| rev:text
| - My wife and I have been to East Valley Dermatology Center at least three times. Two of the visits were for routine skin cancer checks. The third visit was for an examination of a new spot on my face. After reading the many negative reviews of the clinic, I feel compelled to report that all three of our visits were excellent experiences.
When I noticed the small spot on my face a few weeks ago, I wasn't sure what it was. So I consulted the world's most-trusted medical authority, Dr. Google. He said it was pretty bad. So bad that I had, at best, a few years left to live.
By the way, I apologize for my inadvertent sexism in the previous sentence. I should have said "he or she" because I don't think it has been established whether Dr. Google is male, female, or transgender. But I digress.
When I called the clinic to schedule an appointment, the polite receptionist explained that all doctors on staff were booked up until next month, which would have been at least two to three weeks away. But she said I could see a physician's assistant the next day. Faced with Dr. Google's dire prognosis, I opted for the next-day appointment.
I was a little nervous about seeing a physician's assistant. Perhaps this is because I have seen PA's at urgent-care clinics who were so green that they literally used checklists. How could I trust a PA to diagnose something potentially serious and then, if needed, do a biopsy?
Fortunately, my fears were unfounded. The PA took one look at the spot under a magnifying glass and assured me that it was a harmless something-or-another. I don't remember the exact diagnosis because I was so excited to hear the word "harmless." She froze the growth so it would fall off in a few weeks, and that was it. Except that, like any other annoying patient, I had a few other questions about skin care that were not directly related to the reason for my visit. The PA patiently and succinctly answered each question. It was obvious that she knew her stuff. In fact, if I hadn't been told in advance, I would have mistaken her for a medical doctor.
I would love to give the PA credit by mentioning her name. But I have become a student of Yelp and suspect that their algorithm doesn't like reviews that mention specific names of personnel. So I will simply say that her name started with one of the letters of the alphabet.
Some other reviewers have characterized East Valley Dermatology as a slam-bam, in-and-out, money-grubbing dermatology factory. My impression is that the clinic is efficient and well-organized. The check-in process was quick and easy. I didn't even have to explain my insurance policy, which is slightly unusual and thoroughly confuses many medical billing departments. Even though I arrived early for my appointment, I didn't wait more than five to ten minutes in the waiting room. The medical assistant and PA didn't spend more time with me than was necessary, but they took the time to answer all my questions. I appreciated that they got me in and out of the office quickly.
Another reviewer mentioned that the doctor spent no more than five minutes with her. I can't say whether that was enough time in her case. But I have seen several dermatologists in my lifetime. I know that a good one can scan your entire body and determine whether anything is suspicious in a minute flat. They do this stuff all day, every day. So I don't necessarily fault a dermatologist for a quick exam.
What didn't I like about my experiences at East Valley? Let's see...The elevator in the building was incredibly slow. We must have waited five minutes for it. That wouldn't be bad except that the building has only two floors. When the elevator doors finally opened, they opened in slow motion. After we got in, the elevator inched slowly upward. Then we waited and waited for the doors to slowly open again. It's exactly how Einstein predicted an elevator would operate in a spaceship traveling at 99 percent of the speed of light. Very, very slowly. But the sluggish elevator is the fault of the landlord, not the clinic.
Overall, I think a patient's experience at East Valley Dermatology depends greatly on his or her expectations. I highly recommend the clinic and the people who work there. They know a heck of a lot more than Dr. Google, who has failed me once again.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)