This is why I always bring a book with me.
ummm, back to my questions please. Anything else I should look for or beware of or do to be courteous? After all, it is not my home, but the doctors office.
Should you take your socks off? Or leave them on?
Eirik, unfortunately, the people who are late and the people who are mad that you are running late are not always the same people. I don’t recall ever having been late to a doctor’s appointment; though I’m tardy for most things in my life, I tend to hold something like a doctor’s time pretty dear, and try to spare it as much as possible. I aim for 10-15 minutes early to the doctor - and no, I don’t get mad when I have to wait my self-imposed 10-15 minutes, the annoyance clock starts about five minutes after my appointment time.
Qadgop, I can understand your point, but I’ve had doctors in the past who were never less than an hour behind schedule unless you had one of the first 2 or 3 appointments in the morning, and not always even then. My GP when I was a kid is an example of this. We’d go to his office a few minutes before our appointment, check in with the receptionist for the minimum wait time and then go away for an hour or two and come back when he was finally ready for us. This went on for years, and as my mother still sees him, I know it continues to this day.
The first doctor I had when I moved here was almost as consistent. I only saw her four times. The first time she was almost on time, the next three times, she was about 45 minutes late. I found a new doctor, not because she wasn’t a good doctor but because her inability to schedule was a major pain in the ass. If it’s so common to have these little emergencies crop up throughout the day, maybe you need to pad some blank time into your day to help recover the lost time.
As a rule, I like it when patients don’t ramble on and on about something, only to find that it has nothing to do with why they’re here.
Don’t schedual important meetings across town for 20 minutes after the start of your appointment. Even when I’m running ahead of schedual, it’s tough to work with someone checking their watch every 30 seconds.
I think I’ve mentioned cell phones and pagers, turn them OFF! And if you forget and it rings, please don’t answer it and have a 10 minute conversation. And if you’re on call or have to have it on, please let me know before I start the exam so I can expect it.
Don’t open the drawers or play with the equipement. Ideally, please don’t pick it up (unless you notice that it’s been dropped on the floor and missed. Then, I’ll give you a genuine thanks!)
Don’t play with the up and down switch on the exam chair. I know it’s fun, but you don’t want to hit the ejection switch by accident. 
Though I need to know your medical history, at least in my field I don’t need to know the details of your last colenoscopy.
If you bring in your purse or packages with you into the exam room, don’t clutch them on your lap. I’m not rich, but I promise I won’t steal them, and they get in the way of some of my instruments. If possible, don’t set them on the floor next to the exam chair either, since then I’ll just step on them or trip over them.
(Optometry specific) Don’t get mad at me because the optician at the last office sold you glasses that make you look fat, old, or idiotic. I just write the Rx, I don’t sell glasses, and didn’t sell you your last pair.
If a piece of equipment fails at an inopportune time (like a bulb burned out or something) don’t get mad, these things happen. Typically takes a couple minutes to fix. If it’s worse than that, then we’ll reschedual.
This is going to sound a bit rude, but bathing at some point in the 48 hour period before coming in is appreciated. I’ve had patients who have violated this rule and it’s not fun…
Sorry if a lot of this seems a little huffy or bitter, beleive it or not I actually enjoy most days and most of what I’ve said are reletivly minor pet peeves.
and with that, my assistant just told me there’s a patient waiting, so ta-ta. 
Guess I’ve been lucky, 'cause I rarely have to wait terribly long to see my GP, and on the rare occasions when there <b>has</b> been a delay (such as visiting emerg or at the height of flu season), I mostly feel sympathy for the harried doc.
As for rules, I think the the basic rules of decency apply – regardless of the business or industry, I certainly wouldn’t want a client rifling through my drawers (no innuendo intended) while waiting, and most examining rooms I’ve seen have a small stack of magazines to flip through for amusement.
Neither would I want my own clients wandering from room to room, so staying put only seems respectful (and not really so difficult).
I’m surprised to see medical-types mentioning complaints or body odor or late patients. I guess I forget that there are folks with bad manners and poor hygiene in every crowd.
Right now, where I live (north of Toronto) there’s an unwritten “social” rule amid the SARS panic – coughing in the waiting room will <b>not</b> win you any awards for popularity. (Zowie, one teensy little cold can sure earn a lot of upset glares.)
Here’s to your health…
Be that way, then! Drag this thread back to its original purpose!
I think Eirik summed it up rather nicely.
One last thing: If you’ve undressed, please don’t sit in the doctor’s chair!
I was joking…I am always smiling. Can’t you see? I appreciate everyone’s responses!
Lance you marine you, I was joking too! Didn’t you see my smiley with the big grin? Appreciate my sense of humor or your next prostate check will be more unpleasant than necessary! (also a joke)
Lance: you’re a grown man with children and you’re asking whether you can ‘spin around in the chair?’
QTM: is it proper/acceptable to address you as ‘Doc?’ It’s a habit I picked up in the navy, and my DDS and Opht have never COMPLAINED, but I didn’t mean to presume. I consider it an acknowledgement and a friendly greeting at the same time. Of course, I’m not in prison right now so I could get another doc in a heartbeat…
In re: late patients – Is my FP the only one left in the world who will not wait for you if you’re not there when you’re scheduled, and will make no accomodations unless you’ve called ahead of time to let his staff know that you’re running late?
Frankly, I appreciate that. In this era of constant connectedness, there’s no reason why someone can’t call to say “Hey, I got stuck in a meeting and I’m running behind, can the doctor still see me, or could I come in at the end of the day or something?” We expect to be able to call in and see the doctor quickly when we feel that we have an emergency, why shouldn’t we be as flexible when dealing with them in emergencies (or worse, our own lack of planning, etc.) which cause us to run late?
stockton: “doc” is ok, but not optimal. If every patient addressed me that way all day long, I’d snap. “What’s up, doc?” is something best left said only by those under the age of 10.
tlw, late patients sometimes drove me nuts, but I generally tried to accomodate them. Reason: lots of times it would be a single mom, struggling to make 3 bus connections with 3 kids under the age of 6 in tow, thru the snow, to get their checkups and shots. I make no value judgements about how she got in that situation, I just tried to recognize the fact that she was indeed trying her best to do the right thing that day under difficult circumstances.
Cleops, I work mainly as an emergency doctor (and thus most of my patients are unscheduled, or I would do as you advise). Lots of people mistake it for a walk in clinic and are offended if they have to wait 45 minutes for me to look at their sore throat. I do some family practice, too, an it would be rare for my patient to be waiting more than 20 minutes after their scheduled time. I’m bitching about the cliche, in general. If you are waiting two hours, you certainly have every right to bitch too.
I often introduce myself without the doctor, and don’t care if people call me by my first name. It only feels like a prison due to the SARS precautions.
If you’re diabetic, you’re supposed to take your shoes and socks off, so that the doctor can examine your feet. No, I’m not kidding.
And wash them too…egad, the smell of a diabetic foot!
A diabetic should indeed have their feet examined at every visit, especially if they have neuropathy (stocking and glove parasthesia). Feet stink in general. I’ve never been crazy about them, I must say. I neither mind nor enjoy being called “doc”, but lots of doctors hate it. “What’s up, doc” is a minor nuisance.
I appreciate your response, Doctor.
Thanks to all for their responses! Everyone seemed to jump on this question. How come nobody is answering my asparagus question?
Why? Is your asparagus sick?