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By Brooks A. Mick, M.D.
Oct. 26, 2006 I make a lot of phone calls to various households. Most of them are to inquire about the health of a patient I have seen or to report a lab report that has been reported to me in the evening when I'm on call for other physicians. Consistently over the past 15 years, I have been impressed at how ill-mannered and downright rude and unhelpful many black folk are when they answer the phone. --------------------------- Hello, who's this? "This is Dr. Mick. I'm trying to reach Bill Smith." Who? "I'm Dr. Mick." There's no Dr. Mick here. "I'm Dr. Mick, and I'm trying to reach Bill Smith." He's not here. "Where or when could I reach him?" There's no Bill Smith lives here. "You just said he's not here." Why do you want him? "I have some lab reports he needs to know about." Who are you? "I...AM... DR.... MICK!" Oh, Dr. Mick! Why didn't you say so? I'll get him. ------------------------- You might consider the above funny or think it's rare, but nearly the same conversation goes on every day or two in almost the exact same words. Only the name has been changed to protect the guilty. ------------------------- Tonight I had a lab report called to me about another doctor's patient, someone I know nothing about, and the only way I have to contact them is the phone number the lab has given me. I called and got an answering machine and left a very detailed message, the lab values, the possible diseases and symptoms, and instructions on what to do. The patient was a man. About 2 minutes later I got a phone call. "Hello, this is Dr. Mick." Woman's voice? Why the hell did you call this number? "I left a very detailed message on the answering machine. Did you listen to it?" Shouting: No I didn't! "I called to leave lab reports and you should listen to the message." Screaming: Why the hell are you calling here and giving me this attitude? This is my phone and you can't call here and talk that way! "I'm a doctor who is trying to help a patient named Bill Smith and I have lab reports for him." Who? "I'm Dr. Mick and I'm calling Bill Smith." I don't know any Dr. Mick. "I'm sure you don't, but I'm calling for another doctor who has seen Mr. Smith." Who? "Mr. Bill Smith. Is he there?" Yes, he is. "Can you get him for me?" Hey Bill, there's some nasty guy on the phone wanting to talk to you about something. He's got no right calling here and talking the way he does. Long pause. Hello, this is Bill Smith. "Hi, Mr. Smith. Your lab tests show possible kidney trouble and liver trouble and if you are feeling bad you should go right to the emergency room. If you are feeling OK you can wait till morning but you need to call your doctor early in the day so he can evaluate these lab values. I called his voice mail and left the reports for him so he'll know what you are calling about." Thanks, Doc. Sorry for the trouble. "No trouble Mr. Smith. I hope everything works out OK." --------------------------- Frequently people give us contact numbers which are not in service or belong to someone else. It is strange. It certainly makes delivering medical care difficult. I wonder if this could account for some of the difficulty in getting hired for more responsible jobs. You think? ------------ About the author Brooks A. Mick: Physician, still practicing medicine but retired from the US Army. Write just for the fun of it, but working on novel in the vein of Tom Clancy's politico-military genre. Email: brooks15@cox.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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