Workplace 12 - Doctor Appointment

Next time you have to go see your family Doc, spare a moment for the girl on the reception desk. I did this job for two disastrous days at my own GP’s office and even now just smile nervously at the keeper of the keys behind the desk whenever I need to go in.

Now, there are two ‘full time’ doctors working at the clinic, as well as a variety of specialists that float in for one day, or half day, per week, or fortnight. One of the doctors doesn’t take any new clients while the other took her own patients plus the overflow from the first doctor, as well as any new. New clients had to come in early to fill in new patient forms, and existing patients had about a dozen different pricing brackets that they could fall into. A few spots each day had to be left for ‘emergencies’, some of the regulars could always be slotted in but others could safely wait a few days, depending what they were calling regarding.

And always, the classical music and the steady tinkle of water into the fish tanks. And every person that you talk to is sick. Remember what you're like on a sick day? Imagine talking to that all day. Every day. 

I’m sure that if I was there long enough I could have picked it all up eventually, learnt all the different regular clients etc. But I fell in a heap so many times in those two days that really I was just glad to get out of their before the double bookings, new clients to the wrong doctor and clients showing up for specialists on the wrong day or week showed up.

I’m sorry reception lady!

I hate to think what I put her through for the next few weeks….

Aside from that was the archiving and filing of all client folders correctly and other usual office stuff. What wasn’t usual was the medicine dispensary. Half the reception area was split into a mini chemist that the Doctors regularly prescribed to. They all had prohibitively medicinal sounding names so being sent to grab triochaglyceroniumesterine would generally result in me slowly rotating in the middle of the room, increasingly panicked, until the real receptionist stormed in to grab it herself. And half the time it was hidden in the fridge.

Sigh.

So anyway, be nice to the receptionist at your Doctors. It’s more complex than the average typing desk job than I’ve had.

If this sounds like the job for you, then clearly you’ve been enticed by the relaxing music, beautiful tropical fish and weekends off.

If this sounds like a great way to get frustrated, confused and sick then maybe another role would suit you better.