If you don't know, who does???

[skeptic53]

Patient came in with two separate multi-page forms to be completed for light duty at work. The forms ask a lot of specific questions: How long can he stand/walk/bend/stoop/crawl/reach etc etc etc ad nauseum. HR departments are extremely picky, ALL questions have to be answered SPECIFICALLY.

For every... single... question.... his answer was "I uhnno". It was like pulling teeth to get him to give me a specific. Between the two sets of forms there were probably 100 questions. I had to ask him 3 or 4 times, propose possible answers, and finally practically yell at him to get any idea of what he can do.

Of course, I could just make it up myself based on his exam. But if the forms are not completed in a way that satisfies him and his HR makes him do stuff he feels he can't, or they tell him he can't work at all, who is he going to blame? Ayup. You got it.

15 minute appointment lasted 35 minutes. Next patient says "You know, my time is valuable! I have to be someplace right naow!!!"

I wanted to strangle the first guy. And the second guy, now that I think of it.

[Sparklyturtle]

It's always annoyed me when someone tells me how valuable their time is, as though mine isn't. I got this all the time when I worked at a military clinic; I'd be told, "I'm on flight status!", as though that was supposed to make me magically produce an appointment from thin air just for them. I also heard, "I'm a general!" which also didn't impress me, especially when said general told me when he was coming to be seen, and by jiggies we'd better have an appointment for him right them. No, didn't happen. I gave appointments on a first come, first served basis, and the only patients who got priority were those who were active duty military. And they were also first come, first served. I wasn't about to bump an E1 just because some general wanted his/her appointment. Now, to be fair, most of the active duty patients who were high ranking were pretty decent; the one who was always wanting me to bump people was a retired general. I always gave him appointments with our department chair, who was easily one of the best bosses I've ever worked for - he was a pretty mellow guy, but he tolerated no nonsense out of patients and he didn't care who they were. He also didn't tolerate it out of doctors, which was a wondrous thing to behold.

As for someone who doesn't know their own medical history and their own limitations, I don't understand why people who are supposedly adults don't know this about themselves. Granted, I worked in medical admin for close to 30 years, and knowing my own medical history is like second nature to me; I actually had a doctor tell me to quit showing off when I rattled off that I'd had endoscopic retrograde cholangiopantreatography because of a gallstone hung up in my biliary tree instead of ERCP, which is the way everyone else says it. She was a very good doctor, and I have to confess that yes, I did like to show off a bit.

[Catwoman2965]

As for someone who doesn't know their own medical history and their own limitations, I don't understand why people who are supposedly adults don't know this about themselves. Granted, I worked in medical admin for close to 30 years, and knowing my own medical history is like second nature to me; I actually had a doctor tell me to quit showing off when I rattled off that I'd had endoscopic retrograde cholangiopantreatography because of a gallstone hung up in my biliary tree instead of ERCP, which is the way everyone else says it. She was a very good doctor, and I have to confess that yes, I did like to show off a bit.

This made me laugh because I've had TWO...and while I know the actual long winded term for it, I cannot even begin to pronounce it. I only know that I got pancreatitis from both of mine, and now that I'm on the "five year plan" i like to tease my dr. about it.

[Pixelated]

I recently applied to change doctors, and the prospective new doctor (whom I haven't heard from, so I guess I didn't get in) had a two-page form for prospective patients to fill out. That's understandable, but I had to a bit at questions about dates of surgery (and the surgeon's name, if possible). The first major surgery I had was THIRTY YEARS AGO ... and that is ALL I can remember about it. The exact date? Who the f*ck knows? It's not like I hold anniversary dinners or something. And the name of the surgeon? Seriously?? I could've given him the name of my family doctor at the time, if that would've helped ...

But the questions your client was being asked were quite reasonable. If he "dunno" then for crying out loud, guesstimate. Or try bending over, and counting each bend, until you fall over.

[Slave to the Phone]

When I get customers who do the grunting thing I will ask "is that a yes or a no?" twice. The third time I tell them "These are yes and no questions. If you can't or won't answer them, I will terminate the interview."

As for the I dunno folks, I don't care. It makes the interview easier because I can just note "client did not know his daughter's birthday. requested from client", and then put it in the letter we send.

Many years ago, probably...oh gawd, this is horrible, I'm now thinking about my age...I wasn't old enough to drink, so its been about a billion years ago....I got fixed.

I had to do the math and its too depressing to even think about. Anyhow, 1974. No idea about the month or doctor's name.

[Shyla]

I didn't know what ERCP was until a liver biopsy went bad and I needed it to go in and clean up the problem. I can do lots of medical terms but never bothered with that one. I am pretty good at disability forms. If he can't be bothered to answer, either he deserves to not get disability or his IQ is less than 60.