A smile can work wonders in the waiting room
Waiting for the doctor`s appointment – A kingdom for pessimists?
Do you know that? You have a doctor’s appointment and you already know in advance that you can expect a long wait in a room populated by grim patients? Impatient faces, the occasional loud sigh and the restless groping feet: Not exactly conducive to health, is it? But the waiting is for a reason. And it’s worth it. So next time try it with a smile, because that can work true miracles in the waiting room ….
Sometimes it is really hard to bear. The long faces, the obvious glances at the clock, the sullen eyes, the shaking of the head in the direction of the reception desk and the intentional loud sigh.
Of course, I have to sigh at times too, while sitting in the waiting room. And who does not know the pain of trying to move after sitting long. All who have rheumatic pain know this feeling too well. So this is not what I mean when talking about the intentional loud sigh. What I am talking about is the impatience, the complaints about the doctor or the office personnel. When the impatience around me starts to escalate These are the moments in which I try, always with a friendly smile, that the delays are likely due to neither the doctor nor the staff.
In the waiting room – Impatience is misplaced
It is especially in the waiting room that impatience is simply misplaced. We are all ultimately not there for fun, we are all in the same boat and we all want the doctor to take the appropriate time for each and every one of us. Of course, rheumatologists have a lot to do – there are simply not enough around – and probably have to plan the appointments quite narrow. But I am sure that there was enough time if there were no emergencies. And we all – and I mean all of us – know what it means to be such an emergency.
It means, for example, to wake up in the morning and to have such a swollen joint that regular moving, let alone go to work, is impossible. These are the moments in which we call our rheumatologist and lament our suffering. And these are the moments in which the friendly receptionist somehow enables us to hobble into the practice on the same day to get the help we so badly need.
In the waiting room – If it takes longer…..
But honestly, is it really so bad, having to wait longer in the waiting room? We have to take half of the day off to make it to the appointment anyhow. So why not pack a good book or load the iPod with an exciting audio book and make the most of the waiting time? It is as simple as that.
After all, the waiting is the price we pay for the welfare of our fellow-patients. – For those who hear a whole mountain drop from their heart, as the friendly receptionist at the other end of the line says, with a smile in her voice “Come over right now, we push you in in between.” And we pay in advance for the moments in which others have to wait longer, because we ourselves have an acute attack of rheumatism and simply do not know how to help ourselves.
In the waiting room – If all else fails: Smile !!!
It always helps to keep all of this in mind when the impatience in the waiting room is about to gain the upper hand. Then it is good to reflect on why we are waiting. And to share those thoughts with the people around you often makes a big difference.
And a bit of humor also has never hurt anyone. Next time, try to loosen up the mood in the waiting room a little. Because with a smile is, like impatience, very contagious: If one person starts to smile, all others might just follow. 😉
In this sense: Enjoy!
PS:
I would be happy If you would like to share your comments and personal experiences below.
PPS:
Who reads this as a praise to a rheumatologist would even be right in some way. Because personally, I’m incredibly grateful to have found a good “knight in shining armor“, that actually manages to greet me with a smile and to take time for me when I come in for an absolutely necessary spontaneous appointment, even though his (or her) and all the staff´s day is going to get longer with any unplanned patient. Finally, it is not my leisure hours, which thereby become shorter and shorter.
