Oh my!

From time to time, I double book people. It usually goes like this, Guy A has 10:00 appointment for 1/2 hour, then he cancels. I then offer 10:00 to Gal A. Gal A takes a while to call me back, then I put Guy B into the 10 slot. Then, I suffer from amnesia and forget about how I have given the slot away. Gal A texts me back and wants the time. I look at the text, thinks for one second, texts back to confirm, but neglect to actually check the calendar. When 10 am rolls around, I sometimes will find Gal A sitting in the reading area, but that isn't the one on my calendar! I see Gal A and wonder what is going on with Guy B, then say good bye to Gal A and apologize to Guy B that I am 'running late'.

Rarely, both people are sitting there at 10. I have to make some kind of decision, and I will ask if one of them is more willing to wait. I feel like a prime idiot, but go on to offer medical advice.

Imagine my shock, when I walked into the waiting area at 12:00 on Friday, while I felt pretty good about 'being on time!' To my surprise/chagrin/dismay/utter despair, I saw THREE appointments waiting. There was L, an every-other-week therapy patient who didn't want to go for a month without an appointment due to Memorial Day. L was actually on my calendar. There was G, who was there for a med check, and he was not on the calendar. Then, there was C, with her parents for a family meeting, and they were not on the calendar. (Lucky for me, P, had canceled her 12:30 just days before, so that I could slot L for her usual full hour.) Anyway, there I was, 5 people, all there at the time I asked them to come, and I had one hour to do all this work. My thought? A particular synonym for fecal matter.

I apologized like crazy, and they were all incredibly gracious. I saw L for a quick check in, then onto G, and finally, 30 minutes later, I was with my last 12:00. Out of my guilt, I waived all the copays for these people.

Thankfully, my 1:00 accidentally pushed the wrong button when he was checking in, and so by the time he realized his mistake, I was also finishing up with the family for their hour long session. Most amusingly, I eventually caught up with my schedule, by 2:30.

I really need to be either better about managing my schedule, or find a secretary.