Wednesday, July 15, 2009

SPEED DATING MY DOCTORS

I am a good candidate for an operation on my liver and colon next month, and have made appointments with surgeons at two medical centers. I wear blusher and concealer, to convince the surgeons I'm healthy enough for the operation. Each doctor takes maybe 12- 16 minutes to propose a surgery, detailing his experience and offering a plan.

The first doctor was great; he does these surgeries all the time, with the same team. He laughed at my jokes (rapport!) and answered my questions (communication!).

The second doctor was great; he does these surgeries all the time, with his team. He showed me my scans, on the computer, and explained why my resection could be considered routine. He agreed with doctor #1 on the pre-op testing, and said he would add another diagnostic one.

Today I'll see doctor #3, who is supposed to team up with doctor #1, if they have a consensus and calendar compatibility.

The first doctor told me that all the rooms at his medical center are private rooms, and there's a lounge chair for visitors.

All the doctors told me to pull down my pants.

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