But the work-week sucked.

Too busy..

Yesterday was actually all right, though. Met lots of nice patients and did some good clinical medicine.

That's the prize...

3catwoman3

(23,975 posts)

5. I am away from the pediatric office...

Reply to Aristus (Reply #4)

Sat Apr 14, 2018, 01:09 AM

Apr 2018

...this week (visiting my mom, who just turned 96), and I don't miss it one little bit. It will soon be summer check up season - school, camp, and sports physicals. It always exhausting. Especially the teenage girls - they have headaches, stomach aches, stress interferes with their daily lives, etc, etc, etc. Appointments are 20 minutes long, which is no where near long enough to address a laundry list of concerns, so I am always behind.

A couple of years ago, I finally wised up to a better way to conclude a visit. I no longer say, "Any questions, " as.. all too often, that opens up the dreaded, "by the way, as long as I'm here" Pandora's box. I now say, any questions about today's discussion.

Very recently, I changed how I ask the Review of Systems. There is one mom who answers "yes" to pretty much every question. "Any nosebleeds?" Yes, he had one 6 months ago." Now, I get very specific - "Related to this illness, this appointment, has there been any...". I think it helps. Never too late to learn a new trick.

I would do well baby visits all day long if I could.

I have been a peds NP for almost 42 years. It's getting really close to the time to call it quits. My employers want 18 months notice of retirement plans. I don't know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow. How the hell do I know what I will want to do in 18 months?

Aristus

(66,328 posts)

7. Those are very effective techniques for getting what you want from a patient.

Reply to 3catwoman3 (Reply #5)

Sat Apr 14, 2018, 10:12 AM

Apr 2018

I do the same thing.

"Any questions about what we just discussed?" Keeps the focus on the current issue, instead of going down bunny trails, the clock ticking the whole time.

Still, no matter how focused I keep the visit, there will always be that one person who waits until your hand is on the doorknob, and then hits you with "Oh, one more thing..."

And then we're off to the races...

3catwoman3

(23,975 posts)

10. I know what you mean about the hand on the door knob timing.

Reply to Aristus (Reply #7)

Sat Apr 14, 2018, 11:04 AM

Apr 2018

Those 3 little words, "By the way..." make my blood run cold, because it is never, "By the way, he has a hangnail." It's "By the way, he's had headaches for 3 years, is constipated all the time, and isn't doing well in school," at the end of an appointment for an earache.

Or, when a parent makes an appointment for one child, and then brings 2 others, says nothing to the front desk about wanting to have the others looked at, and once you are examining the child with the appointment, asks you to look at one or both of the others, saying, "It'll only take a second." Nothing only takes a second - not even saying "it'll only take a second."

Aristus

(66,328 posts)

11. Oh, I hate that!

Reply to 3catwoman3 (Reply #10)

Sat Apr 14, 2018, 11:20 AM

Apr 2018

That's just one of many reasons why I hate pedes visits, and ask the scheduler to keep them off my roster. It's never the patient. Most children I have visited with have been absolute angels. It's the parents that I end up wanting to strangle...

And the parents who hit you with unscheduled and very time-consuming issues that slow you down and make you late for your next visit are always the ones who complain because they had to wait while you were dealing with another "Oh, one more thing..." patient.