7 Minute Dr.

There was a March 22 Op-Ed piece in the NYTimes entitled "The Doctor Will See You For Exactly Seven Minutes" (May have to log in to the times to access the article). Yesterday when I went to the doctor for a physical this article came to life for me.

First I had to wait in the waiting room for about an hour. When my name was called I was a bit excited to finally think I was closer to getting out of there. However, I did not see the doctor for another forty minutes (btw, there was not THAT many patients that this should be going on). Once I finally saw the doctor he came in and asked his series of generic questions to gauge what was going on with me and he left. Total time with doctor so far: 4 minutes.
I filled up a cup, and sat in the room for another 15 minutes, then had blood drawn. I got a wee bit lightheaded after the blood draw probably because of my lack of eating before hand, so the nurses as they tend to do are overcautious which is good. They got the doctor who peeked his head in for another minute to tell me I look the same color as my shirt (which was a green Jets shirt). Total time with doctor now: 5 minutes.
When I got my color back I got up and was ready to leave. On my way out I overheard the doctor talking about the hospital where I will be doing my first affiliation, so I stopped and tried to have a conversation with him about the hospital. His first question was what program I was in. I replied with the school name and that I was in my 1st year of a 3 year doctoring program. He assumed this was a PhD program as some people may do when they hear a doctoral program. Then he reminded me to be back next Monday to check on the PPD skin test I had.
Final amount of time spent with doctor: 7 minutes (with 2 minutes that I incited)

So for the 150 minutes or so that I was at the doctors office I actually saw him for 7 minutes in a clinic that was not terribly busy... I just do not get it... Back to the Times article, I sensed "a malaise within the doctor [system] that has eroded the respect [I] feel patients deserve." He was semi-pleasant as a physician, seemed competent at checking my vitals, but it really was not a pleasant experience overall. The article also had suggested that as the patient we can make the system better by demanding a better visit. Perhaps I will switch my PCP but how many "mills" do I have to go to before I find a little old doctor who doesn't have great facilities because he has cut out a few patients by seeing others more than 7 minutes.

This all brings me to two points.
1. I am in a Doctorate of Physical Therapy program (DPT), this is a clinical degree and considered to be entry-level into the field of Physical Therapy. There is also a PhD program which is an academic degree, it is based more on research and "the philosophy of PT". I don't expect every other health care professional to know that, but it would be nice if people knew these differences. But it is better than being labeled "people who do massage".

2. This is the main reason that I chose PT over medicine. Yes it is true, I was pre-med my 1st year in undergrad. But upon further examination I wanted to be able to spend time with the patient to be able to really understand what is going on with them. I have never looked back at my decision with regret solely because of the patient first attitude. I really believe in Physical Therapy when carried out correctly.

Speaking of which I am going to go study for mucho exams this week, right after I go wish my Grandpa a happy bday, and complete my mother's accounting work for the week.
Hope everyone is doing great :-D