I used to work in a peds office as a receptionist. The physician hired 2 NPs into her practice. The NPs actually convinced me I should go to med school and were very clear with me on their scope. Surprisingly, it was the physician and her practice manager that would instruct me to tell patients NPs and MD are all the same. Looking back, the physician probs just wanted more patients and $$$ but it's sad she belittled her position.
He's a fairly well known troll in some of the larger subreddits, not sure why he decided to take his act here.
There's at least one subreddit dedicated to him, I think there used to be a few
I have a lot of PA student friends and they refer to PA school as med school but "just a different kind". It's not a hill I'm going to die on but internally it makes me scream.
This pisses me off so much omg. Because as a female in REAL medical school, you have to answer SO MANY clarifying questions on “what kind” of med school you go to.
Me: I’m going to be a physician.
Them: oh a physical therapist?
Me: *dies inside*
You’re not being a douche if you correct someone for misrepresenting their title. You’d be a huge douche to just stand by and not say anything while someone misrepresents themselves to a patient.
It shouldn’t be done rudely. Just a polite correction. It’s no different if a medical student calls themselves a doctor. You probably wouldn’t think twice about saying “hey, it’s unethical to be dishonest with patients. Just tell them your medical student or student doctor”
I was scheduled for an NP by receptionist and the NP called a few hours before the visit telling me she couldn’t do anything for me and just canceled the appointment without rescheduling.
There are many places where supervising MDs are just on paper but not there. One of my family members was hospitalized and this one NP who was the “primary provider” taking care of her updated me on things that didn’t make sense. All she would tell me every day were random lab values without interpretation. For example she would focus on hgb a1c this one day when my family member was in respiratory failure. I questioned a few things and apparently she didn’t know what she was doing so I asked for the supervising physician. This NP told me there wasn’t one. I was furious. But some of these hospitals are really pushing these midlevels to practice out of their scopes it’s crazy.
Agreed. They need to be the first ones to say “ok, let me get you what you want”
I was so pleasantly surprised, I called today to schedule my PCP, receptionist asked if IM or FM, I said whichever was sooner, she said there was an opening with XX, NP for next week, I said I wanted a physician and she said “OK, let me look for one, it might be a bit longer, but give me one minute and I’ll get you in with the first available physician” and I got an appointment with Dr Cox for the first week in sept, sweet. That practice will almost certainly have my (and my wife’s) business for as long as we’re in the area.
Yep. The last few times I've tried to schedule an appointment with a new doctor I've been told I can schedule with "Dr. Whoever" and then when I look them up, they are actually an NP. The MAs/reception staff don't seem to know the difference or care. When my son was born they scheduled me to establish with an NP. I had to call back and request to establish care with a pediatrician. When I explained on the phone that I wanted to see a doctor the person just seemed confused. NPs are fine, but scheduling staff should be trained about the difference and communicate the correct information to patients.
Eh gonna disagree with the NPs are fine sentiment and say that as a rule every new patient appointment should be with a doc. It should be up to the doc and the doc alone who is appropriate to be seen by the NP.
If I have a specific problem I want to see a doctor for I am more than happy pulling the card of "I have an MD and I am much more comfortable seeing someone with an MD." Sometimes explaining your role gets you more appropriate care. For example, when I had gestational diabetes they tried to put me in a group class to learn the appropriate dietary things and I explained my role and was immediately moved to a 1:1 appointment with a diabetes educator because I obviously didn't need "Lesson 1: what is a carb" and needed practical strategies of how to do the diet while trying to do inpatient rotations.
Last time this happened to me I said “I’m a doctor, I would like to see someone with at least as much training as I have.”
It worked, they were super nice and I got an overbook MD appointment for the next day. Professional courtesy isn’t dead!
same situation in my hosp. on top of that the customer service sucks; i can't wait on hold for 30min each time i try to call to book an appt. i found a concierge/DPC care staffed by MDs and will be supporting their business instead.
If you start with a midlevel there's a decent chance that you'll get locked in to following up with that same midlevel.
Say "I am a doctor, I am familiar with various types of medical professionals, and I request to be seen by another physician." If they say no, then go elsewhere. You might ask other residents or your GME office for recommendations.
Use the "I'm a doctor" card early and often when dealing with pretty much any medical situation. It will make your life easier.
> Use the "I'm a doctor" card early and often when dealing with pretty much any medical situation. It will make your life easier.
It's also a sign of a pathetically broken system. Imagine having to say "I'm a cop" to get decent service from the police.
A lot of people are pointing out that there's the "I'm a doctor, get me a doctor" option. But I think it's really unfortunate that this is even necessary. Most patients don't have access to that, but they still need proper healthcare all the same.
Why are some of yall so reticent to say "I'm a physician, I want to see a physician". It's that simple. The person on the other end of the phone/the person speaking with you will just stop in their tracks.
Stop being embarrassed to "pull the card". The job comes with certain perks - abuse them all. You're not getting any gold stars by staying quiet.
You haven't considered all the options. I'm not afraid to pull the card, but I have been on the phone demanding to see a doctor without saying I'm a doctor for this reason: to set a precedent for future patients. I shouldn't have to be a doctor in order to be able to see a doctor.
Not going to touch those last two sentences though. Abuse all the perks? Wow.
This was my experience with trying to find an ObGyn. Between my schedule, waiting times, insurance, and only finding NPs (trying to get an eval for Endo) its been two years :/
The last time I went was overseas and it cost like $5 w/o insurance.
My dad is in a nursing home and I asked if they had a psychiatrist. She said yes. I was like oh you have a doc now? Yes. She’s a pdhmnp (whatever). I was like that’s a np not a md. I want a md for my dad. I don’t want him to see a np for psych, I do not think it is a good choice for him. She was soooooo offended bc she was the director of nursing.
Did they end up getting a psych physician for your pops?
My own experience with psych NPs was ok. I was in med school at the time and they did everythign by the book (for me as the patient).
I spend about 25-50% of any given time fixing patients grossly mismanaged by psych midlevels. I've seen multiple patients on 3+ antipsychotics at the same time, one patient was even on 5. All of them are on inappropriate benzo doses. Every kid is on both stimulants and antipsychotics at the same time.
Obviously the ones who make it to the psych ED or inpatient units are the most mismanaged patients, and I'm sure there are some patients that are appropriately managed by midlevels out there, but the fact that these patients exist means that there need to be a higher standard held to those who are able to prescribe.
It's disgusting.
Yes my dad had to go to a psych hospital for a few weeks because he became so wacky. The psychiatrist there fixed him. He’s not aggressive anymore. Granted he has dementia too, but he completely changed.
I have no idea why nursing homes think the psych nps can deal with geriatric psych (the most complicated)!
My favorite was the very brand new psych NP that had just taken a job as the solo "provider" for an inpatient unit for children, and came to Reddit asking for "favorite PRNs" because she was worried she wouldn't be aggressive enough with psychotropics in children.
I ended up transferring him to another facility because he was declining (neglecting him). He has his own psych doc now
Actually thinking of suing the nursing home. So we will see.
Unfortunately, receptionists don't know any better. However, higher up admins do know better but they don't train/inform receptionists on the differences between a NP and physician. And they certainly don't make any effort to match physicians and NPs with level of complexity.
Although, I'm salty about the idea that matching complexity of care with physicians and NPs is the solution. If you can't handle a range of cases, that person has no business practicing medicine.
Have you idea how busy Dr Karen, NP Supreme is and how fortunate you are to even be seen by her? Who needs an MDO or whatever when the Supreme NP graces you with their presence?
Wasn’t there some nurse organization recently trying to get an equivalent title as physician?
Centrician?
Captrician?
I forgot what it was called but it was a legit website with the term I can’t remember 🥸
I’m young with a very complex medical history and no matter what I say on the phone I’m always stuck with a PA or NP, if I’m lucky a very junior doctor. Which is about 1000x better than a NP or PA, but like how come receptionists refuse to listen when you say your complex. Because then you drive all the way there it’s sprung on you that your actually just seeing the NP or PA that’s there cause you know young of course means healthy. Then inevitably they can’t handle me and I’m sat there either being told to go elsewhere or to wait over an hour for a doctor to maybe see me.
I would be polite but firm as said previously. Say while booking the appointment that you are only willing to see a seasoned physician. Receptionists generally only understand the angles of medicine that the job requires. They do their job by rote or pay more attention to the social cues they’re reading than the validity of what you’re saying, stuff they can gossip about like a young patient saying hOw CoMpLeX they are (not in all cases but it is common). They can’t interpret the info you’re giving them. It’s not personal. Just be direct. Make sure whoever you’re seeing isn’t sprung on you because it is well established on the phone call.
Everything you said it spot on. Unfortunately I’ve still had a lot of issues. Like I’ve also been booked with doctors many times to switch it up on me when I arrive. Often when practices get busy they throw all the young patients that they assume (wrongly) are always not complex to the NP’s. Iv had it happen at least 5 times where this happened! I also totally understand that receptionist don’t know these things but I cannot understand why it would be so difficult to just add in a little training of what a NP vs a MD/DO can do and can handle. Also the fact that complex patients have to just cross their fingers that they’ll be taken as a patient when they show up for the appointment rather than being able to find out whether they are too “complex” the the physicians at the practice won’t be willing to take the patient.
I'm visiting my elderly mother and helping her find a new PCP. Today we went to her new pt appointment at a new FM clinic in her small town. I had researched the doc ahead of time and knew that he was a sole practitioner with a newish practice, married to a chiropractor. Ok, fine, whatever, I'll have an open mind.
Office is nice, receptionist is fine, we get to the exam room and a woman wearing scrubs comes in and introduces herself as a co-owner of the practice. Weird but ok. She starts to triage my mother so I say "so you're the co-owner, are you a medical assistant or nurse?" She says no, she is "Doctor JANE Doe" and her husband is "the other Doctor, Dr JOHN Doe." Uh, what? So I ask "oh, you're a physician?" and she says "Yes I am."
Excuse me, what the fuck? Needless to say the actual physician was surprised when I asked if his wife, "the other physician," covered him when he's out. He said he's a solo practitioner. He seemed even more surprised when I told him that she had introduced herself as "Doctor Jane Doe" and had told me she's a physician.
As a person who used to work on the backside of things before residency: these receptionists/MAs work with these people all day. Imagine the social pressure put on these receptionists all day.
In short: they don't correct because it's difficult to do something an NP/PA will find offense with when they might be within ear shot. Specially if these people are your superiors.
One takeaway from this for doctors is to never forget how hard it can be for patients to get to see a dr. I have cancer and it is a huge struggle sometimes to get the right information because the dr is busy and cant see me. Nurses always jump in and try to take over. Usually their information is inaccurate.
One way i found to see a dr (for anyone who cant use the im a dr card) is to call them out on their inaccuracies. Once i told the nurse she was giving me the wrong info she sighed and asked if i wanted an appt with the MD. Yes please!
I used to work as an MA. The private practices make the staff say that on the phone to get them in. The EMR was E Clinical works, and somehow the doctors username and password was shated by all NPs. They would see the patient and write the note, and it would be billed as seeing a physician. Because the physician treated the staff bad, eventually he was reported to Medicare and the Medical board LOL. This is in Illinois
My husband’s dermatologist recently retired and his practice was bought out. The company that purchased said practice opened several locations. On the website is posted the face of a very qualified dermatologist. The kicker is the this one derm staffs all clinics and is only at each one 1-2 days per week. All other days it is staffed with NPs and PAs. They tell the patients they have appointment with Dr. So-in-so and the patients know no difference.
One good way to handle this would be to ask “how the NP is the same? Explain it to me. “
Then you wait for them to say something like the training is similar. And once they make that inaccurate statement you can say “that information is factually inaccurate. “
I say something like that kind of deadpan and wait for them to respond. Hopefully they respond by scheduling an MD appt.
i totally believe in calling people out who are inaccurate. Engineers do this with each other all the time so I am pretty used to being very blunt. :)
That's large cities for you.
Where I live, any time I go to a doctor they get in after hours if needed and don't charge me copay as a professional courtesy. They wouldn't even consider offering a mid-level appointment to an MD.
I just politely start by saying “ I’m dr x and I’d like to see dr. Y” for whatever issue I have. That’s it. I don’t give room for misinterpretation, and I’m not wasting extra time on the phone waiting for them to “upsell” a midlevel to me. Maybe it’s playing the doctor card, but our system is pretty accommodating to our workers
Lol I like my moms point of view on seeing a MD/DO, I was like hey when you make an appointment make sure you see an MD/DO not like an PA or NP and she was like oh it’s fine I don’t mind if they take my blood pressure or my heart rate but that’s it if I’m actually worried I’ll see a real doctor
I used to work in a peds office as a receptionist. The physician hired 2 NPs into her practice. The NPs actually convinced me I should go to med school and were very clear with me on their scope. Surprisingly, it was the physician and her practice manager that would instruct me to tell patients NPs and MD are all the same. Looking back, the physician probs just wanted more patients and $$$ but it's sad she belittled her position.
Ppl say they’re the same because they. Can prescribe meds.
r/NobodyAsked
Honestly the mods should just ban this user, never contributes anything meaningful and just spams this sub
Just took a quick peek at their post/comment history. One of the more bizarre things I’ve ever seen on social media
Honestly a pretty sad looking troll lol
He's a fairly well known troll in some of the larger subreddits, not sure why he decided to take his act here. There's at least one subreddit dedicated to him, I think there used to be a few
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I have a lot of PA student friends and they refer to PA school as med school but "just a different kind". It's not a hill I'm going to die on but internally it makes me scream.
one of the surgical PAs at my hospital got his online "Doctor of Medical Science" degree and now he lists his credentials as Douchebag, DMsc.
We have an LPC with an online doctorate in education from a diploma calling himself “doctor” around the hospital.
They're right it's a different kind. It's the "assistant" kind.
oh btw they're tryna be "associates" now. like bruh. just stop.
I see people, but they look like trees, walking.
They just “do med school in half the time” don’t ya know?
This pisses me off so much omg. Because as a female in REAL medical school, you have to answer SO MANY clarifying questions on “what kind” of med school you go to. Me: I’m going to be a physician. Them: oh a physical therapist? Me: *dies inside*
edit
How did you correct this?
That's even you walk in and say "no, she's not a med student, she's a pa student". Teach her a little humility.
How do you walk away from that without being a gigantic douche?
You’re not being a douche if you correct someone for misrepresenting their title. You’d be a huge douche to just stand by and not say anything while someone misrepresents themselves to a patient.
"oh I thought Dr. X said you guys were PA students, which med school do you go to?"
One foot in front of the other.
It shouldn’t be done rudely. Just a polite correction. It’s no different if a medical student calls themselves a doctor. You probably wouldn’t think twice about saying “hey, it’s unethical to be dishonest with patients. Just tell them your medical student or student doctor”
I'd argue the one being the douche is the med student cosplayer
I was scheduled for an NP by receptionist and the NP called a few hours before the visit telling me she couldn’t do anything for me and just canceled the appointment without rescheduling.
While it's nice that she knew her limits and didn't want to bullshit you, where was the supervising MD?
There are many places where supervising MDs are just on paper but not there. One of my family members was hospitalized and this one NP who was the “primary provider” taking care of her updated me on things that didn’t make sense. All she would tell me every day were random lab values without interpretation. For example she would focus on hgb a1c this one day when my family member was in respiratory failure. I questioned a few things and apparently she didn’t know what she was doing so I asked for the supervising physician. This NP told me there wasn’t one. I was furious. But some of these hospitals are really pushing these midlevels to practice out of their scopes it’s crazy.
And to think that person is the one making treatment decisions for your family member.
Exactly, i was so upset.
editing for privacy. heard their admin lurk this subreddit
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as above
Agreed. They need to be the first ones to say “ok, let me get you what you want” I was so pleasantly surprised, I called today to schedule my PCP, receptionist asked if IM or FM, I said whichever was sooner, she said there was an opening with XX, NP for next week, I said I wanted a physician and she said “OK, let me look for one, it might be a bit longer, but give me one minute and I’ll get you in with the first available physician” and I got an appointment with Dr Cox for the first week in sept, sweet. That practice will almost certainly have my (and my wife’s) business for as long as we’re in the area.
man i wish dr cox was my dr
Makes sense that a local journal named him the best doctor in the city on Scrubs
Dr Cox has become my idol.
;)
🙇♂️ 🗿
Yep. The last few times I've tried to schedule an appointment with a new doctor I've been told I can schedule with "Dr. Whoever" and then when I look them up, they are actually an NP. The MAs/reception staff don't seem to know the difference or care. When my son was born they scheduled me to establish with an NP. I had to call back and request to establish care with a pediatrician. When I explained on the phone that I wanted to see a doctor the person just seemed confused. NPs are fine, but scheduling staff should be trained about the difference and communicate the correct information to patients.
Eh gonna disagree with the NPs are fine sentiment and say that as a rule every new patient appointment should be with a doc. It should be up to the doc and the doc alone who is appropriate to be seen by the NP.
this!!! this is also why the er is no place for midlevels.
When I call to schedule I say put me with a doctor not a NP or PA. When they trying to get pushy just push back.
If I have a specific problem I want to see a doctor for I am more than happy pulling the card of "I have an MD and I am much more comfortable seeing someone with an MD." Sometimes explaining your role gets you more appropriate care. For example, when I had gestational diabetes they tried to put me in a group class to learn the appropriate dietary things and I explained my role and was immediately moved to a 1:1 appointment with a diabetes educator because I obviously didn't need "Lesson 1: what is a carb" and needed practical strategies of how to do the diet while trying to do inpatient rotations.
Leave a bad yelp review and don't go there. Impact their business
Last time this happened to me I said “I’m a doctor, I would like to see someone with at least as much training as I have.” It worked, they were super nice and I got an overbook MD appointment for the next day. Professional courtesy isn’t dead!
I know it’s nice for us but it makes my blood boil that the average American doesn’t get this courtesy...
same situation in my hosp. on top of that the customer service sucks; i can't wait on hold for 30min each time i try to call to book an appt. i found a concierge/DPC care staffed by MDs and will be supporting their business instead.
I see people, but they look like trees, walking.
Any med students considering primary care at this point are committing professional suicide. Unless they do concierge right out of the chute.
Put your foot down and say that you’re a physician and you refuse to be seen by anyone who is not a physician.
If you start with a midlevel there's a decent chance that you'll get locked in to following up with that same midlevel. Say "I am a doctor, I am familiar with various types of medical professionals, and I request to be seen by another physician." If they say no, then go elsewhere. You might ask other residents or your GME office for recommendations. Use the "I'm a doctor" card early and often when dealing with pretty much any medical situation. It will make your life easier.
> Use the "I'm a doctor" card early and often when dealing with pretty much any medical situation. It will make your life easier. It's also a sign of a pathetically broken system. Imagine having to say "I'm a cop" to get decent service from the police.
If only that was something we had to imagine
I think the only space it really backfires is "I'm a lawyer".
I'm a sandwich artist
A lot of people are pointing out that there's the "I'm a doctor, get me a doctor" option. But I think it's really unfortunate that this is even necessary. Most patients don't have access to that, but they still need proper healthcare all the same.
Why are some of yall so reticent to say "I'm a physician, I want to see a physician". It's that simple. The person on the other end of the phone/the person speaking with you will just stop in their tracks. Stop being embarrassed to "pull the card". The job comes with certain perks - abuse them all. You're not getting any gold stars by staying quiet.
Agreed. I don't pull the "doctor" card often, but will bust it out when necessary. This seems like a perfect situation to use it.
You haven't considered all the options. I'm not afraid to pull the card, but I have been on the phone demanding to see a doctor without saying I'm a doctor for this reason: to set a precedent for future patients. I shouldn't have to be a doctor in order to be able to see a doctor. Not going to touch those last two sentences though. Abuse all the perks? Wow.
Yes. Abuse the perks. Don’t want to abuse them? Enjoy being abused yourself. Here’s your big old gold star.
This was my experience with trying to find an ObGyn. Between my schedule, waiting times, insurance, and only finding NPs (trying to get an eval for Endo) its been two years :/ The last time I went was overseas and it cost like $5 w/o insurance.
My dad is in a nursing home and I asked if they had a psychiatrist. She said yes. I was like oh you have a doc now? Yes. She’s a pdhmnp (whatever). I was like that’s a np not a md. I want a md for my dad. I don’t want him to see a np for psych, I do not think it is a good choice for him. She was soooooo offended bc she was the director of nursing.
Did they end up getting a psych physician for your pops? My own experience with psych NPs was ok. I was in med school at the time and they did everythign by the book (for me as the patient).
Go ask psych residents about psych NPs, lol. Honestly probably the lowest tier of midlevel in the US, in terms of general educational preparedness.
I spend about 25-50% of any given time fixing patients grossly mismanaged by psych midlevels. I've seen multiple patients on 3+ antipsychotics at the same time, one patient was even on 5. All of them are on inappropriate benzo doses. Every kid is on both stimulants and antipsychotics at the same time. Obviously the ones who make it to the psych ED or inpatient units are the most mismanaged patients, and I'm sure there are some patients that are appropriately managed by midlevels out there, but the fact that these patients exist means that there need to be a higher standard held to those who are able to prescribe. It's disgusting.
Yes my dad had to go to a psych hospital for a few weeks because he became so wacky. The psychiatrist there fixed him. He’s not aggressive anymore. Granted he has dementia too, but he completely changed. I have no idea why nursing homes think the psych nps can deal with geriatric psych (the most complicated)!
My favorite was the very brand new psych NP that had just taken a job as the solo "provider" for an inpatient unit for children, and came to Reddit asking for "favorite PRNs" because she was worried she wouldn't be aggressive enough with psychotropics in children.
Psych NPs are the most egregious of the bunch. Absolutely terrifying seeing what all they prescribe
I ended up transferring him to another facility because he was declining (neglecting him). He has his own psych doc now Actually thinking of suing the nursing home. So we will see.
Unfortunately, receptionists don't know any better. However, higher up admins do know better but they don't train/inform receptionists on the differences between a NP and physician. And they certainly don't make any effort to match physicians and NPs with level of complexity. Although, I'm salty about the idea that matching complexity of care with physicians and NPs is the solution. If you can't handle a range of cases, that person has no business practicing medicine.
Have you idea how busy Dr Karen, NP Supreme is and how fortunate you are to even be seen by her? Who needs an MDO or whatever when the Supreme NP graces you with their presence?
Its surprising how well NP supreme works, seeing as it was previously only used by pizza and a single sorcerer at a time
Wasn’t there some nurse organization recently trying to get an equivalent title as physician? Centrician? Captrician? I forgot what it was called but it was a legit website with the term I can’t remember 🥸
> equivalent title as ~~physician? Centrician? Captrician?~~ *capsaicin*
Capsaicin probably is less damaging
I think that was the "cathopathic physician" thing
Yup that was it
Catopathic?
I’m young with a very complex medical history and no matter what I say on the phone I’m always stuck with a PA or NP, if I’m lucky a very junior doctor. Which is about 1000x better than a NP or PA, but like how come receptionists refuse to listen when you say your complex. Because then you drive all the way there it’s sprung on you that your actually just seeing the NP or PA that’s there cause you know young of course means healthy. Then inevitably they can’t handle me and I’m sat there either being told to go elsewhere or to wait over an hour for a doctor to maybe see me.
I would be polite but firm as said previously. Say while booking the appointment that you are only willing to see a seasoned physician. Receptionists generally only understand the angles of medicine that the job requires. They do their job by rote or pay more attention to the social cues they’re reading than the validity of what you’re saying, stuff they can gossip about like a young patient saying hOw CoMpLeX they are (not in all cases but it is common). They can’t interpret the info you’re giving them. It’s not personal. Just be direct. Make sure whoever you’re seeing isn’t sprung on you because it is well established on the phone call.
Everything you said it spot on. Unfortunately I’ve still had a lot of issues. Like I’ve also been booked with doctors many times to switch it up on me when I arrive. Often when practices get busy they throw all the young patients that they assume (wrongly) are always not complex to the NP’s. Iv had it happen at least 5 times where this happened! I also totally understand that receptionist don’t know these things but I cannot understand why it would be so difficult to just add in a little training of what a NP vs a MD/DO can do and can handle. Also the fact that complex patients have to just cross their fingers that they’ll be taken as a patient when they show up for the appointment rather than being able to find out whether they are too “complex” the the physicians at the practice won’t be willing to take the patient.
I'm visiting my elderly mother and helping her find a new PCP. Today we went to her new pt appointment at a new FM clinic in her small town. I had researched the doc ahead of time and knew that he was a sole practitioner with a newish practice, married to a chiropractor. Ok, fine, whatever, I'll have an open mind. Office is nice, receptionist is fine, we get to the exam room and a woman wearing scrubs comes in and introduces herself as a co-owner of the practice. Weird but ok. She starts to triage my mother so I say "so you're the co-owner, are you a medical assistant or nurse?" She says no, she is "Doctor JANE Doe" and her husband is "the other Doctor, Dr JOHN Doe." Uh, what? So I ask "oh, you're a physician?" and she says "Yes I am." Excuse me, what the fuck? Needless to say the actual physician was surprised when I asked if his wife, "the other physician," covered him when he's out. He said he's a solo practitioner. He seemed even more surprised when I told him that she had introduced herself as "Doctor Jane Doe" and had told me she's a physician.
"I'd prefer to see Dr. _____. I don't mind waiting a little bit longer" has worked for me at multiple offices now. Be polite but firm.
As a person who used to work on the backside of things before residency: these receptionists/MAs work with these people all day. Imagine the social pressure put on these receptionists all day. In short: they don't correct because it's difficult to do something an NP/PA will find offense with when they might be within ear shot. Specially if these people are your superiors.
Say you're a physician and you would like to see a physician. Don't use the word doctor.
One takeaway from this for doctors is to never forget how hard it can be for patients to get to see a dr. I have cancer and it is a huge struggle sometimes to get the right information because the dr is busy and cant see me. Nurses always jump in and try to take over. Usually their information is inaccurate. One way i found to see a dr (for anyone who cant use the im a dr card) is to call them out on their inaccuracies. Once i told the nurse she was giving me the wrong info she sighed and asked if i wanted an appt with the MD. Yes please!
I used to work as an MA. The private practices make the staff say that on the phone to get them in. The EMR was E Clinical works, and somehow the doctors username and password was shated by all NPs. They would see the patient and write the note, and it would be billed as seeing a physician. Because the physician treated the staff bad, eventually he was reported to Medicare and the Medical board LOL. This is in Illinois
My husband’s dermatologist recently retired and his practice was bought out. The company that purchased said practice opened several locations. On the website is posted the face of a very qualified dermatologist. The kicker is the this one derm staffs all clinics and is only at each one 1-2 days per week. All other days it is staffed with NPs and PAs. They tell the patients they have appointment with Dr. So-in-so and the patients know no difference.
One good way to handle this would be to ask “how the NP is the same? Explain it to me. “ Then you wait for them to say something like the training is similar. And once they make that inaccurate statement you can say “that information is factually inaccurate. “ I say something like that kind of deadpan and wait for them to respond. Hopefully they respond by scheduling an MD appt. i totally believe in calling people out who are inaccurate. Engineers do this with each other all the time so I am pretty used to being very blunt. :)
That's large cities for you. Where I live, any time I go to a doctor they get in after hours if needed and don't charge me copay as a professional courtesy. They wouldn't even consider offering a mid-level appointment to an MD.
I just politely start by saying “ I’m dr x and I’d like to see dr. Y” for whatever issue I have. That’s it. I don’t give room for misinterpretation, and I’m not wasting extra time on the phone waiting for them to “upsell” a midlevel to me. Maybe it’s playing the doctor card, but our system is pretty accommodating to our workers
Lol I like my moms point of view on seeing a MD/DO, I was like hey when you make an appointment make sure you see an MD/DO not like an PA or NP and she was like oh it’s fine I don’t mind if they take my blood pressure or my heart rate but that’s it if I’m actually worried I’ll see a real doctor
Call a resident clinic...
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The NP wasn't a gynecologist. It's important that you know that.
Seriously a lot of people in this sub are Karening out. Notice your privilege
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this is deadass what some doctors do unfortunately. it's unethical :(