Going to the doctor’s office, getting a prescription refill and having a medical question that is outside of the time that you schedule an appointment are true headaches to have to deal with nowadays. We hope we can make it by with the medication we have, or we just hope to even keep a doctor’s appointment on the schedule due to our crazy lives or cancellation for an unforeseen circumstance. Even after being in the depths of a pandemic trying to go to a doctor is next to impossible and if you want any more than the 10-15 minutes on their schedule for the day, good luck. How do we know we’re getting the most out of our healthcare system? How do we know that we are getting the best to live a long healthy life?
I’ve had my fair share of “doctor pains.” Pains of “sorry we don’t have enough primary doctors to get you established with right now so you will have to wait at least six months” or “sorry I know you’ve been waiting, and we finally got you a doctor but we have to cancel your appointment today due to them being out of the office unexpectedly.” It’s things like these that when they get said to you, you feel like your health takes a backseat and no one cares if you’ve been seen or not. Now we know reduced staffing is such an issue no matter what line of work you’re in. Health care is lacking staffing, quality of care, and efficiency when it comes to the basic doctor’s visit.
I truly miss the days when people were taking pride in their work. When they would take the time to go over details with you when you weren’t quite understanding what was going on, the clarification of it all. Today doctors and nurses are just completely outnumbered when it comes to how many patients each of them take on. It’s hard on not only the healthcare workers but the patients as well, we feel like an inconvenience and we feel rushed. The fact that we have to wait six to eight months at a time to even see a doctor and they are only willing to give us 10-15 minutes of their time hardly seems like a thorough appointment. It feels like the compassion is clouded and the purpose to help others is gone.
What is the solution? Be patient, and be kind to both care staff and patients. We each have to put in our part to get what we need from one another so we have to be willing to work with what we have. However, with how much healthcare is a revolving door for change I feel like many that are looking to dive into healthcare as a doctor, nurse, or even a specialty make sure the passion is there. The passion and purpose to help someone. Helping others takes time and it should not have a stopwatch to determine when it is over. Healthcare needs to take on more of a compassionate role even though it can be difficult. Remember your purpose, and remember why you chose the role.