Or what I like to refer to as making you feel really stupid. I want to share something that happens for me every time my prescription drug company calls to ask me to refill a prescription. I pick up the phone, they ask me if this is me. I say yes. They want to verify that it is me so they ask me to tell them the year I was born. Now that is a pretty easy one to answer. Then before I can say it they give me an example of what I might say. Give us the year you were born. You might say 1965. Now, what year were you born? Then you give them the answer. Gosh, I am glad they gave me the example. I don’t know if I would have been able to give them my birth year without the example that they provided. Seriously, isn’t there another way that is less condescending and still gets the job done.
This reminds me of when you go to the hospital. Several things are really annoying. First of all they put a bracelet on you that they can scan. I am ok with that assuming that the information is correct and actually refers to me. Here is the frustrating part. Every time you interact with a nurse or any other health care worker they ask you your name. Then they ask you your birth date. Every single interaction. Even if it is the same nurse…the protocol is the same. The redundancy makes me want to scream. I know the nurse or the healthcare worker is just doing their job and following their protocols but that doesn’t make it less annoying.
Here is the other thing that bothers me. Every time there is a shift change you have to listen to one nurse tell the new nurse what is wrong with you. You are reminded of all your problems at least two times a day. After a while, you don’t want to hear this anymore and you would prefer that they have this exchange or briefing in a place that you can’t hear it. Usually, this doesn’t happen and it is hard to ignore what is being said about you. Sometimes when you are listening you want to add something or clarify something for the new person that is being briefed on what is wrong with you. I am going to suggest that you try to avoid doing that. Unless the briefing is way off base just let it go.
You even run into this at your doctor’s office. In my case, I have been going to the same doctor for over 20 years. The people know who I am and maybe even my birth date but I am asked what my name is and to tell them my birthdate every time I visit. At least they don’t give me examples of what I might say.
It happens at the lab when they are taking blood, or at the dentist for a routine visit. So what I am telling you is that there are two pieces of information that you need to have when dealing with the healthcare industry. Your name and your birthdate. Keep that information close at all times and you will do just fine. Also, try to remember how to say your birth year. You may need to in order to get a prescription refill. Being a senior does offer some challenges but these things that I am suggesting you remember are easy ones. Give me a little more time and I too can become condescending and start talking to you like a 5-year-old. I may even give you an example of how to say your birth year.
I get the feeling that most people believe that if you are older you are on the verge of dementia or are probably experiencing some form of Alzheimer’s. I get the feeling that they speak slower and clearer than to others and sometimes even louder. Just because we are old doesn’t necessarily mean we are hard of hearing. Low talkers are the worst. I have to ask them to repeat what they said so I can hear them and I am not hard of hearing. Be careful to clearly articulate what you are asking. You don’t want them to think you are confused about any of the easy stuff. The only time I feel overwhelmed has to do with technology. Some new app or a Zoom call. I know that the entire world knows how to Zoom but I am a bit behind the times and somewhat confused about the specifics. Facetime is another thing that I am having no problems with. I am starting to learn how to use the microphone icon on my phone so that I can speak my message and it converts it to a text…no typing. I love that. I am working on being more comfortable with that. Don’t let the redundancies and condescension get to you. There are times that I wouldn’t mind being hard of hearing or be able to turn down my hearing aid if I had one. For now I will continue to deal with the repetitiveness associated with healthcare…it is not going away. I can have selective hearing and no one will suspect. That never worked with Kathy. Again, an example of what you might say when giving me your birth year could be 1952. One-nine-five-two. OK, I get it. Just so you know I am still 100% when they ask me my name and birth date.
