Updated: you are out of your mind

[SnuggleBuggles]

I know this is the BP but you said not all patients could be reached to reschedule. That’s the thing to me- you knew there was a chance someone was going to try and make their appointment. Sucky to make that unsafe drive and find no Dr. to care for them. But, around here, all closings are fun on the local news and you can get notified via text, email, Facebook, Twitter... relying on calling people shouldn’t be the only solution. What did other similar businesses do around you?


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[specialp]

That's my thought. Did the hospital leave the clinic open because all patients had not been reached and rescheduled? Would they have closed it if all patients had been rescheduled. I had an AM appointment during a bad snowstorm several years ago. I called and no answer. I called the hospital as office was located on-site and they had no information of closing so we went and thankfully, they were open. I would've been fine to reschedule, but livid to have made that trip to an empty office. Sounds like there were residents and staff at your office as well so the one patient who showed up did not do so to an empty office.

[basil]

No they did not allow us to reschedule patients. That’s what I wanted to do on Wednesday afternoon but they wouldn’t allow it.

FWIW, this clinic is cancelled (by other physicians) maybe once a month or so for various reasons - physician is ill, flight got cancelled, physician had to do an emergency surgery, physician didn’t feel like it. I do a lot of filling in for these times for no benefit for myself. So they can suck it.

All other private practices in my specialty in he area were closed. It’s because this clinic I owned by the hospital that they wanted it open.

[Green_Tea]

OK, I realize this is the bitching post, and you might be talking about the hospital I work in, but sorry, that's the way it works.

It is? I am not a doctor, but I live not far from the OP. I had three different medical service providers cancel appointments for Thursday and Friday due to the weather. I don't think what she had in mind (rescheduling non-essential appointments so doctors and staff don't have to get on dangerous roads unnecessarily) is unusual at all.

[sariana]

The authorities should have issued a requirement for non-essential businesses to close. End of story. No one needs to be on the road in such conditions for anything other than an emergency.

[icunurse]

I'm sorry that you're dealing with it. Unfortunately, management at every workplace can sometimes forget about common sense when they are more focused on appearance or numbers or whatever. The main hospital that I work for starts days in advance of a blizzard lining up workers, discharging as many people as possible, and canceling almost anything elective. They want to conserve resources and make sure that we have adequate support. The last blizzard a few years ago, though, it was noted that many managers stayed home and, well, all heck broke loose over that. If I can go in, they can go in. When you know that you might be snowed in and working a couple days almost straight, hands are needed. It is a high level hospital and doc, nurses , and support staff need to show up to provide at least the minimum (hopefully more than that) of quality care.

Now I mainly work at an OP interventional site affiliated with the main hospital. We do not have emergency appointments (though I am sure some patients would tell you otherwise). No one will be further injured or die if they have to wait a a day or two or three. So if a blizzard is forecast and the authorities send out the usual "only necessary workers should be on the road", I do not feel that that applies to me and I would have no intention of going into work.

[dogmom]

It is? I am not a doctor, but I live not far from the OP. I had three different medical service providers cancel appointments for Thursday and Friday due to the weather. I don't think what she had in mind (rescheduling non-essential appointments so doctors and staff don't have to get on dangerous roads unnecessarily) is unusual at all.

It may not be, but my hospital doesn't. I'm not sure where OP works, but I work in a large teaching hospital in a city, so there are people within walking distance. As long as public transportation is running, other people might come. There is an email that goes out when it looks like there is going to be extreme weather that reminds us: 1) we don't close 2) ambulatory practices are open 3) it is our responsibility to make arrangements. I think she stated she was new to the area, but we just cope. As a nurse I've gone in the night before and stayed in a hotel to make sure I can relieve people the next day. I've rented hotel rooms for days and swapped back and forth with the day/night people splitting the cost. There are beds put up somewhere over night in hospital, but who wants to sleep on an air mattress? I think we closed the clinics only when there was no public transportation. We do often close early like last week, but there were still ones that stayed open. People just make it work.

I understand the OP is frustrated, and may the office manager is a PIA, but you cant just decide to unilaterally not show up. It does sound like the logic was not a good one in the case of your clinic, and from your other post it seems like this is part of a pattern of administrative stuff. Maybe decide which person in the practice is going to show up? I've seen physician couples set up child care for these things, you just have to have emergency back up plans if you work for certain places. The docs I know in clinics use the time to catch up on other things if tons of patients don't come. I was talking to my physical therapist about the storm, they stayed open but went home early and the people that did show up were the 80 yo that probably shouldn't come, the 20 somethings stayed home. She credited the hard work of the front desk staff to reach people by noon of the day.

And as far is rescheduling elective surgery, that's easier said than done. I have a friend who has a torn rotator cuff, she needs to wait three months for an OR, which is pretty typical here. She is in pain and just wants to get on with it. I'm sure she would show up in a blizzard to get it done. Likewise thyroid surgeries, mastectomies, biopsies, etc. They aren't life threatening right away, but the stress of waiting sucks. No one cancelled their surgery this past week. Now getting people discharge from this hospital, another story! We were beyond capacity.

It really isn't that big of a deal once you get used to it. You just have to be prepared.

[abh5e8]

The OP had an am only clinic of routine appointments, all of which were cancelled except those with a disconnected phone. That is not the time to brave a blizzard and go to work. Inpatients, ers, scheduled surgeries - of course u need to go in.

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[Green_Tea]

It may not be, but my hospital doesn't. I'm not sure where OP works, but I work in a large teaching hospital in a city, so there are people within walking distance. As long as public transportation is running, other people might come. There is an email that goes out when it looks like there is going to be extreme weather that reminds us: 1) we don't close 2) ambulatory practices are open 3) it is our responsibility to make arrangements. I think she stated she was new to the area, but we just cope. As a nurse I've gone in the night before and stayed in a hotel to make sure I can relieve people the next day. I've rented hotel rooms for days and swapped back and forth with the day/night people splitting the cost. There are beds put up somewhere over night in hospital, but who wants to sleep on an air mattress? I think we closed the clinics only when there was no public transportation. We do often close early like last week, but there were still ones that stayed open. People just make it work.

I understand the OP is frustrated, and may the office manager is a PIA, but you cant just decide to unilaterally not show up. It does sound like the logic was not a good one in the case of your clinic, and from your other post it seems like this is part of a pattern of administrative stuff. Maybe decide which person in the practice is going to show up? I've seen physician couples set up child care for these things, you just have to have emergency back up plans if you work for certain places. The docs I know in clinics use the time to catch up on other things if tons of patients don't come. I was talking to my physical therapist about the storm, they stayed open but went home early and the people that did show up were the 80 yo that probably shouldn't come, the 20 somethings stayed home. She credited the hard work of the front desk staff to reach people by noon of the day.

And as far is rescheduling elective surgery, that's easier said than done. I have a friend who has a torn rotator cuff, she needs to wait three months for an OR, which is pretty typical here. She is in pain and just wants to get on with it. I'm sure she would show up in a blizzard to get it done. Likewise thyroid surgeries, mastectomies, biopsies, etc. They aren't life threatening right away, but the stress of waiting sucks. No one cancelled their surgery this past week. Now getting people discharge from this hospital, another story! We were beyond capacity.

It really isn't that big of a deal once you get used to it. You just have to be prepared.

I have lived in NYC and Boston, so understand the workings of a big city teaching hospital may be different - especially since a large percentage of the staff can avail themselves of public transportation. I think, though, you are comparing apples to oranges. If the OP were an ER doctor or one that had surgeries scheduled, that would be different.

[abh5e8]

here is an email that goes out when it looks like there is going to be extreme weather that reminds us: 1) we don't close 2) ambulatory practices are open 3) it is our responsibility to make arrangements

. As a nurse I've gone in the night before and stayed in a hotel to make sure I can relieve people the next day. I've rented hotel rooms for days and swapped back and forth with the day/night people splitting the cost.

I understand the OP is frustrated, and may the office manager is a PIA, but you cant just decide to unilaterally not show up.

She credited the hard work of the front desk staff to reach people by noon of the day.

And as far is rescheduling elective surgery, that's easier said than done.

She did make arrangements... Her front desk called the patients to cancel and reschedule.

She's is not taking about inpatient nurses, rather and outpatient routine follow up clinic.

She didn't just decide not to come... She had the front desk call day before to cancel and reschedule the patients.

Just like in your example of PT. They called the patients and told them not to come due to the storm.

Again, op is not talking about surgeries.

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