- Don’t Bring a (Long) List
Did you know an appointment with the doctor (or nurse) is 15 minutes. This is enough time usually to deal with one major or a couple of minor issues. If you have more than this to discuss you can book a double appointment so that we can give your concerns the time they deserve. This also helps to reduce the chances of us running late.
- Be On Time
Despite our best efforts some problems are more serious and can require more than the allotted 15 minutes. We do our best to be punctual and if patients arrive late this has a knock-on effect on those coming after you. For this reason we may not be able to see you if you arrive more than 5 minutes after your appointment start time.
- Get The Important Issue Out First
If you are worried about a particular symptoms, eg. chest pain or new breast lump, please mention it at the beginning so we don’t spend the 15 minutes talking about your verrucas or other minor issues (Yes, we can easily spend 15 minutes talking about verrucas!)
- Be Chronological and Specific with your story
It’s worth having a little think before your appointment so you have the details of your story nice and clear for the doctor. When thinking of timings try to be specific with hours/days/weeks/months rather than ‘a long time’ which can mean different things to different people.
- Dr Google or not to Google…..
It is very common to search the internet for ideas as to what may be causing your symptoms. If this has raised possible diagnoses that are now concerning you please share your concerns. However then let us do our job, take a history and examine you, before we can then discuss whether the internet has been accurate (or not!) in your situation.
- There is no need to be embarrassed
Doctors are used to dealing with all areas of the body and are very happy to be shown anything.
- Be courteous
Please be nice to all of our team. We are all here to help you. There may be times when we get a little busy but we will still be doing our best. A smile or thank you is always appreciated.