Evie Shares A Story And Wants to Hear RHU Thoughts

It's me, Evie! I'm back with yet another tale of healthcare hell.

To preface, it's flu season, and the clinic is slammed. Coughs, croups, asthma, and intestinal issues abound. So instead of a regular appointment schedule, each day we have at least one provider scheduled to take care of nothing but urgent care -- basically whoever walks in off the street needing immediate care.

The provider on schedule, I'll call her Red, is a very sweet capable lady, but she can be a little ruthlessly efficient when she's overwhelmed. A woman walks in with a sick toddler and explains that she is his aunt and he needs to be seen. She has a note from the mother stating she can be present for his exam. Anyways Red takes a look, finds some minor infant issues, explains things to the aunt and sends them on their way.

An hour later, the mom calls in demanding to speak to Red. Apparently an ointment Red prescribed is ringing alarm bells in Rude Mom's head, and she needs to get to the bottom of it ASAP.

The front desk employee (we'll call her Tia, 'cause she's like a fiesty auntie) actually breaks protocol and goes back to speak to Red, who explains the situation briefly but cannot stop to talk to Rude Mom because she has at least five other sick patients in rooms. Tia relays the info and tells Rude Mom that for a more detailed consult she's either going to have to wait until Red has a minute to respond to messages, or come back in with the kid and get a time slot.

Rude Mom goes off about how she can't take off work, and Tia murmurs sympathies, stating that she has her own children and knows how hard it can be. Rude Mom does NOT care for that, and snaps back that she "Don't give a fuck about your kids, I care about MY kid and I don't want to hear your fucking problems!" She continues in this vein, getting more and more irate, until Tia hangs up the phone.

Another hour passes and suddenly I'm getting frantic phone calls. Rude Mom has managed to escape her workplace and is in the waiting room making a scene. Tia is hiding in the hallway to avoid escalating things, but I can tell she's about to lose her temper. I go up there to try and calm things down.

Evie: "Hi, I'm Evie, I hear you're having some problems, would you like to come back and talk with me?"

RM: "Hell no. I don't care if I'm making a scene, y'all deserve to sweat a little!"

Evie: "Ooookay. Well, why don't you tell me what's wrong, and I'll see if I can fix it for you."

RM: "Just bring the phone bitch out here and I'll fix it myself!" (She gestures towards the door and makes a fist.)

Evie: "I sent her on break, and I certainly won't be bringing her back up here. I'd really like to help you if I can."

RM: "Fine then, I just want to let you know that all your staff are rude bitches, and you're a rude bitch, too."

Evie: "I'm sorry you feel that way."

RM: "I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY SON'S PENIS. I AM A GOOD MOTHER AND Y'ALL DON'T GIVE A SHIT AND THAT'S MAKIN' ME AGITATED!"

Evie: "Look, I can get you records of the visit, I can let you sit down with a nurse, or I can take you to a room and we can talk more. I don't know how else to help you."

RM: "WHAT DO I CARE? WHAT'S ONE MORE INCOMPETENT BITCH?"

Evie: "Okay, listen. If you want to come back and talk to me when you're calmed down, great. But right now you're upsetting my other patients and you need to leave." (At this point she's making threatening gestures, so I put my hand on the phone and start to dial the police.)

RM: "Oh I'm leaving. I'm fucking leaving, and I won't be back!"

Everyone heaves a collective sigh. I apologize to the other people in the waiting room, especially the children, who are looking a little shell-shocked. They all mutter that they understand and it's okay, but I feel terrible. After I calm the front desk staff down, I go back and find Tia, and tell her to take a few more minutes and get herself a cup of coffee. I go back to my desk, visibly shaken, but ten minutes later my phone rings -- it's Rude Mom.

RM: "I just want you to know that I could sue you. Those receptionists were not telling you how things really went down, and they made it look like I am a bad mother. Just thought you should know." (She hangs up. I pop two Tylenol and lay down on a couch for a while.)

Afterwards I contacted the owner and got the woman and her family banned from the clinic, but it still bothered me. I wished I could have stood up for my people better, and I hate that I let that woman make a horrible scene in our waiting room and upset so many people. In retrospect I was pretty cowardly; I was so afraid she was going to throw a punch at me or something I didn't kick her out on her ass when I should have.

Any of you guys ever felt that way? On the one hand, no one got hurt. On the other hand, everyone was upset and the witch walked away almost scot-free.

Let me know your thoughts, and stay strong!

Love, 

--Evie

Comments

[PicEdit]

You did fine. You stayed calm. Sure, she probably coukd have gotten thrown out soone, but that's a rhetrospec observation. You proved you were the better person. You won. :)

[Spont. Combust]

Yeah, I think you handled it as well as you could in that moment.

But I seriously question her parenting if she is throwing a scene like that and shouting out her son's "medical issues" in a public waiting room for everyone to hear, but that's just my opinion. -_-

[Minidoc]

You handled it very well. You certainly weren't allowed to discuss her son's medical issues with her in the waiting room in front of everyone, and her behavior was inexcusable.

[lamer]

I'm glad you thought to get her banned. I hope you sent a letter outlining why she was banned and that the cops would be notified if she called or came in.

[The Last Archimedean]

You did quite well. Unfortunately, some people are just a**holes, and this woman is one. Nothing you can do about it, and getting her banned is the best solution because now she won't be able to inflict any more misery on you, your co-workers or the other people waiting for treatment.

[Sales Agent Guy]

You did all you could, and I'm especially impressed that you were able to protect 'Tia, since some workers aren't that fortunate. The fact she came in there and wouldn't leave until she was done ranting (or saw you were about to call the cops) makes me think she was trying to deliberately push your patience.

Oh, and did she say his _penis?!_

That is one thing I'd never speak of openly about my child!

[Queer Geek]

You handled it perfectly. If she is being threatning to any member of a clinic or hospital staff, police can be called in to have her removed from the premises. Also, she can threaten a lawsuit but again she'll have to find the money to pay legal fees and from the sound of it, she won't be able to afford hiring a lawyer to pursue it. Nice work!

[Skittles]

I'm glad you can get people like that banned. From your description you did what needed to be done. It sounds like if you had gotten confrontational she would have used that as an excuse to get violent. Sometimes you are better off weathering the storm than yelling back, especially if you aren't physically imposing.

[NC Tony]

I'm not sure who I feel more sorry for:

- you for having to deal with this she-beast in person,
- Tia, for having to listen to this she-beast rant on the phone,
- the other patients for having to watch the she-beast be... a she-beast,
- her kid, for having her for a mother.
- her husband (if she has one) for having to be married to her.

But at least you'll never have to deal with her again.

[Dan]

Looking back, you can see how she acted, and how you acted. From this point of view, you can see other ways the situation might have gone down, and what you could have done differently.

When you were actually IN the situation, however, you did not have this advantage. You had to act on your gut, with little idea of what she was going to do. From that perspective, you did very well; you protected your staff, remained calm, and took action when it became clear it was necessary.