I accompanied Vinny to his Dr.’s appointment (reading of his CT scan result) yesterday afternoon. The secretary told me to come between 2 – 4pm. We got there a little pass 2:00pm and registered right away. I saw 2 patients registered already. I told the secretary that Vinny has a 5:30 meeting in Alabang and I hope the Doctor arrives early (last time the Dr. arrived at 4:30pm and we waited for like 2 hours).
Vinny and I sat in the seats outside the clinic and patiently waited. Patients started to come. We were there early so I know who arrived and basically what time they came in.
Remember, when we arrived there were already 2 patients ahead of us. So we already know we were third on the list.
The Doctor arrived past 3:00pm already. Vinny said: “at least she’s early today.”
The secretaries (she has 2) started calling in the patients. So, we just sat there and waited for our turn.
We were sitting there for 3 hours already and I was getting angry and irritated. I noticed that they were calling patients who arrived later than us. So, I told Vinny.
Vinny said maybe this is by appointment mom not first come first serve basis. I told him I better ask them. I went inside the clinic.
I asked the first secretary: question, is this first come first serve basis or by appointment? And she goes: “first come first serve mam Tin.”
me: if that’s the case why are we not being called yet?
sec: because you came later than those patients Mam
me: uhmm… NO.
sec: yes, mam
me: the couple that you just called were seated beside us. We arrived earlier than them. I saw them when they arrived! And those patients you have been calling for the past 2 hours, we arrived earlier than them. We were here since 2:00pm. It’s fu*king 4:f u*king 30 already.
sec: kayo na ho ang sunod mam
me: ewan!!!
Ya, right. You will not call us until my F’s starts flying!
When we were inside the Doctors office. I fu*king blew up and told her everything. What the hell is going on here? You don’t let a patient wait this long. Doctors shouldn’t do that. Every time we come here we wait for to 2 to 3 hours!
And I told her what happened.
And the Doctor said: “sorry mam, I really didn’t know what happened outside. I just follow who they call. But don’t worry I will talk to them later. We had a similar case yesterday mam and I’m really glad that you told me this. Ang tingin ko na sisingitan kayo. Ganyan yan sila mam. I already talk to them about it.”
And I told her: “the irony of it all Doc is, Gigi and Annie (the secretaries) have known our family for so many years. Way back during your Mom’s time (her mom was Nana’s doctor for the longest time until she retired). I have been seeing Dr. Lorenzo since mid 90’s (the other Doctor who shares the same office and share the same secretaries). Dr. Wenceslao (he also shares clinic and secretaries) has been my in laws Doctor up to now. So, we are like family already to these secretaries. Every Christmas, no fail, Nana gives them gifts. Every time Nana come to see you and your Mom before, she always give Gigi and Annie something on the side. Not to bribe but because they’re very close to us. But now I’m beginning to think that did they called us last because I didn’t give “something?” Is that it?”
“What happened now is so traumatic for me and for Vinny. We don’t want to go to Doctors anymore because of this. Who wants to wait 4 hours just to see a doctor for less than 15 mins? We have lives too. We have other things to do. Vinny has a meeting all the way to Alabang in an hour.”
And she replied: “sorry mam, I will make sure this will never happen again. Can Vinny come back on Monday Mam for his urinalysis?”
Vinny: “Hell, no. Tiisin ko na lang sakit ng tiyan ko for the rest of my life.”
Whew! Oh, god. That was really annoying. Until now I still have a headache because of that incident.
So, when I got home I called Nana to report about Vinny’s CT Scan Result. Cause the whole time we were in the clinic she was calling me every 5 minutes.
Nana’s interrogation:
nana: anong oras kayo dumating?
me: exactly 2:00pm Na’
nana: anong oras dumating si Doctora?
me: past 3:00pm na Na’
nana: yung exact time. mga anong oras talaga?
me: siguro mga 3:30 Na’
nana: anong oras kayo tinawag?
me: 4:30 na
nana: bakit ang tagal nyo tinawag? Wala ba si Annie doon?
me: nandun Na. Pero ewan ko sa impaktang yun at huli kami tinawag!
nana: pambihira naman si Annie. Hindi ko na sya bibigyan ng pamasko!
Vinny went straight to his meeting in Alabang after dropping me off. I rested for awhile, took a long hot shower, had dinner and drank Nyquil.
8:00pm Nana called me screaming on the phone. “Nasaan na si Vinny gabi na! Hindi pa ba tapos meeting nya?” Sandali Na’ tawagan ko si Joshua.
I called Joshua and asked him where they were. Joshua said Vinny is still inside and he’s just in the parking lot waiting. I told him to tell Vinny to call Nana the minute he gets out.
When Vinny got home he went straight to my room. Dead tired. I asked him if he called Nana already and he said yes. And he goes: “Nana so cute Mom. She asked me why ang tagal ng meeting ko so I told her matagal dumating yun Mayor. And she said di ba 5:30pm ang meeting nyo? And I said yes but dumating ang Mayor 7pm na. And Nana said bakit ganyan sya late sya sa meeting. So, I told her eh, ganyan talaga mga Mayor Na’. And then Mom, she told me: isumbong mo yung Mayor kay Duterte!”
So, we both laugh so hard. And I told Vinny, di ba Nana is die hard Mar? And Vinny said: “she’s a silent Duterte fan.”
At least my day ended well.
And…. my day started good today. I received a message early this morning!
Good morning Tina. I have to share this with you… This is what happened one morning…
Noel( my husband) : honey c’mon coffee is ready….
So I came to the table and there, my favorite coffee and my iPad… So I tapped it… Went straight to your fb page… I looked at Noel and this is what he said…” Dark roast Columbian coffee and a shot of Tina makes a very good morning!” Pastang katawa jud nako… Naka bantay diay nga mag basa kos imong mga post…. enjoy your day Tina! Blessings!
Joey, one of my followers commented and told me he thought I was going to change my style in a post were I was wearing shorts. hahahahaha.
So, Joey, just for you I wore dress yesterday!
outfit
Dress: H&M || Shoes: Nordstrom (Vancouver) || Bag: Hermes Mini Birkin || Sunglasses: Rayban || Willow Jewelry Necklaces || Willow Jewelry Earrings || Willow Jewelry T Bangle
she did it anyway.... 
Hello, Ms. Tina! I feel you. I hate waiting in doctors’ clinics. Whenever I bring my son to his pediatric pulmonologist, I have to go to his clinic at 6:00 am so I can write my son’s name on the list. The clinic starts at 9:00 am and the doctor arrives late. Sayang ang oras. =(
Exactly! We have things to do too! Parang sila lang ang may buhay. They are so inconsiderate. Do they know how hard it is to be waiting? Nakaka pagod kaya. Okay lang yung 30 minutes or an hour pwede pa nga eh. Wag naman yung 3 to 4 hours. Sobra na talaga. Na kakainis talaga!
That is so traumatic Ms. T! I admire you. You fight for your right.
I fight for what is right. Sobrang red tape going on in that clinic. 😊
Most doctors are inconsiderate. We are there coz we’re sick and then they let us wait for hoursssssss…. AND whenever I ask for the doctor’s fee Official Receipt, the secretary would say, “Ay, dadagdagan mo ng 12% ang payment para sa VAT.”
AND just to let you know, reading your blog always put a smile on my face. Thanks Ms. T.
Yes that’s true. They abuse their power sometimes cos they know we need them!
Awww… Thanks Med! 😘
Omg its like nanadya naman ginawa nila, to think na kilala nila kayo. And its not like your asking for a special treatment pumila na nga kayo ng maayos e.
Its the same with my parents doctor for diabetes. My father will jog in the morning like 6 am. Malapit lang kasi kami sa hospital, ililista nya name nila then the secretary will call them 1 hr before their estimated turn. Imagine mga patients nung doctor mga 70 plus, 80 plus yrs old. Dati we queue for like 4 hrs, literally life has passed on by just like that. Lol. Prob minsan is the dr, i dnt understand why they put clinic hours 10am-1pm tapos darating 12 pm. Kahit gaano pa kagaling yung scheduling system kung ung magpapatakbo ng pila e wala, aamagin ka talaga.
Nde na nga dyaryo dala namin noon e, novel na, o kaya ipad with charger pa. Lol.
Grabe no? I mean walang respeto sa time ng pasyente. Akala nila yung time lang nila ang importante. Nakaka inis. Tapos ang mga secretaries nila isa pa din! Sobrang abusado minsan. Like in my case.
Ms. Tina, naisip ko lang to add sarcasm sana pala inask nyo, ano ba pila dito draw lots? Bunutan kung sino susunod? Lol!!!!!!
hahahahahaha!
grabe doctor and mayor, parehong late sa mga appointment. so half of vinny’s time was spent on waiting?! grabe naman yan.
Come to think of it now that you pointed it out, YES, both Doctor and Mayor were very, very late! Poor Vinny!
Hahaha! Happy Friday Ms. T!
I hate when Doctor’s are late! It irritates me so much. My time is also very precious not just yours. I walked out of appointments when they made me wait for over 1 hour. I get very angry. 2-3 hours is unacceptable to be waiting that long!
The secretaries should make a note who came in first. And not pretend not to know the order of your arrival especially if you signed it. They can see the time that you arrived and your names especially since they know you already. That’s good that you complained. Hopefully it won’t happen again. It’s ridiculous!
Ms. T I forgot to mention that Vinny should also not drink beer (if he does). It used to irritate my stomach when I had IBS flare up’s. Wine muna to drink. I waited for a few months before I started drinking beer again and only in small amounts. Hope is he better. I can’t believe this doctor’s appointment is adding more stress for him.
I don’t know. I just hope they’re considerate of the patients time. Most of the Doctors are not like that naman. May waiting time din (all doctors) but not as bad as this doctor and that’s because of her secretaries!
We’re not sure if it’s IBS Christine. He has to go through some tests pa. If all the tests comes out normal then thats the time we know it’s IBS.
BTW, his CT Scan are all normal. Thanks God!
But I will tell Vinny about the beer. Actually I told him about you having IBS and I told him everything that you said to avoid eating.
That’s good Ms. T. It could also be food sensitivities. I had to cut out wheat from my diet before. Better to have him to do the test 😀
wonderful Ms.Tina! Thank you. I’m sure your children, family, pets, relatives, house staff, friends and willow jewelry fans are happy too
hahahahahahaha!
Kagrabe sad kadugay ug hinuwat ninyo oy. Tungang adlaw jud? Didto ko sa akong doktor ganinang buntag, mga 15 minutos ra man akong gihuwat. Naa untay schedule kaysa first come first serve basis. Mahal baya pod inyong time.
grabe diri uy! They don’t have any respect of the patients time.
Those secretaries are really the “gatekeepers.” I have stopped seeing some doctors because of their horrible secretaries. I hope doctors are aware that patients may leave/stay because of who they hire. Thankfully my current doctors’ secretaries are all good. One of them even called/texted me when it was only 1 more patient before my turn because I live only 15 minutes away. That was the time I was pregnant. I told her it was uncomfortable for someone pregnant to wait hours and also, our parking is very expensive here in Canada. The more they make us wait, the more we pay in the meter. Hope Vinny gets well soon. Belated Happy Birthday btw:)
That’s really true Nathalie! Actually the Dr. told me she doesn’t know what’s going on outside. Sila talaga ang nag co control who to call first. And the Doctor even told me that every Christmas nagtaka na lang sya na ang daming gifts dumadating sa clinic but not for her! The gifts are for them! So, now I think they call first (even late dumating) who gave the best and expensive gift! hahahahahaha
Thanks for the greeting! ❤
Those Secretaries, ang garaplal naman yata nila! 😣 Kainis!
Most Medical Doctors hold clinics in diff. locations. I’m sure alam nila na may problem na ganyan, but dedma lang sila.
Patients waiting for 3 – 4 hours tapos Dr. will see you in less than 15 min. Grabe! Sa traffic and parking pa lang, nakaka stress na.
Ginawa nang “kumikitang kabuhayan” ng 2 secretaries ang patients’ waiting area + their Doctor’s appt. book. Wrong move and poor judgement. 😕
bess
It’s really so annoying. Our time is precious too, just like them. And patients sila, meaning may sakit! And the secretaries naman ginawang kabuhayan showcase ang mga pasyente!