Lessons learned in the waiting room !
One of the things in my day to day lives that can stress me a lot is a visit to the pediatrician. No it is not about our doctor, but the waiting time and the drama that surrounds it. But over so many years and multiple visits to our ped, for either one of the kids, I have learned some valuable lessons that are to be observed in the waiting area of your doctor's clinic, that you can almost call me a Pro !
1)Never smile at the other parents waiting with the kids. Invariably you will start a conversation and then suddenly out of the blue a question will be popped out " Do you mind if I can go before you ?" and a hundred and one reasons will follow. Am I totally jobless ? If I buckle under politeness and allow this person, it means I get to wait another 20 minutes more, get dirty looks from people in the queue behind me and ofcourse an already restless kid who starts whining now. So never fall into the trap.
2) Do not make eye contact with others. If someone catches your eye and decide that you do look like an "Ilichavai", you will be trapped like I mentioned earlier.
3) Do not fall for gimmicks like "Oh this is an emergency...my baby is crying etc". All the patients of a pediatrician are kids - crying, whining, coughing,sneezing. You name it..the variety is there. It is an agony for any child to be waiting to see the doc. So unless I see a child faint in front of me, I won't call it an emergency.
4) I take a book along and immerse myself into it till my time comes. The kids entertain themselves by watching the chaos around !
So if you see a stern looking mom vacantly looking into the distance, with a firm grip on a child (lest the child decides to saunter away at the crucial time), you know who it is.
BUT..once we are out, we are all bathed with relief. The kid is happy to get out of the clinic, mom has the diagnosis and prescription, along with the kind assurance of the doctor that "It is nothing to really worry about" ! It is exactly then I know why I go through this long wait and crowded clinic to meet this specific doctor. He is worth all that effort. He knows the child's history from his birth, can be reached any time of the day and night to answer the queries of a worried parent, has willingly remained in the clinic (when it was close to shut down time) to attend to my child when there was a panic phone call from me.
So on the trip back home along with the medicines, the kids get a little treat too from the nearby pharmacy shop because mom is happy :-)
Labels: doctors, ranjani, waiting time
#posted by [ ranjani.sathish ]
LOL!
And furiously taking notes and practicing my best stern look.
Posted by
utbtkids |
11:07 PM
Utbt ...haa haa !! We don't need practice for these things..we ladies are survivors, it will come naturally to us...eerr I think it is fathers who will need to know the tricks of the trade :-)
Posted by
ranjani.sathish |
6:59 AM