Support staff at OB/GYN

AOliveira11 · April 2016

I absolutely love my doctors. But their support staff makes me want to leave the office. One nurse got fired bc she wasnt passing messages thru timely or at all and patients were getting upset. Recently, i failed my one hour glucose test. I was 136 and should have been 130 or under. They made such a big deal about doing the three hour test as fast as possible. I rearranged my work schedule and planned to go this past Thursday. I got there and checked in with the receptionist who i absolutely adore!!! He ran back and let the phlebotomist know i was there to get started. An hour goes by and i still havent had the first draw or drank the juice yet. I go to the window and inform the receptionist of this. At this point im super hangry because of fasting and he goes "she hasnt come out yet?!" And got up to get here. The phlebotomist comes out and says "im so sorry. I was eating a muffin. Are u ready to get started now?" And i lost it!! I told her i was ready an hour ago when i got here, was told i didnt need an appointment but i called anyway to inform you i was coming at 9 am on thursday and here we are!! I ended up leaving and told them to fail me bc i didnt have the time to waste waiting around after an hour of waiting in the first place. i dont know if i should bothet bringing this up to my doctor or the office manager but this isnt the first issue ive had with the phlebotomist. She can never find a vein and the second time she drew my blood, blamed my blood pressure as the reason the tube that collects the blood popped off the vacuum. Am i being unreasonable here?

cjackrunfast78 · April 2016

I would mention it. Support staff can go a long way to making your experience with a doctor a good one or bad one. Maybe the doctor or manager having a talk with them will shed some light on their behavior that the doctor and manager do not see. Good Luck.

CopperLane · April 2016

Is there only one phlebotomist in the office? I'd definitely bring it up, even if it is just the issue with the 3 hour test. Next time don't wait so long before saying something!

Is it possible for you to go to a blood lab? They sent me to one (labcorp) for my 3 hour test. I had zero issue and the workers there draw blood all day and did a way better job than any of the nurses at my OB. i even asked one of them to go work for my OB! There is one nurse there who dug the needle around in my arm and even my non squeamish husband had to look away. I've made sure never to get her again since!!!

Disneygeek77 · April 2016

If I was the Dr or the office manager, I would want to know.

mar101483 · April 2016

I would say something, going through the glucose test is stressful enough. My clinic made my 1 hr one pretty painless and I was grateful for that. I work in HC & have zero tolerance for poor practices, if she was eating a muffin, she could have given the drink to someone else to give you

kaitielynnrichardson · April 2016

I definitely feel your pain on this! I absolutely love my OB. I text her weekly my bump photos, and good lord if I don't I hear about it. I switched to her after my miscarriage in 2014. Anyhow... The office staff is TERRIBLE. The billing office constantly bills me wrong, bills the wrong insurance, takes forever to fix mistakes.. But I can't leave my doctor. Needless to say, I brought this up to her because it's just unacceptable. She was mortified at all the issues I was having and had the office manager hold a series of trainings to fix the problems. I have only had one problem since then, which was fixed real quick, so I suggest bringing it up to your ob. Chances are-- you aren't the only one experiencing this. Good luck!

totsabounding · April 2016

I would say definitely let your doctor know about your experience. And I agree with @CopperLane that blood labs in general have been much more pleasant experiences for me overall--when I got my initial lab work done in office, it was kinda rough as far as blood draws go, but when I got my GD test in the hospital's dedicated lab, I barely knew I was even being touched. Sorry you had such a bad experience. PS it definitely doesn't take me an hour to eat a muffin. Must've been some muffin.

nightwitch · April 2016

I switched to an entirely different hospital network at 30 weeks for crap like this. I could not be happier! It's amazing what a well run medical network is like in comparison to the BS I had been putting up with. Good luck and I hope they get their act together

huskypuppy14 · April 2016

That is completely unacceptable, but why did you wait an hour to say something. I would have left too, when it comes to a timed test you have to be on the ball. And she would have to have taken your blood 4 times at dedicated intervals. Ugh!

Also, it's crazy how different offices have different "cut offs". My doctor does anything above 140 is failing, some do above 130, and I've also heard above 135.

Tawny87 · April 2016

Most times the Dr's have zero clues of what goes on. I would let them know.

ETA: sorry thought of something else as I posted. If your practice is part of a bigger company, mine is part of Banner Health you can call and complain to them too. I almost had to do that over problems with a receptionist at my office.

TNvols27 · April 2016

I switched OB offices in the middle of my pregnancy and I haven't regretted it for a single second. If one place isn't making you happy, there's another out there that will.
I would definitely say something though, like PP have said, it's likely the doctor has no idea the way their staff are making a negative reflection on them.

Boonhilde · April 2016

1. It's actually not a bad idea to tell them to go ahead and fail you, do all the GD training, get the kits and check your glucose. If your numbers are normal they won't put you on meds and you'll just be eating healthy.

2. OMG. I'd be livid.

AOliveira11 · April 2016

I was trying to be patient figuring they were a little behind. So i sat there playing candy crush on my phone, doin some paperwork, etc. then my regular alarm went off to alert me it was time to take my prenatals and i was like no way has it been this long yet. Im definitely going to say something at my next appointment. The first time i had a blood draw there, she poked twice in each arm and then fished around for a vein in my hand until i got dizzy and threw up on her lab coat. I apologized but i wasnt sorry. I felt like she brought it on herself lol. My hubby was with me for the tube shooting off incident and evrn he was mortified. I was like i told u it wasnt me. This is an IVF pregnancy. Ive had more blood draws by so many people who've never had issues getting a good flow or finding a vein that it definitely shouldnt be more difficult for someone else

adiaz132003 · April 2016

I'm just hung up on the fact that knowing you haven't eaten and she made you wait an hour, she came out and said she was eating. My preggo brain is telling me to rip her a new one. But I have been cranky lately soooo maybe don't take my advice.

CopperLane · April 2016

They should never fish for a vein!!! The practice seriously needs a new phlebotomist. In the meantime try to get your work done at a blood lab. I would have puked on her too, kudos to that!!

Did she eat an amnesia muffin and forget you were there? I feel like I might need a few of those amazing muffins to get me through labor.

lilp2015 · April 2016

I also love my OB and can't stand the nurse practitioner. Guess who doesn't see her anymore? Doc told them to only schedule me to see her.

aoliveira0726 · May 2016

So i wanted to post again. I am 37 weeks tomorrow. The support staff at my doctors office is still horrible. I threw up on the phlebotomist my last appointment because shes still horrible at her job. Also, ive had 2 urines that when testing with the dip stick have shown trace amounts of blood. No idea what happened to the first one. The second one i made sure to ask about at my last appointment since no one called me. My doctor could not find a result or that my urine was even sent out!!! Ive also been waiting over 2 weeks now for my group b strep test...no call, nothing put on the patient portal...at 37 weeks am i crazy to want to just switch practices to an office who can figure out how to run properly?

Tawny87 · May 2016

I don't know if I would change offices at this point but I would have a serious conversation with the office manager and your physician, a lot of times they don't know the problems patients are having. Also, if your practice is part of a bigger administration I would contact them to complain.

stxaggie · May 2016

You need to bring these issues up to your Dr. ASAP. Many times they are not aware of what is going on but would likely address the issues if it was brought to their attention. If your considering switching practices over this then the Dr. should take issue with the service their staff is providing. If not then I would be looking for a new practice after delivery.

meggyme · May 2016

Definitely speak with your doctor and/or office manager. I believe there is a small window of time when the GBS can be done, so if they misplaced your sample there could be an issue which your doctor should have looked into. Also, blood in the urine sample with no follow up from your doctor?! That seems suspect. While it might be too late to change now, I'd definitely change doctors for the future.

aoliveira0726 · May 2016

Made the call today to see if its possible to change doctors. Im at work and adjusted in my chair. All of a sudden i felt what i can only describe as a dripping faucet feeling. Went to bathroom and got some bloody discharge and then the cramping!!! Painful hurtful cramping going from front to back and vice versa every 10 mins. Called my doctor who told me it's normal and id see her tomorrow at my regular appointment. It just felt so dismissive. Trying my best to stay calm but im ao uncomfortable and to the point of exhaustion over all these issues that im ready to go from dr. Jeckyl to mr. Hyde on them. Ive been pleasant and trying to be accommodating with all their errors but now i have no idea if im in labor and just supposed to wait until tomorrow to figure it out. This is supposed to be a special time damnit!!! I dont need them to hold my hand but jesus!! Give me something to tell me that im not crazy or going to have this baby in my office bathroom!!

Sydvicious08 · May 2016

You need to call a different OB asap and get moved. You also need to tell them what happened and get a second opinion asap. OT just go to L&D. Like, now

Tawny87 · May 2016

Just go to L&D they will get you checked and make sure you are in good shape.

mamalindsayof3 · May 2016

I wouldn't trust anything or anyone out of that office at this point. If you have any concerns, just go straight to your L&D.

GinnyJ2012 · May 2016

Yeah I'd head to L&D to get checked out.

xc1148 · May 2016

"im so sorry. I was eating a muffin."

I'm sorry but this made me laugh so hard. Anyway, I would consider leaving. Is this the support staff that will be managing your labor and delivery? Because I would leave very quickly. You're going to spend 95% of your time with them in labor, and your doctor will swing by when you start to push. Customer service is a big deal, especially in medicine where you need to be able to communicate freely. Good luck!

meggyme · May 2016

@aoliveira0726 Any update on your cramping? I hope you were able to get a more reassuring answer.

huskypuppy14 · May 2016

Usually txc1148 said:

"im so sorry. I was eating a muffin."

I'm sorry but this made me laugh so hard. Anyway, I would consider leaving. Is this the support staff that will be managing your labor and delivery? Because I would leave very quickly. You're going to spend 95% of your time with them in labor, and your doctor will swing by when you start to push. Customer service is a big deal, especially in medicine where you need to be able to communicate freely. Good luck!

Usually the support staff in the office clinic is not the same as in the hospital L&D. At least in my experience. So that's a good thing.

aoliveira0726 · May 2016

Part of the plug did come out but no broken water yet. My doctor does seem to think in the next week or so our DD will make her entrance. I did let her have it today going over the lack of common sense of her staff and missing test results as well as lost urine. She must have been either very mad or trying to placate me bc she called before we even left the parking lot with my test results of the group b strep. On another note, another patient complained about the phlebotomist and she was fired the end of last week bc there was a new girl there today who stuck me and was phenomenal. It took me a couple seconds to realize the needle was even in!!! Hopefully this is a nice turnaround so we can just finish out this pregnancy

Shanna2016 · May 2016

Fantastic to hear there has been an improvement!

meggyme · May 2016

That's great! Hopefully they will keep working in the right direction.

Support staff at OB/GYN

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