Doctors' Offices Long Wait

I used to be mad at doctors for the long wait. Example. The appointment is for 9 a.m. I sit in the waiting area for almost an hour waiting to be ushered into one of the examination rooms. Sometimes I get the impression doctors behave like hair salons. They don’t tell you there are four people already in the 3 p.m. slot. Therefore, it is no longer 3 p.m. if the hair is washed at 4.30.

I’m no longer mad at the medical profession because I found a way out. I book just-before-closing appointments. If the clinic closes at 4, I request a 3.30 appointment. It works like a charm. One day I found the doctor waiting for me at the Nurses’ Station. She said I was her last patient for the day. I gave her a sweet smile and waltzed in. No, I wasn't late. I was expected.

But what if I’m responsible for the long wait? Sometimes we go to the doctor when we are not sick, we just need somebody to talk to. We pretend to be sick, like certain people in the office, notorious for that. We sit there and cough and imaginary cough. Doctors pump the arm and other basic examination. There is nothing wrong with us. Doctors listen to stories about daughters living in a tent under the bridge because they hate rules, sons that dropped out of school to pursue Tik Tok and YouTube careers, tenants who don’t want to pay rent and the government that stops payments when it finds out we don’t have a disability.

We don’t have anybody to talk to because the people we live with do not want to be disturbed. The allocated 24 hours a day belongs to faceless people on the internet. I understand we also pay them for looking at their bodies. We confide in doctors because they won’t tell members of the extended family  we complain, that ‘extended’ is too much in a two-bedroom apartment with one bath. 

Doctors are doctors, not therapists. You are alone. You’ll always be alone, whether you live with another person or six others. Their real family lives in their phones and computers. What is the solution? If you can’t beat them, join them. Find and internet family. Just kidding. It can be a dangerous place if you click the wrong button.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger