: Am I justified in being pissed off at this doctor?
: 
: Last Saturday evening my 6 year old son cut his finger badly with a knife.
: I took him to a local "Urgent and General Care" clinic at 5:50 pm.  The 
: clinic was open till 6:00 pm.  The receptionist went to the back and told the 
: doctor that we were there, and came back and told us the doctor would not 
: see us because she had someplace to go at 6:00 and did not want to be delayed 
: here.  During the next few minutes, in response to my questions, with several 
: trips to the back room, the receptionist told me:
: 	- the doctor was doing paperwork in the back,
: 	- the doctor would not even look at his finger to advise us on going
: 	  to the emergency room;
: 	- the doctor would not even speak to me;
: 	- she would not tell me the doctor's name, or her own name;
: 	- when asked who is in charge of the clinic, she said "I don't know."
: 
: I realize that a private clinic is not the same as an emergency room, but
: I was quite angry at being turned away because the doctor did not want to
: be bothered.  My son did get three stitches at the emergency room.  

Speaking as a physician who works in an urgent care center, the above
behavior is completely inappropriate. If a patient who requires extensive
care shows up at the last minute, we always see them and give them appropriate
care. It is reasonable for a clinic to refuse to see patients outside of its
posted hours, but what you describe is misbehavior. Ask to speak to the
clinic director, and complain. Whatever their attitude, they have nothing to
gain from angering patients.