Common Courtesy

I know I’m not alone in thinking that it is polite to show up on time for an appointment.  Sure, I’ve gotten appointment times wrong and shown up the day before (never, thankfully, the day after), but usually I am there a bit early, hoping that the appointment will get over with.

Yes, that’s the attitude you develop after having hundreds of them.

And even the docs will acknowledge that sometimes you need to go to a lab, an infusion room, or their offices more than once a week.  And it’s not pleasant.

So why can’t they hold up their ends by signing the damn paperwork so that my medicine is all set to go for my two o’clock appointment?

Now, before I rant, I want to say that this cancer center was thoughtfully planned (for the most part. I still don’t think the blood lab with its wide-open door is very private). The cancer center is located at a downtown hospital. It’s a separate building but joined by a footpath to the rest of the hospital.  The imaging scanning office is around the corner from the main office. The radiology offices are in the basement as are the lymphedema offices. A Genetics office is upstairs.  And the Nurse Navigator has an office, too.  All within steps of one another.

If you need a biopsy, or a port placement, that’s in the hospital basement, but still close.

When I lived in California, the offices were flung all over Southern California. More people meant more offices which also meant it was harder to secure the ideal appointment. One time we drove over an hour for a fifteen-minute appointment!  Another time, when the camera of the MRI machine broke down, I had to wait for them to call to reschedule.  That happened four weeks later. So, I much prefer my current cancer center’s layout and close proximity to all I might need.

But what’s with forgetting to sign orders for treatment?  We discuss treatment at length and the pathway I need to take so that my white blood cell county is good in order to get chemo. I verbally review what she wants me to do:  Come in on the Monday and Tuesday before treatment to get growth factors. I put it in my calendar, with a notification. I dutifully fill out the online check in so that they know that I’m coming, and I don’t have to do anything other than give them my name and birthdate at check in.

But then I go to the office that gives the shots and am told the doc did not sign the treatment orders.

The nurse is miffed.  So am I.

“My doctor cannot be the only one who dos this?” I ask and she rolls her eyes. “Happens all the time.”

C’mon, docs! You expect us to comply with your wishes. Most of us want to do what we can to live longer. But not signing orders? After discussing the plan for twenty minutes?

Not acceptable.

Maybe I’ll be late tomorrow.