You know, there are times when I think it would be worth it for me to go to med school, if only so that I wouldn't have to sit in waiting rooms any more.
Think about- I already have my undergraduate degree. I'd need to bolster that with maybe a year or two of hard sciences, but after that I'm only what- four years from an MD? So six years 'til I could be called Dr. O? I'm pretty sure I've already put in at least that much time sitting in waiting rooms over the past two years alone (widely known but little discussed fact: the atmosphere of waiting rooms is such that time and space get warped within its confines).
And then once I'm a doctor, my time will, like, quintiple in value (yes I just used the word "quintiple". Feel free to follow my lead.) I can make a person schedule their appointment a month in advance, require them to show up fifteen minutes early, not see them until an hour past their appointment time, and then spend (if I'm feeling super generous) five minutes with them. And I will charge them $150 for that shit. I'm telling you, it will be brilliant.
(this entry was about twice as long, and about three times as bitter- but I decided you guys didn't need to read all of that, so you're getting the truncated version)
You know what line I've grown to hate doing what I do? "I'll see what I can do." Most of the time we assume that this translates to, "I can't do anything about it, but you won't leave me alone. Maybe this will make you go away." As someone who's had no choice but to utter that line to many a customer just wanting some resolution of their usually trivial issue, I know that probably more people than you expect really want to help, but can't. More than you think will also try.
ReplyDeleteHere's the flip side though. even the best of us become...apathetic even to our own abilities and desires. So a doctor who once wanted nothing more than to truly "see what could be done" may now have lost faith and motivation in the most amazing of things. Countless utterances of similar lines to people without "real" problems. Now everyone gets five minutes and a late start. Even those with real issues.
Sad really. Not directed at you. Just what came out of my head.
I agree. I sure dislike the way the medical/health care industry works. I always, ALWAYS have to wait. And it drives me crazy.
ReplyDelete