It's been quiet-ish on this blog this week because I have been busy handling some problems that students were having, and for obvious reasons of privacy I can't say much about the specifics. But I have been thinking about it and I feel okay saying that I've accompanied students to the doctor's office two days in a row, so now I know what at least one Parisian doctor's office is like and what at least one Parisian doctor (we'll call him Dr. Garnier because that's his name) is like. When students need to go to the doctor, one of us assistant directors always goes with him/her, mostly for translation purposes. It would likely be possible to find an English-speaking doctor but the program has worked with the same cabinet medical for a few years and they have been great about same-day appointments and generally giving good care, so we do this instead.
However, yesterday we could not get an appointment with the regular doctor till late evening--it is summer and everyone, including doctors, is taking vacations. We wanted to be seen sooner if possible so I did some digging and found a cabinet that takes walk-ins. One of the regular doctors there is at least nominally Anglophone but he was (guess what) on vacation, so we saw Dr. Garnier, the replacement. The office was very bare-bones compared to what we are used to at home: no front desk, no receptionist, no nurses, just a waiting room, a couple of exam rooms, and presumably a couple of other spaces. Everything was perfectly clean and nice but not at all fancy. No TV in the waiting room (thank God, says this blogger), no paintings on the exam room walls.
Since it was all walk-ins, Dr. Garnier would escort the previous patient out and stick his head into the waiting room to ask who was next. When it was our turn we went into the exam room and he took the patient's name and date of birth, then asked about the problem. He asked lots of questions, explained things really well, and probably spent 20-30 minutes with us each time I was there. He did not automatically do the routine things that a nurse or medical assistant does at every single appointment I've ever been to back home like take the patient's weight or blood pressure. I don't know if that's because he was flying solo or if it's always like that. He asked about symptoms and then did only what needed to be done based on what the patient told him.
At the end he printed out a prescription and also gave us a form that we will turn in to our insurance (special coverage that students get as part of the program package, to cover them while abroad) but I think is normally used for something to do with France's national health care system. The office visit was 23€. Twenty-three euro! At the current exchange rate that's $31.11. Not much more than a lot of people's co-pays. I wonder if he still gets paid something by the national system for seeing foreign patients who pay at the time of the visit? Prescriptions were also very inexpensive.
Both students who saw Dr. Garnier said he was very nice, and I agree. He explained the diagnosis and treatment thoroughly and he was conscientious about speaking slowly (and using small words when necessary) so that we could understand him. To be honest I also thought the atmosphere of the office was nice. It was less polished and "professional" than a lot of doctor's offices but it was quiet and not bustling with a million staff members and phones ringing off the wall. Even as walk-ins we waited less than I've often waited for appointments, and there was no fooling around with waiting in the waiting room, then going into an exam room where the nurse takes your blood pressure and then you wait another 15 minutes (especially annoying at the gynecologist, where you wait another 15 minutes while wearing a paper smock).
So, to sum up: A+++, would go to the doctor again except I hope we don't have to. Everybody wash your hands regularly, eat healthy, and get some sleep!
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