This guide is part of a series that includes confessions from real women and advice from real physicians that can help you prepare for your very own date with the doctor.
It’s not uncommon for patients to feel like a doctor that has several other people to see in a small window of time is rushing their visit. According to Dr. Steven Rabin, this is due to changes in the medical field over the past two decades that have caused doctors to face the obstacle of treating more patients in less time.
“Doctors may only have 11 or 12 minutes to see a patient now,” he said. “Smart doctors try to really maximize those 11 or 12 minutes, but how much can you do?” he muses. “You can ask if [the patient] has lost weight in the past year, ask if they are doing their self breast exams, and ask if their sex life is okay, but a lot of doctors shy away from these tough questions because they lead to long conversations.”
However, understanding the dynamics of a doctor’s office can help you prevent a rushed appointment. As Dr. Margaret Cramer explained, “It’s hard to deal with that situation if your sitting on a table in a paper gown, and the doctor comes in preoccupied.” To make sure that your gynecologist is giving you sufficient attention, Cramer advised, don’t be afraid to bring up your questions at the end of the visit. Prepare a list of questions beforehand, and for your routine checkup focus on one or two issues that you’d like to discuss. If you run out of time during your appointment, and ask the doctor if you can come in for another visit to talk about specific issues.
Jenny, a 20-year-old retail sales associate says she felt like her gynecologist often rushed through her appointments during her pregnancy last year. As a result, she began to see a different doctor after she had her baby. “I just thought, ‘Maybe it would be better if I go somewhere else instead,’” she said. According to Cramer, many women do the same thing Morgan did. “A lot of people handle that situation with their feet, and they don’t go back to the same doctor for the next exam.” It is important to realize that as a patient, you should expect your doctor to listen to you and to work to meet your medical needs. If that doesn’t happen, take Morgan’s lead and find a doctor who will.
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