# Rules at the Doctor's Office **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619 "2003-04-23T16:32:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LanceUSMC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/0ea827/32.png) [@LanceUSMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LanceUSMC)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/1 "2003-04-23T16:32:04Z")
I went to the doctor this morning and was wondering some stuff while waiting in the examining room. The nurse/receptionist brought me to the examining room to wait for the doctor, and pointed at the chair, telling me to have a seat. After she walks out: Is it proper to walk around looking at all of the diagrams on the wall (i.e. skeletons pictures, ear charts, etc.) or should I just sit there and wait? (I would think some of them are there for looking and there are no magazines around) Can I sit in the doctor’s chair and ‘spin around’? How about when I take my son to the pediatrician, can he spin around? (I used to do it when I was younger). Is it proper to offer my hand to the doctor to shake it and either introduce myself or say hi since the last visit? (I have noticed a lot of doctors do not do this, but today this new one did). Just wondering. Anyone? Lance ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/2 "2003-04-23T16:41:02Z")
I don’t know if this has a factual answer, it sounds like more of an IMHO to me. But here’s the rules I go by: Look but don’t touch. That means, yes, you can get up and walk around. Don’t leave the exam room, though - you don’t know when the doctor will come in. Spinning around is okay, as long as you spin it back. Remember, some of the swivel chairs and stools can actually unscrew themselves if you spin enough. My doctors are polite enough to say hello and shake my hand. However, if I think I have a communicable disease, I’ll spare them the handshake. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/3 "2003-04-23T16:44:33Z")
I was in a doctors office a few weeks ago where there was actually a sign that said “Please don’t use the examination gloves to make balloons”. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/4 "2003-04-23T16:51:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LanceUSMC \* > **Is it proper to walk around looking at all of the diagrams on the wall (i.e. skeletons pictures, ear charts, etc.) or should I just sit there and wait? (I would think some of them are there for looking and there are no magazines around)** My doctor has some great posters on his walls, and I’m usually studying them when he comes in. I like them because they use real terms, not health-book terms. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/5 "2003-04-23T17:10:10Z")
Walk around all you want, look at what you want, spin in my chair. I wouldn’t care. But stay generally available. I work my ass off to minimize your waiting time, often delaying my lunch by as much as two hours to do so. How come you bitch about waiting at the doctor, but not a dentist or an oil and filter? When you get your car repaired do you walk off before you’ve discussed the problem with a mechanic or their flunky? ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/6 "2003-04-23T17:41:40Z")
I thought it was considered good professional practice to introduce yourself and greet all your patients. “Good morning Mr Suchandsuch, I’m Dr Soandso, what can I help you with today?” It’s only manners. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/7 "2003-04-23T17:46:02Z")
Don’t spin in the chair if you’re there for problems with dizzyness. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/8 "2003-04-23T18:01:41Z")
Doctors probably should always greet their patient by name, I once had a consultation where the doctor didn’t do this and it took ten minutes for him to realise he had the wrong patient-papers with him. If he greeted me with the name (from off the papers) we could have sorted that out straight away. It’s an error reduction method that also is polite. ---
**Author:** ![LanceUSMC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/0ea827/32.png) [@LanceUSMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LanceUSMC)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/9 "2003-04-23T18:38:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dr\_Paprika \* > \*\*How come you bitch about waiting at the doctor, but not a dentist or an oil and filter? When you get your car repaired do you walk off before you’ve discussed the problem with a mechanic or their flunky? \*\* Wow. I almost felt as though you were talking directly to me. No, I never leave the office. And I rarely bitch about waiting. The only time I do is with the pediatrician because it seems they stack up on patients, and they have the revolving door effect. They are also the main culprits with the lack of hand shaking. The doctor I went to today was great. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/10 "2003-04-23T20:37:56Z")
Rules at my office: You may sit and converse quietly in the waiting area, but no walking around, loud talk, or chatting with the desk clerk. When called for your appointment, cease talking with your neighbors immediately and follow me. Wait until I ask you before telling me your concerns. You will get the opportunity, but when I decide the time is right. You may address me as “Doctor” or “Sir” but not by my first name, nor by my last name alone without the title. I will you address you as “Mr.” or “Ms.” unless you direct me otherwise. Don’t ask about how my family is doing, nor what I’ve been up to outside of work. I won’t tell you. Tuck in your shirt before you leave my office or you will be subjected to disciplinary action. More to follow QtM, MD Physician to maximum security prisoners. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/11 "2003-04-23T20:39:39Z")
Oh, by the way: I probably won’t shake your hand, as I don’t know just what you did with it to become my patient. Its nothing personal ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/12 "2003-04-23T21:19:16Z")
So…your prisoners, I mean patients… are supposed to call you **Sir Mercotan**? I’ll have to remember that one. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/13 "2003-04-23T21:26:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dr\_Paprika \* > \*\*How come you bitch about waiting at the doctor, but not a dentist or an oil and filter? When you get your car repaired do you walk off before you’ve discussed the problem with a mechanic or their flunky? \*\* Unacknowledged fear issues, probably. They don’t really _want_ to be there. They don’t _want_ to know what that strange little lump in their scrotum is. They’d prefer to keep pretending it’s nothing, but their wife finally nagged them into this appointment. Any excuse, therefore, to stomp away before the examination, blaming the decision to do so on somebody else (and not incidentally transforming the repressed fear into external anger), will be eagerly seized. Then they can go back to their lives of peaceful denial, until the spouse pesters them into scheduling another doctor visit two years later. That’s my opinion, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/14 "2003-04-23T22:29:07Z")
I don’t bitch about waiting at my mechanic because when I make a 10 o’clock appointment, I can safely assume he will see me no later than 10:15. In my historical experience with doctors[1] a 10:00 appointment is unlikely to start before 11:00 and on many occasions may not begin until after noon. The record is a consultation with a gastroenterologist that was scheduled for 10:30AM: I didn’t see him until about 1:20 in the afternoon. Also, on those rare occasions when my mechanic is more than five or ten minutes late, he begins the conversation with an apology for keeping me waiting, which goes a long way to smoothing things over. [1] ] Note: not including my current GP who is a marvel of scheduling and who has never seen me more than 30 seconds late for any appointment. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/15 "2003-04-23T22:35:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by USCDiver \* > \*\*So…your prisoners, I mean patients… are supposed to call you **Sir Mercotan**? I’ll have to remember that one. \*\* No, the knighthood deal didn’t go thru. Maybe after my Nobel prize… Other rules: I’m here to take care of your medical needs, not your wants. And I am the one to decide what you need. We can discuss what you think your needs are, and I will explain my decisions to you. But I still decide. Just because your previous doctor gave you as many vicodins as you wanted doesn’t mean I have to. Threatening to sue me won’t make me give you what you want. But I’ll still give you what you need, nonetheless. I’d best stop. This really isn’t GQ material anymore. ---
**Author:** ![guava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@guava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guava)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/16 "2003-04-23T22:36:47Z")
When my doctor asks “How are you?” I have a terrible time resisting saying “Fine” even when I’m burning up with fever and dripping like a faucet from my nose. ---
**Author:** ![LanceUSMC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/0ea827/32.png) [@LanceUSMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LanceUSMC)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/17 "2003-04-23T23:08:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*Rules at my office: > no walking around, loud talk, or chatting with the desk clerk. > When called for your appointment, cease talking > Wait until I ask you before telling me your concerns. > You may address me as “Doctor” or “Sir” > Don’t ask about how my family is doing, nor what I’ve been up to outside of work. I won’t tell you. > \*\* I was sitting there thinking this has to be a joke. Remind me to stay out of jail. Also, Dr Paprika, thank you. Lance ---
**Author:** ![Eirik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b19c9b/32.png) [@Eirik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eirik)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/18 "2003-04-23T23:32:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jacquilynne \* > \*\*I don’t bitch about waiting at my mechanic because when I make a 10 o’clock appointment, I can safely assume he will see me no later than 10:15. In my historical experience with doctors[1] a 10:00 appointment is unlikely to start before 11:00 and on many occasions may not begin until after noon. The record is a consultation with a gastroenterologist that was scheduled for 10:30AM: I didn’t see him until about 1:20 in the afternoon. Also, on those rare occasions when my mechanic is more than five or ten minutes late, he begins the conversation with an apology for keeping me waiting, which goes a long way to smoothing things over. > > [1] ] Note: not including my current GP who is a marvel of scheduling and who has never seen me more than 30 seconds late for any appointment. \*\* I’m going to bitch for a moment here, because this drives me nuts from the other side of things. I’m a small time optometrist who has a slow enough practice to be able to pad out his schedual a bit so that I rarely go overtime on my own. However, I have had _many_ days where I’ve had a good schedual thrown out of whack because a patient shows up 15 or 20 minutes late. The excuse that I’ve heard more than once is, I thought that you’d be behind. I wasn’t, but _now_ I am. I’m just a little too wishy-washy to tell people that I’m going to have to reschedual them unless seeing them will back up an entire afternoon. Thankfully, my assistant has more backbone and she’ll do it. The cake-taker in my last three years was a woman who showed up over 30 minutes late for my final appointment of the day (6:30 p.m., she showed around 7pm) and was angry that I’d left about 10 minutes before. Mind you, she didnt’ call to tell me she’d be late. Beleive me, it helps the doctor stay on time if you show up a few minutes before your appointment in case there is any paperwork to fill out. (I’ve had people _shocked_ that I need them to fill out _anything_) and wait. As for other matters, I don’t mind if i see people looking at the charts or diplomas on the wall when I walk in (though typically I take the patient myself from the waiting area, so this is rare). I even allow children and familym members back if the patient would like that… though I do like it when the parents keep a tight leash on their kids. I do ask that people turn _off_ the cellular phones, though. I’ve had more than one exam hindered by a call coming in that they _have_ to take. ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/19 "2003-04-23T23:50:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dr\_Paprika \* > \*\*Walk around all you want, look at what you want, spin in my chair. I wouldn’t care. But stay generally available. I work my ass off to minimize your waiting time, often delaying my lunch by as much as two hours to do so. How come you bitch about waiting at the doctor, but not a dentist or an oil and filter? When you get your car repaired do you walk off before you’ve discussed the problem with a mechanic or their flunky? \*\* Remind me to avoid making an appointment at Doc Paprika’s office. Gee. How about not cramming so many patients in so you don’t miss your lunch, which seems to make you real cranky? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619/20 "2003-04-24T00:13:17Z")
**cleops** , what do you want us to do with the patients who just show up, bleeding, or with a severe asthma attack, or with chest pains of a cardiac nature? Tell them to wait until we can work them in, so we can stay on schedule? I’ve had all those types of patients, and many worse, just **show up!**. Even if we call 911 to get them outta our office real fast, we still have to stay with them, stabilize them, try to do what we can for them. I spend 20+ minutes with a seizing child, end up 30 minutes behind, and get scolded for “not running my practice efficiently” by the next patient, who’s there for routine business. That was in private practice. And even now, an occasional inmate will get upset about us “not running on time”. To which I now reply “oh well”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rules-at-the-doctors-office/170619.md?page=2)