Overheard "You're there to make money, not to talk," in clinical

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I had clinical Saturday on Mother/Baby postpartum and I was in the nursery for most of the day. I overheard a resident talking to her attending about how she was more comfortable in the hospital setting, but in the clinic she couldn't get patients to stop talking and asking questions. Word for word this is what I heard her attending say to her, "You'll learn how to make them be quiet, you're there to make money not talk." :angthts:

Seriously?! I about flipped when I heard this because I for one have really crappy health insurance and I'm about to get my yearly check-up and I've been making a short list of things to ask my doctor while I'm there. As crappy as this economy I fully understand that patients are going to be asking more questions while at their appointment to get their money's worth. It just really upset and offended me to hear an attending say that. I was curious what other people's take on doctors were as nurses or nursing students.

When I was seeing an OB, very rarely did my appointments last 15 minutes, but I would wait for several hours to see her. With my last pregnancy, I went to a midwife practice and what a refreshing difference! First, I was in and out in less than an hour and my appointments usually lasted 15 minutes because the midwife would ask me questions and talk to me. I also didn't feel like a number - the receptionist called you by name when you walked in the door (and I noticed she did this for everyone) and she even knew who I was when I called on the telephone one time to reschedule an appointment (I was sick - I don't take rescheduling lightly on the day of, but let's just say I couldn't leave the house).

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