My doctor took a personal phone call while he was with me today

[Jackknifed_Juggernaut]

It wouldn’t bother me at all, unless it took more than a minute or so, and affected my schedule. I’d be pissed if s(he) tried to rush through my appointment afterwards.

[Dewey_Finn]

@Me_Billy

@Slash1972

For the people who don’t think it is a big deal:

What if you were at a grocery store, and instead of ringing you up right away, the cashier said “Hold on, I have to take this call”?

Would you feel the same way?

What about a fast-food worker? Or a person at the DMV?

No that would be different. Those people work 8 hours a day. Doctors can work 36 hours straight! Get up in the middle of the night for an emergency, etc.

The OP is about a primary care physician/GP being seen during office hours. He’s not working 36 hours straight (those insane hours were traditionally part of the training for interns and residents, but don’t apply to doctors once they start practicing), nor is he likely to get up in the middle of the night for an emergency (that’s what the emergency department is for).

In short, the doctor is also working eight hours a day.

[even_sven]

Wouldn’t bother me. Flexibility works two ways, and I’d rather have a more flexible doctor than a less flexible one.

[pendgwen]

@Dewey_Finn

The OP is about a primary care physician/GP being seen during office hours. He’s not working 36 hours straight (those insane hours were traditionally part of the training for interns and residents, but don’t apply to doctors once they start practicing), nor is he likely to get up in the middle of the night for an emergency (that’s what the emergency department is for).

In short, the doctor is also working eight hours a day.

Well, yes and no. There are specialties where attending physicians still work very long hours. Certain surgeons for instance, may have clinic during the day and then be on call for emergency cases at all hours. There are also plenty of rural areas where primary care physicians care for their patients in the hospital and/or cover the Emergency Department. We don’t actually know what kind of hours nearwildheaven’s doctor keeps. None of which invalidates the basic point that he shouldn’t answer a personal call in the middle of seeing a patient.

[Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge]

@even_sven

Wouldn’t bother me. Flexibility works two ways, and I’d rather have a more flexible doctor than a less flexible one.

Exactly. It would make me think he is available if I ever needed to talk to him.

[spamforbrains]

Unless it’s an emergency, no one should ever take a personal call at work unless they are on a break. Taking a call to check if it’s an emergency should take less than a minute. Very unprofessional and most people would be fired if they took personal calls.

[Tim_T-Bonham.net]

@nearwildheaven

It was nothing serious, but while I was in the examination room, his phone “rang” and when he pulled it out of his pocket, he said, “I need to take this” and from my end, it sounded like he was talking to his wife about a motorcycle they were buying, and he also mentioned something about golf.

So presumably you pulled out your cell phone and made a call of your own?

[psychobunny]

I almost never take personal calls at work but every once in awhile I have a true emergency or am trying to reach somebody for an important call but I always try to make it as quick as possible and apologize profusely. That said, should patients take personal calls during a visit?. I can’t count how many times I enter an exam room and have to sit and wait for 2-3 minutes while somebody wraps up a call, or have to stop in the middle of an exam for them to answer a call from their kid or from their work. I’ve sat for up to 10 minutes waiting for somebody to finish a call while they give me the “just one minute” finger. Personally, I think that is just as rude because your call is making me late for the next patient.