This morning I went for a routine physical. I chose a practice located close to the ocean that had been highly recommended by someone I met at a picnic. The thought of going to a doctor that was just a few blocks from the beach was appealing to me. Somehow I thought this would be a different experience, and I was right.
As I drove down Sunset Cliffs Boulevard I turned my head to the right each time I passed through an intersection so I could see the ocean in the distance. I could smell the salt in the air. This was going to fun, I thought to myself, and I had a big silly smile on my face. I found a parking place on the street and walked around the corner to the entrance of the family practice.
The first thing I was struck by was how small the waiting/reception area was. It was about half the size of most waiting rooms. The furniture was made of a thick wicker, like something you’d see at Pier One Import. It took up almost all the space in the room. I figured that space is at a premium so close to the ocean and people get by with smaller spaces.
I wrote my name on the patient log and told the receptionist that this was my first visit there. She looked at my name and then asked me how long ago I had scheduled my appointment. “About six weeks ago,” I said. I started to get a funny feeling in my stomache. “Well,” she said, “we don’t have any record of your appointment. Maybe we can squeeze you in somehow, but you might have to wait for awhile.”
I sat down and filled out my new patient paper work. I didn’t feel quite so happy now, and I became concerned that I might get a parking ticket if the appointment took too long. “How could this happen?” I thought to myself. “I’m sure I wrote down my appointment accurately.”
The other patients in the waiting area were friendly and sympathetic. “Dr. B. is worth the wait, you’ll see, she’s a real top rate doctor.” And then another woman said to me, “You can go before me if you want, I don’t mind.”
”It’s o.k.,” I said, “I’ll just go in whatever order they call me.” I was trying to act cool and chilled like everyone around me but it’s not easy because I’m not from California.
And then, out of the examining area a cute little dog came into the waiting room and sat down in front of me. I don’t really know dogs, but it was some kind of pug, or bull dog, the kind with a squished face. “Awwwwwwww, you are so cute,” I said as I petted him on the head. “Oh, you are a good doggie.” He was very happy to receive my attention. “Who does he belong to?” I said. But none of the other patients knew.
Surprisingly, my appointment was almost on schedule. The examining room was also extremely small, with very little room to navigate around. When Dr. B came in the room, the first thing she did was explain about the scheduling problem. “We switched over to a new computer system and lost a lot of the patient appointments in the process. Because of this mix up I have four complete physical exams I have to do this morning.”
I appreciated that she explained to me what happened, though I did wonder why the receptionist hadn’t been more forthcoming about the screwup. Everything went well with the exam. Dr. B had a reassuring and authoritative manner, and I found myself being more candid than I usually am with doctors.
After the appointment, I drove down to the beach so I could look at the ocean. It was a beautiful day, around 70 degrees. There was a lot of people walking around and hanging out. A skateboarder flew by. I was hungry because I had fasted for the doctors appointment, but I just wanted to be close to the ocean for awhile and take it in.
