This is a rant blog entry - yes, I am thankful to live in this country and have access to adequate medical care. However, in my opinion, some of these "medical assistants" leave much to be desired in the realm of sensitivity...let me back up a bit.
When I was 12, my mother noticed a mole on my back that slowly began to change. Our family doctor said it was 'nothing.' Skip forward to age 16 when I go to a free skin screening by a dermatologist who removes said mole. It contains "atypical" or pre-cancerous cells...so if it hadn't been removed, it would have turned into malignant melanoma...pretty scary stuff, especially for a teenager to hear. They removed surrounding tissue, no atypical cells had spread beyond the mole, so all was clear and I was fine (thank goodness). Since then, I have been going for yearly skin screenings at a dermatologist.
This particular year, on a Wednesday, my dermatologist sites one mole to remove and I point out another that I had been watching. He doesn't think it's anything but says he'll remove it so it won't bother me anymore. He ends up removing a total of three moles. I'm left with a sheet on cleaning instructions and a number to call for the biopsy results.
Skip to Monday 5:15pm -I had missed a call (something I greatly regret now!)check my cell phone and have a message from the medical assistant at the dermatologist. Generally, they won't call you unless there's something abnormal/wrong/important...so I was a bit taken back. I listen to the non-chalant message "Good afternoon, this is ** at ^^ Dermatology, we're closed now but you can call us in the morning."
Ok...so they wait to call until after hours when you cannot call them back and they have at the very least semi-important information for you. That doesn't sit well with my personality type...I still try to relax and wait it out, thinking I can at least call in the morning. I call as soon as they open and get the message that all medical assistants are busy with patients and usually make their calls at lunch or after hours... ARGHHH!!
I understand that there are patients, schedules and paperwork...but I just wish they could find another way to practice that gentle art of sensitivity...to think about how a patient may feel waiting to hear back about test results. Sadly, it appears that in the medical field, we're all just names on a list to examine, diagnose and treat...then on to the next with little thought to how someone may feel having to wait on important health information.
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