[Sam28546]

I’m not sure exactly how to answer your question. I can’t speak for other doctors, but at my clinic, If you arrive for your appointment an hour late (or later) and it’s not going to disrupt things (i.e. force some other patient who was there on time to sit in the waiting room cooling their heels) you will be seen. The reality of the matter is that if you are on time, but it takes a while for the doctor to get to you because ‘he is busy,’ chances are he really is. The other day I stepped in to the exam room to see a little girl who was there for a cold. Upon exam, however, it became apparent she was actually pretty damn sick and was literally dying before my eyes. Needless to say, my time spent with her went a little beyond the scheduled allotment. Once I had her stabilized and sent to the hospital for admission, I had the pleasure of walking into the next exam room and having a mother shower me with obscenities because she had to wait awhile to get her kid’s warts looked at. What can I say? I thought keeping that little girl alive was sort of important.

To give you an idea of where I’m coming from, my schedule is typically about 12-18 hours a day, at least six days a week, often seven. I’m on call in the hospital for a 36-hour shift every fourth day. I almost never have time for lunch or dinner, but instead eat a graham cracker or pop tart between patients now and then. I almost never sit down. As I write this, I have just gotten home after having put in an 18-hour day. In about six hours I will be back at work, for another 18-hour shift. I will do this for the next five days, and then have a wonderful 14-hour break before returning to work. All I do is see patients, as rapidly as possible, try to deliver the best care I can, hope like hell I don’t get sued, and hope like hell my wife doesn’t leave me because she almost never gets to see me.

Why do you have to reschedule if you’re 15 minutes late? Probably because during that 15 minutes, 5 or 6 other patients walked in the door needing to be seen. For what it’s worth, the rich doctor myth is just that: a myth. My salary before taxes is just under $32,000 a year. I’m sorry for rambling, and I know I probably haven’t really answered your question. I guess I’m just a bit too exhausted to be very coherent.

User Detail :  

Name : Sam28546, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : too foolish to find another occupation, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 33, City : Jackson, State : MS, Country : United States, Occupation : Physician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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