .
Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts
I think sometimes offices have trouble finding the lower level employees, so they take whatever they can get. Anyone who works with the public should be hired for their personality as much as their skill. If your only contact in a medical office is a surly lab technician, that forms your judgement.
WHOA! For starts, the doctors hire the staff, at least at the office where I worked and most private offices. They set the tone for the office as well.
To denigrate these people as "nasty", "lower level" (I think you mean lesser education but what a way to put it), "whatever they can get" (not even WHOever) and the like is pretty disrespectful.
That said, there are always a few bad apples. As for hiring for personality, that's hard to determine at a job interview, and is very subjective as well. The state medical board will not be able to help you WRT staff that are not physicians. HIPAA is for privacy act violations, not because someone is on the phone. (At my office, one of the docs was on the phone a lot.)
Yes, a surly employee makes a bad impression.
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