Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Mary's Desk, February 24, 2010

Mary: "Dr. Grumpy's office, this is Mary."

Mrs. Gold: "Yeah, I have an appointment this afternoon, and wanted to make sure you have a TV there."

Mary: "Um, no..."

Mrs. Gold: "You don't have a TV in the lobby? My internist does."

Mary: "No, we never have."

Mrs. Gold: "How am I supposed to watch the Olympics?"

Mary: "Well... you are coming to see the doctor, not to..."

Mrs. Gold: "Just cancel me, then. I'll call back next week, to reschedule after they're over."

35 comments:

Flavius said...

Hi, I'm your DVR. Going somewhere today where you may not be able to watch your tv shows? Just simply press 'record' and I'll store your precious data for your convenience! Oh, I've also been around for over 10 years..

-Flavius

The Duchess said...

Really? Television is more important than her health? Honestly. I get that some people still don't have DVRs, but really...turn it off and go out in society for a while O_o

Grumpy, M.D. said...

But it's the OLYMPICS!

The Duchess said...

She might just miss out on some stellar ice dancing :)

Grumpy, M.D. said...

"stellar ice dancing" is an oxymoron.

Cheryl said...

I can't stand it anymore. It's just too much stupid. Can you start me on Fukitol right away???

Anonymous said...

Oxymorons are omnimorons are morons by any other name

ERP said...

Must have been an Ice Dancing fan.

C. said...

UGHHHHH.....My ortho has a TV in the waiting room and people are always jocking for the a seat to watch TV. WTF people. There is never anything good on anyway.

As far as the Olymptastics, they are repeated all day and night on all NBC stations. Take a break and go out side.

Anonymous said...

And do you charge for canceled appointments with less than 24-hours notice?

Kat's Kats said...

OMG! I'm getting a migraine. Hmmmm, maybe someone needs to come up with a list of doctors who do and do not have tvs in their offices. I know which ones I'd pick!


okay, I'll stick with my PCP, she never has anything silly on and the volume is always down, she's just too incredible to let that go against her.

bb said...

Well, there are priorities in life. Olympics? Attending to life?

Olympics win!

Chris said...

Doesn't want to miss the curling finals?

Chris said...

I see several doctors - NONE of them have TVs in their waiting rooms. Apparently I'm seeing the wrong doctors.......

Helen said...

The cardiology waiting room at my hospital has a TV. It is ALWAYS looping soaps, and always on mute - completely pointless. However, there are without fail one or two patients who are completely glued to it.

(If it was showing ice dancing, though, I'd probably watch.)

Homebody said...

FANtastic! Olympics before personal health. Love it!

GeePee said...

You should make your waiting list longer for patients like this - maybe if they had to wait a few months for another appointment, they'd be able to get their priorities straight.

Moose said...

I haven't owned a working TV since 1997.

I grew up watching TV. My mom claims that in my playpen I used to like to watch shows like Star Trek and I Spy. I remember the streams of reruns that filled weekends and some evenings, long before cable let there be other shows than the small pile that lived on in syndicated hell. In college I took to watching (gack!) a couple of soap operas.

Now I find places that have TVs on to be annoying and distracting. I take a book and, sometimes, my laptop with me everywhere. And, yeah, I don't get to watch the Olympics, I have to wait until $TV-Network (or Hulu, or whomever) posts the latest episode of the few shows I "watch".

Maybe it's old age :-), maybe I'm a candidate for being a GrumpyPatient, but I say WHO CARES? If the stupid TV is setting the schedule in your life I believe that you really need to re-evaluate your priorities.


Today's Captcha word is: Videnn. I think that was a character on Babylon 5.

Unknown said...

Oh hey, found myself here after lurking Candice's blog. So hello.

Ahhm, you might want to get a flat screen for your office and hush all the olympic haters.

Smocha said...

Holy crap. I'm in England and I haven't seen one second of the damn Olympics.

I consider myself LUCKY (and thrilled!) if I go to a doctors office and find a better magazine than an ancient Newsweek!

Who raises these people? lol

vicki said...

i just take a book ... that way when i get back to the "room" i can finish it ... the magazines are always out of date ... my PCP actually had a 1989 last week when i went ... it was hilarious.
i guess her health isn't her priority.

terri c said...

I think Mrs. Gold has an Axis II diagnosis.

Reality Jayne said...

Like I said .....Humans are ...really just trained apes.

OMDG said...

Did she expect a tv in the exam room as well?

Anonymous said...

I think lots of people put up with TV in wating rooms that really would prefer it be off.

A while ago I was in a (medical) lab waiting room and the receptionist told us we could change channels if we wanted to.

I suggested "OFF" and the other 4 or 5 people in the room all immediatly aggreed.
Seemed like everyone thought it was a given that the TV had to be on.
BTW: This was adults only, no kids to amuse etc.

Happy Vegemite said...

But gee, life happens everyday, and I can see a dr anytime, but the winter olympics are only every 4 years!!!! So of course it is only normal to cancel all appointments in order to watch them. You mean not everyone thinks that way?

Kimbra Kasch said...

Don't forget to stop by my blog today (Thursday) to pick up your award and play the game.

www.kimkasch.blogspot.com


:)

ian in hamburg said...

A simple diagnosis: he's Canadian, and a hockey game involving our national team was scheduled the same time as his appointment. Seen in this context, the request for TV access is a most reasonable one.

Anonymous said...

FYI

Just so you all know...according to the local paper here..'NEW FANS
GET SWEPT UP IN SPORT OF CURLING"

really? who? probably the same crazy ass people, who cancel appointments...can't really figure out that sport myself.

mm

Anonymous said...

Correct me if I am wrong, but arent the olympics every 4 years? and we have them in 2012 so she might have to wait a while to watch them.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if these videos can be viewed outside of Canada, but ctvplympics.ca has a video for just about every sport/ performance. Just choose your sport, and which event and away you go.

Capt. Schmoe said...

Pry open your wallet Dr. Grumpy and spring for a TV with basic cable. Sheesh.

Dan said...

Years ago I purchased a little gadget that will turn off all TV's. It makes doctor's offices, restaurants, and bars much more civilized. And boy is it fun too!

Rachael said...

I catch 3 channels. I haven't had cable in years and certainly not a DVR! TVs always tend to annoy me in waiting rooms when I am trying to read.. but to each his own.

student dr. blaze said...

All I can say is thank goodness for this wonderful little gadget: http://bit.ly/a5TkOq Public TV haters of the world unite! ;-D

 
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