For the first time in my life, I saw a doctor storming out of his cabin, headed towards the Administrative Staff, and uttered the following words:
Who is Mr X ? Who added him to the list? You all know I have a flight to catch and ended with the most disgusting word you would expect from a Dr.
I was watching all this along with around another 25 or so people who were waiting in the hallway. I was obviously taken aback. I mustered some courage and went towards the head of the Admin staff, who was by now shaken. I started by introducing my name. It was the name Dr Uttered with disdain. I asked for the details. It seems they had called me a couple of times around noon on that day to inform me that the appointment had been rescheduled to 1:30 PM instead of 2:20 PM. I was on the receiving end. Somehow, I made it at 2.20 PM thanks to the unavailability of Uber, and I had walked from home to the hospital. As per the WhatsApp message, it was on the ground floor, Room Number 6, and I noticed from the staff that Dr had shifted to the Mezzanine floor one level up. That floor was flooded with people. I somehow managed to figure out the place after the staff, who were uncomfortable, took my vitals. The enthusiasm of the staff reflected the tiredness and maybe the culture.
I told the head Admin that I would not like to meet the doctor based on what I saw of him in public a few minutes back. I explained to her politely that I wish he had called you inside the room and communicated his displeasure. We come to the hospital to meet a doctor who is patient enough to handle a sick patient. I asked the staff if she were in my position, she would go inside and sit in front of him. She looked down and said,” No way”. I told her to communicate the same to Dr.
I understood that the fault was entirely mine as I had not taken the call. But I was not willing to consult a doctor who is emotionally unstable and does not value his staff. That shows character. I was remembering one video of Simon Sinek where he mentioned ” Consistency and Intensity”
Yes, I do not know the backstory of the doctor. Is he taking a flight urgently to save a patient? But at the end of it, I did leave to make the staff feel good. After all, this was on a Raksha Bandhan day, and I thought I owed it to the two female staff members a little bit of care, so that they can go inside and inform Dr. that the patient is not coming in, so that he doesn’t get late for the flight. Also, I noticed that many senior citizens were waiting for consultation. I had lost my cool in the hospital, only to regain my composure on my way back. I definitely would consult a doctor who is competent and at the same time respects people around him. We ask people for doctors’ references, and going forward, I will do some additional checks to choose my next Doctor, which is what I did a week later. I liked the way he communicated with the staff and made us feel good.
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