bear & lion

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this is a vent : to all the hospital staff who have been rude…

by

today i tried to make an appointment for my annual MRI and was treated with blatant disrespect by two different staff members at my local hospital. i am still fighting back tears, because it’s not like i want to be there dealing with this. 
oh how happy i would be if i never had be inside a MRI machine again.

so i wrote this…

 to the hospital workers i have encountered who have been rude and disrespectful to me over the last few years this is for you…


  • i’m sorry i was diagnosed with a pituitary gland tumour.
  • i’m sorry i had to make an appointment and called your department, and you answered.
  • i am deeply sorry my brain tumour inconvenienced your day.
  • i’m sorry when you repeatedly use words like “protocol” you assume that i know what you mean. i’m sorry that when i ask you to clarify, you keep using that word, with snark in your tone.
  • i’m sorry you i don’t understand or know your protocols.
  • i’m sorry my health issues and the health issues of others have created your job and many others in your hospital.
  • i’m sorry you chose me as target for your bad mood.


i am so fed up with being talked down to as though i am stupid, irrelevant and worthless. i had a serious health crisis and because of that crisis i will continue on going care and attention from the medical world for years and years to come. being made to feel stupid for simply trying to make an MRI appointment is wrong. i do not deserve to be spoken to in a tone that implies and drips with judgement. 


i am a person. i have worth and value. 
and, just because i don’t know or understand how these massive hospital systems work, does not make me stupid, ignorant or lesser than the person trying to do their job. i empathize that working in a hospital setting must be stressful and exhausting, but i do not think that gives permission for systemic rudeness. i have received treatment at three hospitals in the last four years, two being major centres of research and respected in their industry. all three hospitals have staff that have treated me and my family rudely and disrespectfully. clearly, this is a major issue in the field and not just one or two individuals. 

i have always been supporter of nurses and health care professionals in general, but something has to give. and, taking out frustrations on patients who are sick, vulnerable and already under enormous anxiety is just plain wrong. i no longer have a tumour in my head, but i require annual MRI’s and blood work to ensure nothing is growing back. i am 34 years old, with two small children and making these annual appointments is still a huge stressor for me. i feel anxious just trying to make these appointments, because i am terrified of what may be there. i have a 25% chance that the tumour will grow back and seeing as i was so young when the first tumour was found, in my gut i am sure i will be told one day again that i have a tumour.

and, even if i was stupid, ignorant and worthless i still don’t deserve to be treated disrespectfully. as members of a staff that are trained to deal with people, the public, it should be the norm to be polite and courteous to all. 

that is all.
xo, mama lola
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Comments

  1. Much love and positive vibes your way, lady. I am disgusted by the modern medicine system. I wish you nothing but the best.

    My husband had to get two stitches. It costs us $386. Ridic.

  2. I am sorry to hear you weren’t treated with respect. I understand how vulnerable you must have been feeling making that appointment, and I wish you had been treated with more care. Thinking good thoughts for the MRI.

  3. Take the time to send a letter to hospital administration. you are not complaining about insureance or cost. all you are asking for is to be treated professionally and with respect. healthcare is a SERVICE industry. they need to be reminded of that. they are providing a service

  4. Yeah. I can’t even imagine. Where is the compassion? Really Mama, it’s not so difficult. Everybody should be treated with respect. It’s not your fault that they are unhappy and don’t like their job.

    I would totally call them out. Someone needs to know. If you are being treated this way, someone else is being treated worse.

    Hugs Mama! You are a wonderful person.

  5. That’s terrible! I hope you sent your letter to the hospital. If they can’t be empathetic and kind, they shouldn’t be there. I have seen this quite a bit even in my very limited experience in the US health care system..
    Thanks for hooking up to the Hump Day Hook Up

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