Dave
Staff member
So I got my labs back today. Elevated bilirubin (1.2, normal is 0.3-1.0) and protein (8.6, normal is 5.8-8.2). Everything else is within acceptable levels, including white blood cell counts, platelets, etc. So what does this mean? I have no fucking clue. Do I need to go to a hematologist? Are these numbers still acceptable even though they are elevated? A bit of communication would be nice. Oh, and I leave town at 3 pm for a gig and the doctor is gone all next week. So I hope it's not something I have to start working on soon! But for now my Googling says it's my liver, which would be hilarious considering I don't fucking drink! Isn't it ironic? Don't cha think?[DOUBLEPOST=1507911129,1507910564][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and then there's this:
And this is public information so I'm leaving her name on it.
And this is public information so I'm leaving her name on it.
Is that 4 abbreviating a "for", or does it mean that they have 4 prior DUI convictions? I'm amazed they have a license, interlock requirement or not, if so.
Dave
Staff member
She was supposed to have an interlock by law. She was driving a car without one. That's the "IGNITION LOCK DEV -DRIVE WITHOUT" line.
And the insurance guy from Progressive we spoke to? Trainee. This just gets better and better.
The worst part is, if they total it I don't know what I'll do. I got that car from my mom after my father died. So it has sentimental value as well as actual value. Plus, I don't think we can afford a new car. Good lord I hate drunk drivers.
Dude, I had a cousin who had more drunk driving convictions than he did passing grades in his entire school career. After the third or fourth time they were able to prove that someone else had blown into his interlock device for him (or that he had otherwise disabled the interlock), they suspended his license for almost a whole year. A whole year. Can you imagine?! How the hell was he supposed to drink and drive with no license? Oh... right. Just like he did before, because not having a magical piece of plastic wasn't going to stop him from driving to the bars anymore than an interlock device was.
I just spent the entire afternoon shopping for the ridiculous crap on my daughter's camp list (splash pants for pre teens?? 4 litres of water each?? ) and the last two hours labeling and packing everything to the foolish standard required (in extra large ziplock bags labeled for each day including socks and underwear and every article must be labeled as well as the bag. Don't get me started on the bed roll requirements...) and I needed her to help me put together her last few items and load up her backpacks. Yes, plural. They need more than one. The big one formtheir gear and a smaller one for day trips. WTF?
She farted around, wasted time and even though I was screaming at her to get her ass in gear, she still wasn't ready when her friend's dad arrived to drive her there. FML. So he very kindly waited and helped us get things in his truck while I finished. Our kitchen looked like a Walmart barfed in it and I was mortified that he was there.
So who looks like the hot mess? Me of course. I don't miss drinking much anymore, but I could use one now.
She farted around, wasted time and even though I was screaming at her to get her ass in gear, she still wasn't ready when her friend's dad arrived to drive her there. FML. So he very kindly waited and helped us get things in his truck while I finished. Our kitchen looked like a Walmart barfed in it and I was mortified that he was there.
So who looks like the hot mess? Me of course. I don't miss drinking much anymore, but I could use one now.
He has a daughter the same ageas yours. I'm sure he understands .
I've spent a lot of time with his daughter, she is a lot more organized.
Potential client: "Hey, we need an interpreter for this event coming up, how much do you charge?"
Me: "That sounds like an interesting event. I charge (amount) for a day of consecutive interpretation."
Potential client: "Oh... that's a bit more than we were expecting to pay. Would you be willing to accept (literally 1/5 of amount)?"
Me: "Sorry, no."
Potential client: "Well, do you have any other interpreter friends who'd be interested?"
Me: "Sorry, no, they're all even greedier than I am."
Me: "That sounds like an interesting event. I charge (amount) for a day of consecutive interpretation."
Potential client: "Oh... that's a bit more than we were expecting to pay. Would you be willing to accept (literally 1/5 of amount)?"
Me: "Sorry, no."
Potential client: "Well, do you have any other interpreter friends who'd be interested?"
Me: "Sorry, no, they're all even greedier than I am."
fade
Staff member
Well, in compensation for the pay cuts here (even though they swear that's not the reason), they instituted "flex Fridays", where you can take off every other friday if you're up to date on your work.
That lasted about 3 weeks. Now they're sort of retracting it, and saying that we should be at or near our computers at home even on those Fridays, and that they are NOT days off. Or that we should just plain work from home on those days if we are behind. The problem is that we are at less than half the staff we used to be so a) we will all always be behind, and b) we will always disagree on the definition of behind. Therefore, no flex Fridays as I see it.
That lasted about 3 weeks. Now they're sort of retracting it, and saying that we should be at or near our computers at home even on those Fridays, and that they are NOT days off. Or that we should just plain work from home on those days if we are behind. The problem is that we are at less than half the staff we used to be so a) we will all always be behind, and b) we will always disagree on the definition of behind. Therefore, no flex Fridays as I see it.
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Remember that horrible experience with a new primary care provider? For the last two weeks I've been trying to find a way to send a formal letter to the administration. I've tried searching their website, Google, the phone book, and more. There are no links, recommendations, or even verbiage for what you should do if you want to contact them for anything other than an appointment. Today, it occurred to me that I should check LinkedIn to see if any of the administrative staff have accounts, and then I sent an InMail to the director of communications detailing my struggle to merely provide feedback to the clinic. If I don't hear back in two weeks, the letter goes to the local news instead.
Got a response in less than a day! Hurray social media!
I once had a hard time getting off a pizza restaurant's email list. Even though I'd opted out multiple times. I sleuthed until I found the VP of Technologie's email address and asked him how hard it was to clear a bit in a database. I never got another email from them again
And here, in all of its <REDACTED> glory, is the letter.
Ms. <REDACTED>,
I reached out to <REDACTED> via LinkedIn yesterday regarding a negative patient experience and he gave me your contact info as the Patient Feedback Coordinator for <REDACTED>. I'd like to share with you some concerns my wife and I had regarding our recent new patient intake appointment(s) at the <REDACTED> clinic location. That I was forced to use my personal LinkedIn account to locate contact info for anyone in<REDACTED> administration in order to locate a feedback address is concerning in and of itself.
My wife and I both had appointments on Friday, October 6, 2017. We schedule appointments back to back, and attend each other's appointments - I go to hers because her memory is tenuous at times, and she comes to mine because I have anxiety issues and tend to undersell my own medical conditions. These were new patient intake appointments for <REDACTED>, as we have recently moved to the area from Puyallup, WA. Since we bought a house this time (this becomes more relevant later, unfortunately) and have no intention of leaving anytime soon, we intended this appointment to be the first of many.
Without going into our full medical histories, the main reasons for our visit were to establish care, transfer our prescriptions from Walgreen's to the local drug store (Sempert's), and discuss a recent ER visit of mine from a severe panic attack. We didn't even get to the ER visit. Upon seeing my wife, who is overweight, and reading the vitals that her MA had taken, Nurse <REDACTED> immediately launched into a chorus of "you're too fat," followed by "you need to lose 10 pounds a month," and sneers of "do you even know how much you eat each day?" All of this was stated in a condescending tone of voice, talking down to my wife and belittling her because of her weight.
I can assure you my wife does know exactly what and how much she eats each day. You see, we're both diabetic, but in remission, so we measure our food every meal. Had Nurse <REDACTED> bothered to ask what our diet was, or even ask what our most recent A1C levels were (my wife's came in at 6.3 and mine at 6.5 last quarter), she could have saved herself a lot of the effort that she put into antagonizing my wife. She also demanded that my wife see yet another dietician and that she keep a food journal - for herself only, no one else will see this journal. What's the point then? If we can't show Nurse <REDACTED> what we eat on a daily basis, or even tell her what sort of diet we stick to (it's a modified version of the American Diabetes Association's recommended diet with added fiber in the evenings to carry us through until the following morning without going hypoglycemic in the middle of the night), how are we supposed to work with her to improve our overall health?
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 6 years ago. The disease is rampant in my father's side of the family. I've personally watched several family members go blind, lose limbs, and die from this disease and when I was diagnosed I vowed not to go down the same path. I've had some bumps along the way, but over the last two and a half years I've lost 90 pounds, given up nicotine, and dramatically changed my diet. Nurse <REDACTED> wasn't even interested in hearing any of that - though as soon as my wife mentioned that she'd lost about 35 pounds before putting 10 back on during a high-stress period of our life, all talk of dieticians ceased and Nurse <REDACTED>s' tone of voice changed completely; until we got to my intake.
I've been struggling with anxiety - diagnosed as General Panic Disorder by a previous doctor - for which I've been seeing a therapist, taking Zoloft, and practicing mindfulness meditation. Sometimes I need a fast acting anxiolytic that will stop a panic attack without turning me into a zombie (like Valium does), and - at the recommendation of a previous doctor - I use CBD for that purpose. That being the case, I listed cannabis as a medication that I take. This meant, unfortunately, that Nurse <REDACTED> - in addition to demanding to know why I suffer from anxiety, and if I've even "ever bothered" to try to figure out why - spent 20 minutes telling me how much of a horrible federal felon I am and how "the state may say cannabis is OK, but it's a felony and you're a felon, and you need to stop this dangerous drug use." As soon as I had a chance to get a word in edgewise and tell her it was high CBD strains for anxiety she had no problem with its use.
In my case, Nurse <REDACTED>'s tone of voice never became professional until after spotting some flea bites on my lower legs. When we explained that the flea infestation came with the house we'd just purchased she actually said "came with the house?," and went back to treating us like human beings worthy of respect and basic human dignity.
She then went on to question why I take a potassium supplement (lower leg cramps), and looked at me like I had three heads when I said I can't eat bananas (they're the worst fruit you can eat when you're diabetic), or potatoes (the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load for russet potatoes is the same or higher than those of Glucose) or drink Gatorade (she was honestly confused as to why a diabetic can't drink a sugary sports drink) and needed a potassium supplement. I don't necessarily expect one nurse to be completely up to date on the most recent ADA recommendations, but she should at least know that Gatorade and potatoes are bad for diabetics.
Still, the worst treatment we received was that Nurse <REDACTED> absolutely flat out refused to write refill prescriptions for either of us. Even after being told that I would run out of my psych meds (and that my wife would run out of her blood pressure meds) before the weekend was over, she flat out refused to write us new ones and instead told us that what we had to do was go to Sempert's and ask them to contact Walgreen's to transfer our prescriptions over, and then tell them to change the doctor on record for those prescriptions to herself, and then she'd refill them when Sempert's requested refills. All of this was done the Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend (Columbus Day), when the pharmacy is closed on Sundays to begin with. This meant that, since the pharmacy was adamant that this is NOT the way transfers are done, both of us went without our meds being refilled for the weekend. And, while my wife was able to find some of hers from a previous prescription, I went without mine because I didn't have any previous prescriptions of this strength of the drug.
This was the worst doctor's appointment I've ever had. I was made to feel like a federal felon for using a legal medical substance in a medicinal capacity. My wife was talked down to because of her weight. We were both condescended to until we mentioned that we recently purchased a house. Our provider refused to refill our daily maintenance medications. She then went on to denigrate the entire community - sneering and asking "eww, why would you choose to move here?" - and, when we asked why we hadn't been provided with the necessary forms to have our medical records transferred from our last provider, rolled her eyes and told us "these people (voice dripping with contempt) around here never move, their records are already in our system."
This is an economically distressed region, with an aging populace who will continue to need competent and caring medical staff. The care my wife and I received causes me a great deal of concern about the standard of care that our community is receiving and will continue to receive in the future. The fact that I could find absolutely no way to communicate these issues to someone outside of the individual clinic levels without taking to social media (something I'm sure the 80+ year old woman in the waiting room with us talking about how she doesn't own a computer or even a television wouldn't have been able to do) is appalling. If you have to own your own home in order to be treated with respect, how many people in such a depressed area will never be treated with respect? More importantly, how many people are going to receive bad medical advice from a provider who doesn't ask any (non-accusatory) questions during an intake appointment, or who is sadly undereducated about one of the biggest health concerns in the country right now?
So, in conclusion, I have a couple of questions for you. First, is the "care" that my wife and I received the standard of care to which <REDACTED> strives? Second, assuming that your answer to the first question is "no, of course not," what can we do to help <REDACTED> improve the standard of care in our community? I don't intend to move any time soon. I also don't intend to drive to Medford or Eugene to see a non-<REDACTED> physician. I need to know that I can trust my local health care teams to treat me with dignity, respect, and up-to-date, appropriate medical science.
Kind Regards,
<REDACTED>
I reached out to <REDACTED> via LinkedIn yesterday regarding a negative patient experience and he gave me your contact info as the Patient Feedback Coordinator for <REDACTED>. I'd like to share with you some concerns my wife and I had regarding our recent new patient intake appointment(s) at the <REDACTED> clinic location. That I was forced to use my personal LinkedIn account to locate contact info for anyone in<REDACTED> administration in order to locate a feedback address is concerning in and of itself.
My wife and I both had appointments on Friday, October 6, 2017. We schedule appointments back to back, and attend each other's appointments - I go to hers because her memory is tenuous at times, and she comes to mine because I have anxiety issues and tend to undersell my own medical conditions. These were new patient intake appointments for <REDACTED>, as we have recently moved to the area from Puyallup, WA. Since we bought a house this time (this becomes more relevant later, unfortunately) and have no intention of leaving anytime soon, we intended this appointment to be the first of many.
Without going into our full medical histories, the main reasons for our visit were to establish care, transfer our prescriptions from Walgreen's to the local drug store (Sempert's), and discuss a recent ER visit of mine from a severe panic attack. We didn't even get to the ER visit. Upon seeing my wife, who is overweight, and reading the vitals that her MA had taken, Nurse <REDACTED> immediately launched into a chorus of "you're too fat," followed by "you need to lose 10 pounds a month," and sneers of "do you even know how much you eat each day?" All of this was stated in a condescending tone of voice, talking down to my wife and belittling her because of her weight.
I can assure you my wife does know exactly what and how much she eats each day. You see, we're both diabetic, but in remission, so we measure our food every meal. Had Nurse <REDACTED> bothered to ask what our diet was, or even ask what our most recent A1C levels were (my wife's came in at 6.3 and mine at 6.5 last quarter), she could have saved herself a lot of the effort that she put into antagonizing my wife. She also demanded that my wife see yet another dietician and that she keep a food journal - for herself only, no one else will see this journal. What's the point then? If we can't show Nurse <REDACTED> what we eat on a daily basis, or even tell her what sort of diet we stick to (it's a modified version of the American Diabetes Association's recommended diet with added fiber in the evenings to carry us through until the following morning without going hypoglycemic in the middle of the night), how are we supposed to work with her to improve our overall health?
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 6 years ago. The disease is rampant in my father's side of the family. I've personally watched several family members go blind, lose limbs, and die from this disease and when I was diagnosed I vowed not to go down the same path. I've had some bumps along the way, but over the last two and a half years I've lost 90 pounds, given up nicotine, and dramatically changed my diet. Nurse <REDACTED> wasn't even interested in hearing any of that - though as soon as my wife mentioned that she'd lost about 35 pounds before putting 10 back on during a high-stress period of our life, all talk of dieticians ceased and Nurse <REDACTED>s' tone of voice changed completely; until we got to my intake.
I've been struggling with anxiety - diagnosed as General Panic Disorder by a previous doctor - for which I've been seeing a therapist, taking Zoloft, and practicing mindfulness meditation. Sometimes I need a fast acting anxiolytic that will stop a panic attack without turning me into a zombie (like Valium does), and - at the recommendation of a previous doctor - I use CBD for that purpose. That being the case, I listed cannabis as a medication that I take. This meant, unfortunately, that Nurse <REDACTED> - in addition to demanding to know why I suffer from anxiety, and if I've even "ever bothered" to try to figure out why - spent 20 minutes telling me how much of a horrible federal felon I am and how "the state may say cannabis is OK, but it's a felony and you're a felon, and you need to stop this dangerous drug use." As soon as I had a chance to get a word in edgewise and tell her it was high CBD strains for anxiety she had no problem with its use.
In my case, Nurse <REDACTED>'s tone of voice never became professional until after spotting some flea bites on my lower legs. When we explained that the flea infestation came with the house we'd just purchased she actually said "came with the house?," and went back to treating us like human beings worthy of respect and basic human dignity.
She then went on to question why I take a potassium supplement (lower leg cramps), and looked at me like I had three heads when I said I can't eat bananas (they're the worst fruit you can eat when you're diabetic), or potatoes (the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load for russet potatoes is the same or higher than those of Glucose) or drink Gatorade (she was honestly confused as to why a diabetic can't drink a sugary sports drink) and needed a potassium supplement. I don't necessarily expect one nurse to be completely up to date on the most recent ADA recommendations, but she should at least know that Gatorade and potatoes are bad for diabetics.
Still, the worst treatment we received was that Nurse <REDACTED> absolutely flat out refused to write refill prescriptions for either of us. Even after being told that I would run out of my psych meds (and that my wife would run out of her blood pressure meds) before the weekend was over, she flat out refused to write us new ones and instead told us that what we had to do was go to Sempert's and ask them to contact Walgreen's to transfer our prescriptions over, and then tell them to change the doctor on record for those prescriptions to herself, and then she'd refill them when Sempert's requested refills. All of this was done the Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend (Columbus Day), when the pharmacy is closed on Sundays to begin with. This meant that, since the pharmacy was adamant that this is NOT the way transfers are done, both of us went without our meds being refilled for the weekend. And, while my wife was able to find some of hers from a previous prescription, I went without mine because I didn't have any previous prescriptions of this strength of the drug.
This was the worst doctor's appointment I've ever had. I was made to feel like a federal felon for using a legal medical substance in a medicinal capacity. My wife was talked down to because of her weight. We were both condescended to until we mentioned that we recently purchased a house. Our provider refused to refill our daily maintenance medications. She then went on to denigrate the entire community - sneering and asking "eww, why would you choose to move here?" - and, when we asked why we hadn't been provided with the necessary forms to have our medical records transferred from our last provider, rolled her eyes and told us "these people (voice dripping with contempt) around here never move, their records are already in our system."
This is an economically distressed region, with an aging populace who will continue to need competent and caring medical staff. The care my wife and I received causes me a great deal of concern about the standard of care that our community is receiving and will continue to receive in the future. The fact that I could find absolutely no way to communicate these issues to someone outside of the individual clinic levels without taking to social media (something I'm sure the 80+ year old woman in the waiting room with us talking about how she doesn't own a computer or even a television wouldn't have been able to do) is appalling. If you have to own your own home in order to be treated with respect, how many people in such a depressed area will never be treated with respect? More importantly, how many people are going to receive bad medical advice from a provider who doesn't ask any (non-accusatory) questions during an intake appointment, or who is sadly undereducated about one of the biggest health concerns in the country right now?
So, in conclusion, I have a couple of questions for you. First, is the "care" that my wife and I received the standard of care to which <REDACTED> strives? Second, assuming that your answer to the first question is "no, of course not," what can we do to help <REDACTED> improve the standard of care in our community? I don't intend to move any time soon. I also don't intend to drive to Medford or Eugene to see a non-<REDACTED> physician. I need to know that I can trust my local health care teams to treat me with dignity, respect, and up-to-date, appropriate medical science.
Kind Regards,
<REDACTED>
It's well written. The only thing I would add would be to ask if there is another nurse you can see. Maybe you can get the schedule of that one so you never have to see her again?
Or possibly get into what the side effects of you going without your meds over the long weekend did to you and letting them know that this nurse will of course need to be disciplined for her outrageous behavior towards you and your wife and that during that disciplinary meeting she should be made aware of what her refusal to fill a prescription did to you.
Or possibly get into what the side effects of you going without your meds over the long weekend did to you and letting them know that this nurse will of course need to be disciplined for her outrageous behavior towards you and your wife and that during that disciplinary meeting she should be made aware of what her refusal to fill a prescription did to you.
It was a really difficult letter to write, just because I kept questioning how much personal medical info to put in the letter. HIPAA, the fact that this is a first contact report, and the fact that I sent it directly to a director-level employee would tend to dictate that I keep it as short as possible while hitting the most salient points; and provide further details if/when asked. I also didn't want to ask for/demand/suggest any disciplinary actions as I don't know if this is the first complaint they've received regarding this nurse or if it's the last one they need before they fire her. It can be a difficult line to walk - on the one hand, if this is her first offense, I'd expect nothing more than a meeting between her and her supervisor with some counseling as to how she could/should address patients in the future, what questions to ask regarding various medical conditions in order to get a better understanding of the patient's condition, and ways to minimize patient discomfort - and an apology to my wife and I. On the other hand, if she demonstrates a pattern of treating everyone this way, she should be fired for incompetence or let go for the betterment of the clinic (so their malpractice insurance doesn't have to pay out repeatedly).
As for other providers, there aren't any who are accepting new patients at this specific clinic (there are only two providers at this clinic), but there's another clinic in the same network 10 miles away, so I don't have to keep seeing this nurse.
It's a very well written letter. I'm just wanting to see her gone for the way she treated you. It's so not ok!
I decided to get involved and help in a bullying situation. It’s not my daughter, but one of her friends, and I’m angry that nothing has been done to help the target of the bully’s awful behaviour. It’s gotten so bad that the girls watching are having serious anxiety issues. I can’t imagine how the poor girl directly impacted must feel.
I really hope they do something to stop this. It makes me angry to see this happening.
I told her mother and have her support. We’ve discussed it many times.
I really hope they do something to stop this. It makes me angry to see this happening.
I told her mother and have her support. We’ve discussed it many times.
"Hey Bhamv, a client's come back with some angry feedback, they want the translation fixed by the end of the day."
"Ok, problem: I'm full up with cases until 5pm, and at 5pm I'm interviewing a prospective new editor, so... I really can't find the time to handle the feedback."
"What about after the interview?"
"Interviews usually take around an hour, so by the time we're finished it'll be the end of the day already."
"Can't you talk faster?"
"..."
(As a side note, maybe it would actually be interesting to conduct an interview by talking as fast as I can. Let's see how good the candidate's listening skills are.)
"Ok, problem: I'm full up with cases until 5pm, and at 5pm I'm interviewing a prospective new editor, so... I really can't find the time to handle the feedback."
"What about after the interview?"
"Interviews usually take around an hour, so by the time we're finished it'll be the end of the day already."
"Can't you talk faster?"
"..."
(As a side note, maybe it would actually be interesting to conduct an interview by talking as fast as I can. Let's see how good the candidate's listening skills are.)
B
BErt
...so I'm using a placement service to find a new job. And they literally found me my previous job. Like, the guy that replaced me is leaving and so now that's an open job again.
Well, at least you can't fault them on the profiling jobs and people angle.
See if you can get more money, assuming you left amicably. Or did they fire you?
B
BErt
I resigned, and then regretted it.
If you regret it, it may actually be an opportunity for self-improvement. I know from where I'm at right now that if they offered me my old job back...Well, I'd probably take it, despite feeling like a "loss" in some ways.
B
BErt
I probably can't go back honestly. It was a regination out of necessity. :/
We haven't gotten any here yet... but I'm ready
