Seriously this is getting VERY AGGRAVATING!
First my endo’s nurse COMPLETELY drops the ball on the labwork I had done 6 weeks ago… to the point of LYING TO ME that my results were NOT in yet, when in fact they all were, she just NEVER bothered to check. It took contacting my CDE about another issue 3 weeks after I should have had the results and asking her to look into what was going on with my labwork to get that straightened out (and even that was a nightmare). I know from the timestamps on the labwork that it was never received in my endo’s office prior to that day (everything is digitally signed)… and to top it off I have an email from my endo’s nurse 3 days after all of the lab results would have been ready telling me that NOT ALL OF IT WAS READY YET. She lied, I know she lied, and I’m not happy about it. I don’t really know what to do about it either.
As a result of what I contacted my CDE about, my endo requested that I see an allergist (I have a copy of the email she sent to her nurse) I was supposed to get a referral to an allergist within the larger medical practice my endo is a part of. Do you suppose that actually happened either? NO IT DID NOT!!! I don’t even know why I expected that it would have… her nurse is a total twat and can’t do anything right.
I am so angry right now… I know I should have called in sooner to make an appointment with allergy but with the end of school and going out of town for vacation and whatnot, this week is really the first chance I’ve had to check on it. I just kept assuming the referral was sent (or would be sent) and that I would be getting a call to schedule an appointment… but 3 weeks later it’s clear that it wasn’t going to happen.
UGH!
I so feel your pain! Now that you have vented, better?
It is completely ridiculous that people in professional offices can’t seem to act professionally. Your endo or the practice business manager need to know.
Either this will have to be straightened out or you may have to fire them and put in place a support team that you can trust. They are part of your team; they are supposed to help YOU. Regrettably, sometimes it is necessary to fire your doctor. I was told unanimously to do this by members of a different support group regarding another medical condition I am dealing with. It was the right decision. You have to decide whether circumstances warrant this.
Very frustrating! {{{hugs}}}
I would be all about firing her, but unfortunately I’m left with few options unless I start looking for an endo out of town. I’m not really sure I’m ready to take that leap yet. I actually like my endo, it’s her staff that just drives me up the wall… and unfortunately the only way to reach my doctor is through this nurse.
Things weren’t so bad before this “nurse” was hired… the one that worked for my endo before was MUCH better… always got labwork to me in a timely manner, but this one is just a complete flake… and unfortunately lives are literally in her hands. She’s an LVN put in a position of having WAY too much power… and she just plain SUCKS at her job.
Every doctors office has an office or practice manager who’s job it is to handle complaints. Get in touch with that person and voice your complaint. Who knows how many other folks this happens to? It might also be a good time to request a complete copy of your records and review them, you have the right to these records and they cannot legally refuse to give them to you, tho you may have to put your request in writing…
You should tell that your endo at the next appointment. If he defends her you will know that this will not improve. If he is willing to listen calmly there is some hope that she will get the message. You should stress that the problems are rooting in this person and that your experiences with the other members of his team was good so far.
I agree. Document your issues with her, dates/times/what happened, so you can give your doctor a complete list of your issues with this woman. Your doc may not even know this is happening.
I’m all for speaking up. I’ve fired 2 endos for different things, they just could not help me when I asked for help and I don’t think I was being unreasonable. Considering my new endo is working out for me exactly how I need, tells me the other 2 weren’t worthwhile.
They work for you, keep that in mind.
Take this to the top, as high as you can go - with specific examples, dates, etc. Try to leave out the emotion because they will label you as a crazy diabetic.
You are a medical consumer and paying for a service, which includes timely responses.
I have been dealing with dippy medical people for years and there are things that can be done. Does your clinic system have a patient relations department?
I have made it a rule to tell every doctor when he talks labs how I travel and need to have my latest lab work in my hands - FAX it, I’ll pick it up, or have the doc write that the lab should mail a copy to me.
I think your endo needs to know that there are communication problems in the office, that there needs to be a checklist given the nurse to help her perform her duties.
Oh - here’s another alternative: ask if she has an evaluation form she’d like filled out on her employees.
AND you can ask for a copy of lab records over the past year so you have them in hand.
Bummer, sorry to hear you’re having problems. I would bring it up with the Endo the next time you see him or her. If you don’t want to come across as whining, just say something like “I’d like to give you some feedback on your nursing and support staff”. Try to stay calm and get to the point.
Keep your chin up kid…
if you can’t change endos, maybe you can advise your doctor of the problem, i quit going to my former family doctor after his staff sent my father’s chart to my appointment. Granted we have the same name (never do that to your child) but our birthdays are significantly different. They also billed me for his appointment, and billed him for mine, and just completely screwed around altogether. We both have switched practices, and now see different doctors. What a mess! i don’t expect perfection, people make mistakes, accidents happen, but at least make a good faith effort.
Hee…not every pised off moment has to do with your BG. If you don’t want the slacker working your chart, I agree you need to speak with the practice manager and tell her what you want. You are probably not the only client she’s ticked off. My GP’s staff is pretty lame - if I need anything from them I have to stalk the office to get it done. Lucky for me the endro group is awesome…so I transferred everything I could, perscriptions, lab, etc to the Endro. Maybe you can threaten to do the reverse when you speak with the practice manager. I’d also ask if the lab you are using is electronically tied to the endro’s office, sounds like the dark ages, bet your endro file is 1/2 foot thick with paperwork!
It is electronic… the lab is within the same larger medical practice. Trust me there’s NO EXCUSE for what happened with the recent lab work other than incompetent staff and an overbooked doctor relying on said staff for too much, however I see it as the doctor can’t adequately do her job when her staff isn’t doing theirs… I really think they’re making things harder for her when her time is already very limited.
It’s ironic, I’ve had better luck getting lab results back when I use a different lab closer to my house (I usually do this for fasting labwork), I guess because the results are faxed and it comes to the attention of “someone” sooner.
I actually have some labwork I still need to get done, which I haven’t yet been in to do… I don’t know when/if I’ll get the results of that, so I haven’t been highly motivated to get there to do it, but I have my allergy appointment tomorrow so I’ll probably end up doing it then.
I agree with some of the others. Rat on the nurse. It is quite obvious she is not good at her job or is too damn lazy to do it. There might be others complaining too.
I really hate that. In this day and age where people are struggle to find a job, any job (me included). that there are people like that who get hired and don’t care that they have a job. If they did care, they would do their jobs right. It feels like you are doing their jobs for them when you are the client - it should be easier for you!
I feel like that though - like my whole life has “screw it up for me” stamped right on the front!
Hope it gets better for you! Let us know what happens!