Mal de medicine

I had occasion to see an orthopedic surgeon yesterday: new doctor/new medical group for me.

I have both a personal and a professional interest in the culture of medical practices—I do, after all, work in the healthcare-technology field.

Also, the day they were handing out patience the line was way too long for me to stand in. So I have a short tether when it comes to medical office personnel, overbooking and doctors too rushed to find out what my medical situation is. And I pay close attention to how an office is managed and how they treat their patients.

For example, a couple of weeks ago I went to a dermatologist. The instant I walked into the waiting room I knew I wasn’t going to like it, because nearly every seat was taken. Sure enough, it was more than 20 minutes after my appointment time that I was called to the exam room. And when I pointed out to the nurse that fact—along with the information that, as a contractor, I don’t get paid for the time I spend in their office—she apologized and told me, “we were locked out this morning, so we got a little behind.” But no one coordinated lies-we-tell-patients with the physician, because when she apologized her story was, “a couple of patients ran longer than we expected.”

She made up time on me, though—I wasn’t in her presence for five minutes.

(The big laugh was that they wanted me to schedule a six-month check-up. I told them to send me a reminder; but I already have an appointment with another specialist for next week. It’s not like there’s only one dermatology practice in the South Bay.)

Anyhow, the orthopod. Twenty minutes behind the actual appointment time, around eight minutes examining me and telling me I’d need an MRI and a follow-up, and he’s out the door.

But the interesting thing was when I spoke with the woman who schedules the radiology appointments and follow-ups with the physicians: None of the more than 20 MDs working in that practice works more than two-thirds of a day. The last appointment of the day you can get with mine is 1300.

And they schedule four patients for that time slot. Assuming that the doctor is actually running to schedule, that means that you have only a 25% chance of seeing him at the time they specified. Arrogant, disrespectful plonkers.

I hope to God that I don’t have to have a long-term engagement with this guy, because my attitude is going nowhere but downhill.

Is she a witch or a wabbit?

Someone needs to write an opera about Amanda Knox, the ex-U of Washington student convicted two years ago in Italy of the brutal murder of her roommate in Perugia in 2007. She started off by accusing someone completely extraneous of the killing; he was arrested, but when he was cleared she became a person of interest.

The trial was a piece of theatre, but they convicted her & two others; one is serving his sentence and Knox and her ex-boyfriend are currently appealing their 25-year and 26-year (respectively) sentences.

And here’s where we hit about Act III of the opera: during the appeal the lawyer for Diya Lumumba, the fellow falsely accused by Knox back in 2007, called her “a spell-casting witch, a virtuoso of deceit.”

Now, seriously, is this not aria-worthy stuff?

But wait—there’s more: Knox’s lawyer has rebutted the demonic thing by likening her to Jessica Rabbit: she’s “not bad, she’s just drawn that way.” After that sort of exchange, any ruling is going to be anti-climactic.

Verdi—eat your heart out.

Clients (& other MBAs) from hell

I don’t think you really have to have worked in the creative or IT/Web services field to find the Clients from Hell vignettes amusing.

It helps, of course.

But what this collection of experiences does (in addition to validating the social media value of the Web) is go a long way to explaining the state of the economy. These clients are a microcosm for executive management & boards of directors & if you picture this sort of utter cluelessness in the DNA of captains of industry, well—it all becomes clear.

I believe these exchanges could also be taking place in the halls of Congress.

Be the hummingbird

It shames me to say that I did not know about Wangari Maathai, the remarkable woman—the force of nature—who died Sunday at age 71.

The obits cite her courage for standing up for women and the environment against corrupt governments and big business interests—and the Nobel Peace prize she was awarded for her Green Belt Movement. She encouraged women to plant trees, and when she heard from the Nobel committee, that’s what she did—she planted a tree.

She was, BTW, the first African woman Nobel Laureate.

Her protests continued in the face of tear-gassing, beatingsand whippings by goons from Daniel arap Moi’s government in her homeland of Kenya. Moi labeled her “subversive”, that all-purpose gov-speak for “unsilenceable and uncomfortable.”

But here’s what I love about her—she wanted to be a hummingbird. (Click on the video clip about 60% down the article. I could have given you the YouTube link, but the NPR story is worth reading, too.) Note that none of the animals rallies to the hummingbird; it just keeps on bringing water to the fire.

Think about it: all the troubles—all the insurmountable obstacles, all the massive forces aligned against the little guy—and it’s possible to do the best you can. It’s possible and worthwhile—whatever your beak will hold, carry it to the fire.

The story is powerful, but it’s Maathai’s telling of it that stops you in your tracks. Listen to her voice and look at the expression on her face.

And be the hummingbird, mes amis. Be the hummingbird.

Employment outlook

Finally some good economic news last week: Toys-R-Us announced it’s planning on hiring 45K people.

For the holiday season.

At minimum wage and no benefits.

I’m sure that’s welcome news for the 30K people who are about to be axed from Bank of America, who are mostly full-time employees with at least some benefits.

Oh--and no doubt Walmart will also be hiring for the season. And those temps can take comfort in knowing that they won't be paid worse or get fewer benefits than the bulk of Walmart's staff.