Waiting at the doctor isn’t always bad.

It seems like at just about every doctor’s visit I go to, I hear some patient complaining to the front desk about the wait. I’ll be honest, it used to frustrate me greatly too until I realized the wait is often a sign of a good doctor.

When I became chronically ill, I had several appointments where I needed more care than what was scheduled and each time the doctor didn’t rush me but instead took as much time as I needed. Since then, whenever I find myself waiting at the doctor, I often think of all the times I needed more of my doctor’s time than was scheduled. I think of the times I needed my doctor to call me to figure out a plan between patients. I think of all the unplanned emergencies that they have to deal with. I then tell myself, “Someone else needed extra care today and I am glad Dr.___ is helping them”.

Now it isn’t always the sign of a great doctor and sometimes it is instead the sign of a poor office management. To help distinguish the difference, I always ask myself these three questions

1. Is the doctor always over an hour late?

2. Does the staff communicate the delay well?

3. When it’s my turn does the doctor rush me?

If the answer is yes to the first and third, and no to the second one then I start to consider finding a different doctor/office. But otherwise, I let it go.

Here are my top tips for making the wait more bearable.

1. Plan for a wait

When you plan on spending several hours at the doctor it helps to make the experience less frustrating. If you were planning on 40 minutes and end up there for 2 hours you are naturally going to be angrier waiting.

2. If you can’t wait for whatever reason, communicate that when scheduling your appointment.

If work doesn’t allow a long time or you can’t get childcare for a long time or whatever the reason may be, tell that to whoever is booking you. They may be able to book you first thing in the morning or some other time when the doctor tends to not be delayed.

3. Bring a book or something to keep you busy.

Reading the posters on the wall can only entertain you for about one visit, so I highly suggest bringing something else to occupy your time.

At the end of the day remember your doctor has a hard job to do and they don’t want to be behind any more than you want to wait. I do not envy their job, many times they have to give sad or hard news to a patient then walk into the next room and be happy. They also have to do their best to give the best care possible in too short of time because our healthcare system doesn’t allow for longer visits. So next time your doctor is late, please give them grace and don’t complain to the front desk.

What is your favorite way to stay entertained while at the doctor?