What Do I Know?

Today my husband and I took our son to his six week check-up with a psychiatrist who has been managing our son's medication.

When I first met this doctor, I liked him.  I told him he was like a unicorn;  it's difficult to find someone who will do medication management for your child's mental health issues and who actually accepts your insurance and who understands autism.  He was in his 70s and had come out of retirement specifically to do this.

But I think that particular visit, which was our first one, was going to be the only one that actually went well, probably because we were new.  After that, we were chastised for being late to an appointment (we were actually on time and had to wait fifteen minutes for him to finish with the patient before us), and this time, he talked over us and took it personally when we questioned his recommendations.  I mean, after all, if you've been doing something for 30 years, people should just accept what you say, right, and not ask any questions at all?

Husband pointed out that this person was our best option right now.  Of course, he's right, but the thought of searching yet again for someone knowledgeable enough to deal with our son's issues exhausts me.  You have to understand, we've been at this for years.  And while he's only 11, I consider myself a subject matter expert on what works for him and what doesn't.

All I could think as I sat there was that if you're in the healthcare industry, and your patient is an 11 year old child who has severe anxiety and bouts of aggression, you really need to check your ego at the door.