I took Miriam to the dermatologist last night. She's had some skin irritation on her scalp for a while so yesterday around noon I called the specialist at the local hospital. They gave me an appointment for 7pm that same day (night). I love the convenient medical/dental hours of operation here, and the almost nonexistent waiting periods for appointments.
Another thing I love about this hospital in particular (it's Royal Hospital in Sharjah) is the über-fancy waiting room.
Maybe I need to start a blog series on Waiting Rooms of the UAE. Miriam and I hardly had to time admire all the gilded decor before it was our turn to go see the doctor. Then we enjoyed some of the other oddities that a visit to the doctor in the UAE can bring, such as:
1. Being accompanied by a nurse the whole time. She walked us to the doctor, assisted the doctor, took care of our paperwork, walked us to the pharmacy, conducted that transaction for us, and then escorted us to the cashier's office to pay for everything. When there was nothing else she could do for us, she smiled at me and said, "I'm leaving now." It's nice to have a personal companion at the doctor's office.
2. Going home with a bucketload of medicine. If you are one of those people who is not really into medicine, particularly for symptomatic relief, well, you might not really like the UAE. If you don't get prescribed five different medications after a consultation with a doctor, then that doctor visit doesn't count. Sometimes I end up not filling all the prescriptions I receive because it's just ridiculous (or I already have three bottles of the stuff sitting at home in the medicine cabinet because of previous doctor visits).
3. Of course, sharing the facilities with people from all over the world. This place is so incredibly diverse I can't even believe it sometimes.
Miriam's scalp is going to be fine but we have a follow-up visit with the dermatologist next week. I look forward to spending some time in the fanciest hospital waiting room I've ever seen!
Another thing I love about this hospital in particular (it's Royal Hospital in Sharjah) is the über-fancy waiting room.
1. Being accompanied by a nurse the whole time. She walked us to the doctor, assisted the doctor, took care of our paperwork, walked us to the pharmacy, conducted that transaction for us, and then escorted us to the cashier's office to pay for everything. When there was nothing else she could do for us, she smiled at me and said, "I'm leaving now." It's nice to have a personal companion at the doctor's office.
2. Going home with a bucketload of medicine. If you are one of those people who is not really into medicine, particularly for symptomatic relief, well, you might not really like the UAE. If you don't get prescribed five different medications after a consultation with a doctor, then that doctor visit doesn't count. Sometimes I end up not filling all the prescriptions I receive because it's just ridiculous (or I already have three bottles of the stuff sitting at home in the medicine cabinet because of previous doctor visits).
3. Of course, sharing the facilities with people from all over the world. This place is so incredibly diverse I can't even believe it sometimes.
Miriam's scalp is going to be fine but we have a follow-up visit with the dermatologist next week. I look forward to spending some time in the fanciest hospital waiting room I've ever seen!