Thursday, July 14, 2011

Dear Doctors (a helpful letter)

I just saw a dermatologist.  It was not a great experience.  Unfortunately, I'm prone to moles, and funny-looking ones at that.  I thought I would write a helpful letter to all doctors out there, as there is always room for improvement.

Right, Mr. Dermatologist?  Sheesh....

Dear Doctors,
Just a few tips:
1. Before having a patient to remove their clothes, perhaps you should meet them and introduce yourself first. I think it's just good manners.
2. Don't have the patient fill out paperwork on their existing conditions and medications if you're not going to read it anyway.  Being asked those questions will only elicit a response of "I wrote it on my paperwork" from me.
3. If your patients are waiting 45 minutes past their appointment to see you, don't continue accepting new patients (yeah, I heard you Ms. Receptionist)- you obviously can't handle the ones you have.
4. You are not the only ______  specialist in the area. Telling a patient that you're doing _______ and that you'll then see them again in six months is a bit presumptive when you've spent less than ten minutes in the room.
I believe that following these helpful tips and simply remembering that patients are human will guarantee that your patients will actually come see you a second time.

Thanks a bunch,
Kara

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