by Jon Karnes, M.D.

I stumbled across a negative review of myself by a patient scheduled to see me on a day I had a family emergency.  It got under my skin and, for whatever reason, in response I started writing.  The following poem is what came out of it.  It has been therapeutic and I’m happy to share it with you.

JR–Whoever you are

We actually have a lot in common

When you gave me that one star
and lumped me together with Starbucks,
Sam’s Club, and the United States Post Office —

“it is only Doctors that get away with making an appointment with clients and then routinely blowing them off”–

I too was waiting
–in a drab room
–cold
–I wasn’t shivering like you were, but it was cold
Imagine the coincidence!

You don’t know me
but I’m analytical
and your one sixth of my reviews
was one sixteenth of my appointments
from one possible morning
that started the previous day
with swelling, pain, and a quiet evening
of emergency surgery
followed by a sleepless vigil,
an empty waiting room,
and a blanket (thin)
while they shampooed the carpet
around my mom and me
and I assured her that I trusted the doctors here
and my father’s incision widened
and closed.

By the time I could reach my staff
you were waiting.

Our EMR is so “upgraded”
I couldn’t find you after you posted.
I tried.

I’m sorry your experience wasn’t as good
as what you got from your car dealer.
Your posts make that clear.
And I like that car dealer too—they’re nice people.

Thank you for your comments.
You remind me
by accident
we must forgive easily and ask forgiveness
help patiently and ask for help humbly
without fullness of knowledge

and doctoring isn’t a business at all
and we’re all patients