Dear Pediatrician,
I know you do very important work like saving the lives of children and stuff like that. I also know that you are very smart because you went to school for 25 years or something. Waiting at a doctor’s office is a necessary evil. I know this, too. I do.
What I do not understand is why you insist on calling me back into the exam room (that measures exactly 8 square feet) when you know it will be another hour before the doctor will see my child. It is mean. It gets my hopes up, and then causes me to spend an hour keeping my less-than-2-year-old son off chairs that have wheels and dirty throw-up floors. I would rather wait in the spacious waiting room. At least there are more toys out there. And better magazines.
I also do not understand why you keep the urine sample cups in the bottom drawers of said exam rooms. My son thinks they are Tupperware. He stacks them. And licks them. I know they are clean, but this is not ok with me. I try to keep him out of these drawers, but it is difficult to keep him occupied for an hour short of letting him throw tongue depressors in the garbage. Which we have done. And I am sorry.
I do want to thank you, however, for having the “Note to Parents” posted on the back of the door. It keeps me up on my anagram skills. (Parents: part, rent, sent, ten, net, star, trap, nest, rant…) I think I’m up to 25 words. At least that’s all I can figure without writing them down.
Anyway, I don’t want to be part of the problem, I’d rather be part of the solution. That’s why I propose it be made illegal to force parents with children under 5 to wait at the doctors office.
Thank you and have a nice day.
Emily
ha ha ha ha ha!
amen to that! I also hate the way that they keep that really expensive ear-looking thing out in said 8X8 foot room, and you have to worry about your children breaking it. And so fun to look at Halloween editions of Family Fun in January.
What happened to house calls?!
Agreed! I try to plan Dr’s appointments for between Anja’s feedings, but when I have to wait for an hour, I start thinking, “Should I just nurse her here? How much longer could this take? I didn’t bring her enough toys…”
Wednesday she was looking longingly at this box of duplos, and I was like, Naaah…we don’t want to touch those.
That was so funny, and yet sadly true…. I wonder if its because the DR’s want to be paid hourly?.lol
One day, someone’s gonna get smart and make millions on a kid friendly office and you’ll say “I had that idea when…”. What’s wrong with people?
I love the “Dear..” posts.
I also like….” together.
i have to agree that it is torture in there. my drs office has a one of those rolling stools and my kids love to roll it around the room so we can be heard like rolls of thunder throughout the office.
that was funny yet true, i just hate waiting for forever in the dr.’s office for forever. i also like your sister like the dear posts.
I just found your blog and love it. It’s a very fun read.
I know you posted about the “pooping in the toilet” in November – hopefully they’ve been successful, but I thought I’d share two tips friends of mine used.
One friend told her 4 year old that she was really sorry but his poopy messes were simply to big to clean up in the house. From now on, if he did that in his pants they would take a hose to him outside….in January. It worked the first time.
Another friend told her four year old that if he kept doing that he would need to wash his own underwear in the toilet. That also worked the first time.
I hope you don’t need to use these, but I thought they were creative and maybe you hadn’t heard them. After reading what I just wrote I hope you also don’t think they’re child abuse. These really are great, loving parents who were tired of the mess!
Hi there! I saw your comment on my blog and I wanted to help you with your header as best I could. I am more then certain that the Scrapbook Flair program does not work on MAC. I’m sorry. But, I have been doing some searching online for comproable free MAC programs and I came across these websites that you might want to check out:
http://www.freemacware.com/mac-freeware-for-photography/
http://www.freemacphoto.com/
I don’t know much about MACs but I hope that these sites help you a bit. Also I noticed that your template is “rounders 2″ off of the blogger templates and after some playing around I have the exact size in pixels that you need to put an image as your header. It is width 710px and height 210px. I have a blog site that I use only for experimenting and i experimented with the rounders format and I wanted to give you the link to it http://jtld.blogspot.com/
Now on it you will see the header and footer at the bottom matches it. I can tell you how to do this in your html coding if you would like. Here is my email address: jcmullins4@gmail.com So that I can help you further if you need it and I won’t take up your comment space. Oh by-the-way, love your kitchen.
Preach it sister!!!
) I agree 100% Very funny post. Thank you for the laugh today.
Theresa
http://www.treasureinearthenvessels.typepad.com
I feel your pain! My ped has these little steps going up the exam tables. Great fun when a 3 year old decides to climb them repeatedly. More fun when he tries to take the shortcut and jump down from the table. Just here for a well-child check? Well, let’s just take care of that right now and get some REAL medicine going!
Amen sister! I might just copy your letter and send it to my pediatrician.
I just found your blog through your sisters blog, who I found through A Cottage Industry blog…it is keeping me busy since my husband put me on bed rest yesterday. Thank you, looking forward to hearing more from you!
My children are grown but my husband likes to play on the chair with wheels…….some things never change!
Crystal in Pahrump
Afghanistan…. That’s funny! I don’t know how that got in my profile. No I am not in Afghanistan
I have been griping about this for years!! This happens to me all of the time. They shut me in there with my three children and I immediately start to sweat!! They fight over who gets to race around on the wheeled stool first. They fight over the ONE childrens book that sits on the shelf!! It’s nothing short of pure torture. I’m glad I’m not alone.
True! True! I can still remember years ago waiting in one of those rooms for TWO hours, with Two kids under 4! It was HORRIBLE!
OMGoodness you are so NICE about this most aggravating of topics!! I once wrote a letter on this very issue to my ped after a miserable miserable two hours spent in exactly that situation. I think it is the only time I’ve ever done so. And mine was NOT as nice as yours I have to say. Don’t you just feel better getting it off your chest:).
http://www.lifeinkathmanudu.blogspot.com
You said it! I have an autisric son that has absolutely no patience. I have tried to convince these people to please make sure they are reasdy for him but of course it didn’t work. I finally broke down and bought a portable dvd player and he watches his favorite movie while we wait. Works great!
I am completing with you on this one. I hate waiting in the Dr’s office and there is ALWAYS a wait!
I love it! Toooooooo true…
I am so with you on this one. Add to it that I wish they would invent toys that would disinfect themselves. I can’t tell you how many times I would bring my child to the pediatrician for one thing, she’d play with the toys and two days later, she’d come down with something else. AARRRGGHH.
Love it! We try to make as much noise as possible, sometimes that seems to prompt them to move things along.
I remember those days! We got at the tongue depressers, too, and took many a leap off of the stop on the examining table. Funny.
See? This is why I tell people to see a family doctor–for the entire family. No pediatrician necessary! (OK, my girls do have a pediatrician, but only ’cause it looks bad for Daddy to be their only doctor.) The average wait time in my husband’s office is 5-10 minutes…and he’s in the exam room in 5 minutes or less. That’s SERVICE.
Maybe it has something to do with being in a small town…
But this was a hilarious post. It needs to be in all physician offices.
I miss those days…
Preach it SITSta!!
How do they get sooooo far behind anyway?? They only spend 10 minutes in the room with you!!
Who is this Mom that keeps the DR. trapped in that tiny room and throws the rest of the day’s schedule of track cuz I’d like to find her and tell her the rest of us don’t want to spend 3 hours at the doctor’s office! Doesn’t she know we have blogging to do??
And please send a copy of this letter to every pediatrician in the country!
Oh that is too funny and so true. I am not a doctor but I am a RN and it is taught in school that you must keep patients waiting a certain amount of time before you see them. hahahaha, just kidding. I hate waiting too.
We went through this just a few months ago at the ER. My 2 yr old cut her forehead and they ushered us right back which led me to believe it was more serious than the people sitting in the waiting room before us. They put us in that little 8X8 room and hand me a gauze wrap and say “hold this on the wound to help with the bleeding” and leave. We waited about 45 minutes for them to come back in to fix it. That was fun.
I hadn’t read this one. It was written before I discovered the blogosphere. So glad today is your big day. Its so much fun to read all the comment lovin’. I miss seeing you and hope you’re doing well. Love your blog!
I totally agree with you. My little girl tends to get bored and fall asleep when we go to the pediatrician. Right at the 30min/hr mark when she’s just fallen asleep they come in and want to exam her. It’s quite aggrivating. And they get mad at me for letting her fall asleep in the firt place.
Dr.’s offices are hazardous to your health. I hate going to the doctor cause I always get sick after. Funny, isn’t it, NOT! Love your blog.
Amen girl. And you know the floor isn’t as sanitized as they make you think it is. My two girls like to crawl and roll around on it.
And, not to mention, my six year old likes to ask question after question and there’s no escape.
Why the heck IS that??? That does drive me nuts.
LOL this is soooo true. It IS torture.
Congratz on being today’s feature over at SITS!
Super cute layout btw
Mmmmm. Pee cups. My son prefers the taste of the biohazard bag, though.
Oh….I can so relate. Except that I have been stuck in that room with 3 two-year olds. Insanity!
My friend who is a pediatrician has regaled me with tales of parents in the exam room–one who ordered a pizza delivered to the clinic and one who brought in her portable TV so she wouldn’t miss her soaps…now that is a way to pass an hour waiting for the doctor!
The chair is wheels is the worst! I often think about pushing it out into the hall until the doctor comes in.
I wish I had a dollar for every latex glove that I have blown up into a balloon for my kids because there is NOTHING to play with in those exam room.
I thought it was very kind that you didn’t even touch on the condescending tone that pediatricians seem to take when you ask them about “those little bumps” or the “slightly runny nose” on your firstborn. That’s why they are there, right? To answer health questions about your kid. Is it too much trouble for them to act like they are NICE?
PUhleeeeze tell me you gave a copy of this to the pediatrician!
I could make a copy of this for my gynecologist. Wait, you just gave me an idea for blogging fodder… Thanks!
Too true! How is it that doctors get so behind?
Enjoy your SITS day!
Oh, that doctor’s office wait just makes me crazy!
LOL. SO funny and true.
You just reminded me to bring toys for my daughter’s 1-year appointment. Ha!
Oh man, I would lose my mind! I must have an awesome Ped, we never have to wait long.
Congrats on your SITS feature!
Oh man. You are so right. Our old pediatrician was horrible about this. Thankfully our new one is awesome and we don’t wait more than about 5 minutes in either place. And how hard would it be to put some toys or decent books in the exam rooms?
Ooooh, is this what I have to look forward to? Yikes!
Happy SITS Day!!
It’s incredible how long the wait can be at home doctor’s offices. I agree, criminal and should be outlawed! Great letter.
As my kids got older we played lots of “I Spy.” I got soo sick of that game after a while.
That is so true. I hate the wait game. Hey at least you HAVE toys….the military peds don’t typically have any in the waiting rooms even. LOL
Happy SITS Day!
Amen sister!
I never really had this problem with my pediatrician, but I remember it happened a lot with my OB while I was pregnant. How cruel is that to take me from the comfy waiting room wingback arm chairs to the little hard seat, while pregnant, and make me wait another hour!
I totally agree with you! Although I will say we have been on the other end more than once–we were the family that kept the Dr. busy everyone waiting (including us in between procedures). Two weeks ago I took my daughter in for complaining of a tummy ache. We got an x-ray, an IV placed, a CT scan, and an ambulance ride in the span of 5 hours at the pediatrician’s office. Fun times! And yes, she even puked on the floor. The next time we go in we had better be in and out in 15 minutes!
Our first pediatrician kept us waiting in the tiny exam room for up to 2 hours, and at times I wondered if he was watching us on closed-circuit TV to evaluate my parenting strategies under stress. Then I decided his office just schedules lots of appointments at the exact same time. He also said not to call him with questions; that new parents develop more confidence handling issues on their own. Now we have a great practice that encourages phone calls, has a nurse’s line, works in all appointments on the same day, and never keeps us waiting for an unreasonable amount of time. Good ones are out there; I hope you can find one!
Amen, sister. Amen. Seriously, I have waited almost an hour before in that little room.. listening to other kids scream while getting shots…no fun.
The crinkly paper ending up on the floor.. ugh.
very clever & funny! it is worse when it is the OB/GYN and you have to wear the paper gown in the freezing room and wait for an hour!!! Seriously, I switched Drs just because of the whole "waiting" thing. nice blog.
LOL. I wouldn’t want my kid licking the urine sample cups either, who cares if they’re clean! It’s just the thought of it. I love your blog layout by the way
Yes, I agree.
This happened to me one too many times. I actually fell asleep on the examing table waiting for my gynecologist to arrive.
He asked me…”how are you”. I replied…”do you really want to know?”. He did, so I proceeded to tell him about the waiting in the waiting room and the waiting in the examing room. He apologized and told me to call in advance next time and he would instruct his front end staff to let me know if his appointments were behind schedule and how far behind they were.
You might give this a try.
Congrats on your feature today!
So true! Somehow you letter should be the preamble to the MOMMY Constitution! Congrats on your SITS day!
I just wrote a similar post about this last week. I had to wait 2.5 hours with my two year old who was climbing off the walls by then. My husband actually walked out of the ENT’s office with her one day after being in the not-at-all-kid-proofed exam room with her for an hour. I’ve gotten to the point where I just let her destroy whatever is in their room. Their cost of doing business and making me wait.
Oh that is so true and so grulling to deal with. I’m on your side!!! Maybe they think that with that wait in the room it will make you think twice about going back.
Congrats on being featured blogger today on SITS!!!
hah…I’ve never broken it down like that…but dang woman you are RIGHT ON!
haha! I found you through SITSas! i am to have a baby due beg. of dec. I hate just having to wait by my lonesome in those little rooms. I know now why they don’t keep clocks in those rooms…
I am not looking forward to try to wait and keep a child entertained too!
Why? Why do they always insist on crawling on the dirty throw up floors? It makes me cringe. At the very least they should offer parents a mild sedative upon admittance to the exam room. Not for the kids, mind you, just to take my edge off.
Hee! This is so funny, and true! I have twins, and they always seem to gang up against me when we’re trapped in the exam room. One will attempt to scale the exam table while the other pushes the chair over to the counter in order to climb up there. I feel like I’m always pulling kids off the window sills or ceiling fans by the time the doctor gets in!
I have also blown up the gloves into little balloons. And imagine how much fun it is to be one adult with 2 or kids in those little rooms?!
I try and get the first appointment of the day for regular appointments but even then, I end up waiting on occasion!
May I sign that petition? AMEN, sista! Congrats on your day. I LOVE your blog design.
Amen! This HAD to be said. I have the same complaint every time I go. I finally just started letting the baby cry so that they would come in faster. It’s ridiculous and what IS the point?? The lobby area is so much more comfortable!!
AMEN!!!
Happy SITS day!
If we get stuck in that cold little room for longer than 10 minutes, I let me kid have her way. Our dr office was smart and locked the drawers, but not the under sink section. If they want to trap us in there, then they can deal with the consequences!
Do you care if I print this off and send it to my doctor??? It seems like my kids always find there way over too the stir-up thingy’s. And it’s all I can do not to go play solitaire on the computer thats sitting right smack in front of me.
Amen Sista!
Heck I get bored in those rooms and I’m 31!
I’m so with you on this one!
LOL, not kid related, but one day I took my mother in law to the RA, i got their 2 minutes late and she called to tell them she would be a few mins late. When she got there they made it a point to say, “your appointment was at 12:30″… however she still had to wait for 20 min to see the doctor. Do you know how bad I wanted to go to the front desk and say, “Excuse Me! Her appointment was at 12:30!!!” UGH!
I think everyone can identify. Very frustrating.
Congrats on your SITS day. And AMEN on the post!
I think that after waiting more than an hour they should have to start paying us!!!
Thank GOD they normally don’t allow children to come with you to the GYN appointments! HAHA! My little man gets into everything too and he’s almost…33! LMFAO!
Happy SITS day!
Happy SITS day to you!
I agree on this one. We can usually bet on a 2 hour visit before we get out of our docs office. And that is if we are one of the first ones there!
I hate the doctor’s office, half the time I go in there I know what I am sick from. Just give me what I need!
Amen to that!!
Happy SITS day; bask in your comment love!!
Amen!
Although I will say that I really like the new pediatrician they go to where we wait fewer than five minutes up front AND in back.
And I love that they provide a multitude of kid friendly books on a low shelf under the exam table. Except for the problem that the wee ones then want me to read the WHOLE time we’re in the office, including when the doctor wants to talk to me.
amen SIStah
I’m right there with you!!!
Double Amen…
I once handed my Dr a bill, for my time spent waiting an hour and 10 minutes past my appointment.
he deducted it off my bill
I don’t have kids so pardon me for asking what’s this 8×8 room that you are forced to wait in?
Karen, did the doctor really deduct the worth of your waiting time from his bill?
I know exactly what you mean! You’d think they’d know to keep the pediatrician’s office stocked with toys, not just the waiting room! And that wait time really is unbearable.
I am totally agreeing with you on this one,
It's especially hard when you have 2 to contain & keep entertained.
They really should think about us a little bit more.
I always hated this when the kids were younger. I had 4 little ones and it was chaos. They should not put you in the room till the Doc is ready to walk in. Oh how easy that would make life.
Over from SITS… sorry I’m a day late, but late is the story of my life. Tip for next doctor’s visit: I keep a red permanent marker in my purse and while I was waiting in the exam room, I corrected every misspelled word in their office signs. (I’m a former newspaper editor) Ex: If you leave, you loose your place in line. [Lose not loose]
They hated me after that.
Oh gosh. Bad memories were coming back to me as I read this. This is a pet peeve of mine and I easily recall when I was deathly ill, well, not deathly but….and they brought me back there where I waited for another 45 minutes. It felt like 3 hours. I can remember the steam coming out of my ears, the tears welling up in my eyes & the redness on my face. I told the doc how I felt, on all levels, when he came in
that was hilarious!! I so know what you mean!! With 4 kids {ages 3 and under} we are always at the doctor. And my oldest has the fear of elevators and tight exam rooms!