I'm mad at myself for being too discombulated to say anything at the time it was happening.

Don't be. Most people feel vulnerable if they're in the doctor's office. Half the time they're naked and upset and don't feel like they can complain.

I'm glad you can switch--definitely make sure they know why, in no uncertain terms.

That got me, too. Which academics are the natural allies of ID? The ones that don't rely on scientific facts?

I took it to mean "allies - assuming that ID is (as its adherents claim) actually scientific."

So maybe I was reading sarcasm where there was none.

Half the time they're naked and upset and don't feel like they can complain.

NATLBSB

(sorry)

So, everyone already said what I was going to say about ID and Allyson's doctor and msbelle's flight and whatnot. So.

I have no sense of humor right now.

There should be a gig like patient's advocate -- how many times do you ever go into a doctor's office feeling on top of your game?

I admit that the times I've been to the ER with people it's helped me stay focussed (but that time I was fighting morphine for mental clarity was a bit tiring). But that's still about you remembering to be on your own case.

Someone calm and reasonably impartial to remember why you went in, and to keep the doctor reasonable themselves.

Sorry you had to go see Dr. House, Allyson.

Cass can't come out to play, but she sent this for the Alias (and other) fans [link]

I have no sense of humor right now.

I rarely do when I'm not feeling good and my experience at the doctor is horrifying.

Signed,
Still Not Over the Whole Crystel Meth Thing

The New York Times has been having a series on what it's like to be a patient, and their most recent one was about bad doctor behavior. They said that traditionally almost nobody complains, but big practices and HMOs are really working to get people to comment on the way the doctor treats you. If nobody complains, nothing gets done, but if people complain, TPTB can make the doctors go to sensitivity boot camp, or even fire them. TPTB like happy patients who come back.

Scarlett Johansson in NYT Style. What strikes me the most is the contradiction between:

Johansson, who is 21 but whose poise makes her seem older

and, well, the incredibly vapid rest of the article. I can very well imagine the sorts of older men that would date her. It's not flattering in the least.

eta:

if people complain, TPTB can make the doctors go to sensitivity boot camp, or even fire them

Man, I got burned by an ENT months ago, and I never thought to do anything about it other than complain to my internist. I wish I'd known of things like this.