Rudeness?

My doctor’s practice includes two doctors and one nurse practitioner. There is also a lab and a small emergency facility. The three are separate entities under the same umbrella organization. They share a large waiting room.

When I go into the lab/emergency waiting area, I tend not to make prolonged eye contact with those waiting. Somehow it seems intrusive to me to show any curiosity when someone is sick.

This morning when I went for my blood work for an upcoming appointment, I noticed a young woman waiting but I didn’t really look other than to smile to acknowledge her presence.

A few minutes later as I was reading my book, she made a telephone call detailing the reason for visit to see the doctor. She said that she had cut her finger while washing dishes and she had been bleeding for over an hour. That’s when I looked up and saw that she had large amount of gauze wrapped around her hand.

While the young woman was still talking to her friend, the nurse came out to check the wound and to re-wrap the hand. The young woman continued to talk while the nurse was working on her. The nurse finished and the phone conversation continued without pause.

I think it’s rude for customers to talk while their groceries are being checked out. This seemed beyond rude to me, but, of course, I could be described as an old fuddy-duddy.

My dentist has the right idea, I think. There is a sign in the office that says, “Please turn off cell phones. If your phone rings during your appointment, the appointment will be terminated.” I would be willing to bet that there has never been a cell phone ringing in his examination rooms.