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Post by iamkristinl16 on Nov 28, 2023 17:22:28 GMT
I have been going to the doctor for my knee in the last few months. Each time they first gave the nurse come in and I tell her what is going on. Then a PA, who says what he thinks the problem is. Then he relays the info to the doctor before she comes in and then she comes in and says something totally different than the PA. It just seems like a waste of time (and probably money) to have a PA and the doctor involved. Is this typical?
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Nov 28, 2023 18:13:44 GMT
Where I go (Urgent care), it's triage Nurse first, then go to a room and then it's one of three......Doctor, Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner. Seeing only one of the three.
I have had the Nurse Practitioner excuse herself to go and confer with the Doctor, the she came back with the plan of action.
I think the assignment of who one sees, happens at check-in desk, depending on whatever the severity of the issue or problem.
Sounds like the facility protocol or Doctor in question......... is a micro-manager.
The only time I've had multiple Doctors, is at the Emergency room. Start with student Doctor, then Resident Doctor, then the supervising Doctor.
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Rhondito
Pearl Clutcher
MississipPea
Posts: 4,688 
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Post by Rhondito on Nov 28, 2023 18:20:52 GMT
More and more my specialists having been doing this. Not so much a nurse, but definitely a PA, and then the dr coming in and going over everything again. Infrequently I'll just see the PA. I don't mind so much with my Oncologist, I really like her PA and I'm just there for checkups; with my other doctors it seems they never have the same PA which can be annoying.
I went to a dermatologist whose PA made me very upset. I was making an appointment because I had a rash on my legs and I thought while I was there I should probably get a skin cancer check *I told the scheduler this when I made the appointment so they would know how much time to allow. * When the PA came into the room she told me the could only address one of the issues, not both, and I had to tell her which one I wanted. I was so mad! I decided I should get the skin check because if I had skin cancer somewhere I needed to know. When the dr came in for the exam she asked me about the rash, told me what it was, and an over the counter med to use for it! The Gatekeeper PA didn't look very happy.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Nov 28, 2023 19:42:02 GMT
More and more my specialists having been doing this. Not so much a nurse, but definitely a PA, and then the dr coming in and going over everything again. Infrequently I'll just see the PA. I don't mind so much with my Oncologist, I really like her PA and I'm just there for checkups; with my other doctors it seems they never have the same PA which can be annoying. I went to a dermatologist whose PA made me very upset. I was making an appointment because I had a rash on my legs and I thought while I was there I should probably get a skin cancer check *I told the scheduler this when I made the appointment so they would know how much time to allow. * When the PA came into the room she told me the could only address one of the issues, not both, and I had to tell her which one I wanted. I was so mad! I decided I should get the skin check because if I had skin cancer somewhere I needed to know. When the dr came in for the exam she asked me about the rash, told me what it was, and an over the counter med to use for it! The Gatekeeper PA didn't look very happy. I’ve also been told that they can only talk about one issue at a time as well. Probably because of billing as well as time management. But I’m sure some doctors are more flexible, even if the clinic would prefer to only do one issue at a time. |
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Post by littlemama on Nov 28, 2023 19:57:13 GMT
Are you sure it is a PA? One of my Drs always has med students in his office (I call them ducklings in my heaf because when they are following him, they remind me of ducklings). and they come in first, then go talk to the Dr and then both come back in. If I see the PA, which is rare, I only see the PA.
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Post by Zee on Nov 28, 2023 20:11:33 GMT
Generally I only see new PAs come in with the doctor or get followed up by the dr.
I usually prefer NPs and PAs to the doctor because they seem less hurried and more friendly and willing to listen to concerns (obviously, that's not always true, but it has been in my experiences).
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Nov 28, 2023 20:16:14 GMT
Are you sure it is a PA? One of my Drs always has med students in his office (I call them ducklings in my heaf because when they are following him, they remind me of ducklings). and they come in first, then go talk to the Dr and then both come back in. If I see the PA, which is rare, I only see the PA. Yes, it’s been the same PA both times. I’m at the same clinic now for an appt with a spine doctor and there doesn’t seem to be a PA (been waiting in the room for 25min) but we will see who shows up. |
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jill8909
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by jill8909 on Nov 28, 2023 20:52:21 GMT
as an aside - most doctors won't let you address more than one issue in an appointment. it's a time/$$ thing.
I see the PA or the doctor.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Nov 28, 2023 21:29:38 GMT
That was exactly what happened when I had a hand injury a couple years ago. I went to one of those orthopedic urgent care places. Saw a nurse first, told her the whole story. Then a PA came in and I told her everything again even though it was all in the computer. Then she sent me down to get a splint, then I had to go back later to see the actual MD and had to reiterate once again what the deal was.
In that situation I can kind of understand, they’re not going to waste the doctor’s time if it’s determined to not be anything too serious. But they do the same thing at the regular clinic too, requiring the family physician to be the middleman between me being seen by the specialist I already know I need to see, especially for something BTDT already so I *KNOW* what the problem is. To me it just feels like everybody needs their palm greased before I can have my issue(s) addressed.
What annoys me the most about healthcare in general is that they seem to feel like it’s perfectly okay to waste MY time by forcing me to come in for multiple appointments to see the same damn provider for different issues, vs. me just going in once and getting everything done. It wouldn’t be nearly so bad if they would get you in and out in a timely manner, but they don’t do that either. They tell me to come in 15-20 minutes early (I’m sure because of all the people who show up late which messes up the schedule) but then half the time I’m not even roomed at my appointment time. And then they leave me sitting there for 30-45 minutes waiting long after my stated appointment time once they do get me roomed. It’s all so frustrating.
My current irritation is that my health care plan keeps wanting to send me home colonoscopy tests when I’m not due for screening for another three years. This is the third year in a row that they’ve told me I need to be screened, and I’m like NOPE. I had it done at 50 and I don’t need to be screened again until I’m 60, at which point I’ll go in and have the real test done. THEY KNOW that I had an actual colonoscopy in 2017. I’ve heard so many horror stories of people who did the home test (which was covered by insurance) get a positive result so they go in for a colonoscopy which ends up being negative, but then they get stuck having to pay for the more expensive colonoscopy OOP because insurance will only pay for one screening and now you’ve done two. It’s all such a racket.
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teddyw
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,875
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Post by teddyw on Nov 28, 2023 21:33:35 GMT
More and more my specialists having been doing this. Not so much a nurse, but definitely a PA, and then the dr coming in and going over everything again. Infrequently I'll just see the PA. I don't mind so much with my Oncologist, I really like her PA and I'm just there for checkups; with my other doctors it seems they never have the same PA which can be annoying. I went to a dermatologist whose PA made me very upset. I was making an appointment because I had a rash on my legs and I thought while I was there I should probably get a skin cancer check *I told the scheduler this when I made the appointment so they would know how much time to allow. * When the PA came into the room she told me the could only address one of the issues, not both, and I had to tell her which one I wanted. I was so mad! I decided I should get the skin check because if I had skin cancer somewhere I needed to know. When the dr came in for the exam she asked me about the rash, told me what it was, and an over the counter med to use for it! The Gatekeeper PA didn't look very happy. My dermatologist got rid of all their PAs and NPs. His medical assistant checks me in asks why I’m there and then the DR now does all the interviewing and diagnosing. I feel like something must have happened like a misdiagnosis maybe. |
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Post by dewryce on Nov 28, 2023 23:40:38 GMT
More and more my specialists having been doing this. Not so much a nurse, but definitely a PA, and then the dr coming in and going over everything again. Infrequently I'll just see the PA. I don't mind so much with my Oncologist, I really like her PA and I'm just there for checkups; with my other doctors it seems they never have the same PA which can be annoying. I went to a dermatologist whose PA made me very upset. I was making an appointment because I had a rash on my legs and I thought while I was there I should probably get a skin cancer check *I told the scheduler this when I made the appointment so they would know how much time to allow. * When the PA came into the room she told me the could only address one of the issues, not both, and I had to tell her which one I wanted. I was so mad! I decided I should get the skin check because if I had skin cancer somewhere I needed to know. When the dr came in for the exam she asked me about the rash, told me what it was, and an over the counter med to use for it! The Gatekeeper PA didn't look very happy. I’ve also been told that they can only talk about one issue at a time as well. Probably because of billing as well as time management. But I’m sure some doctors are more flexible, even if the clinic would prefer to only do one issue at a time. I don’t understand this because they can bill it as a more complex visit. My appointments always last quite a while because I come in with questions, and then ask more as they’re relaying the information. A long time ago I did have a dermatologist take my notebook with my questions out of my hand and set it away from me. Needless to say that was the first and last appt with that doctor. |
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Post by lisae on Nov 29, 2023 0:00:30 GMT
It seems to be very common in orthopedics regardless of where you go here to see the PA first and then the orthopedic surgeon. And yes, I agree, it is often a waste of time.
For other things, DH goes to a teaching hospital so there are often residents who come in before the physician. The residents ask questions and sometimes offer opinions but they say nothing when the lead physician is in the room. They listen and observe.
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None
Full Member
Posts: 453
Sept 17, 2017 13:10:30 GMT
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Post by None on Nov 29, 2023 0:12:46 GMT
When I went to the ortho for my knee, that is exactly how it went down. Send liked is the specialists who have the pa. The regular Dr has a nurse who comes in and gets all the info, puts it into her computer. Then a little bit later the dr. Comes in and they have already reviewed what the nurse put in.
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