Today I go to new gynecologist. I have had the same one for over 15 years. But insurance dictates I get a new one.
I choose Dr. Raquel Dardik based on her impressive educational credentials (MD from U Penn and residency at Johns Hopkins); her high patient ratings 4.9 of 5 on ZocDoc; her affiliation with NYU Langone Medical Center; and the fact that she takes my insurance. That her office is only a short walk from my apartment is just an added plus.
I come a few minutes early to fill out some forms. I have a 1 o'clock appointment and it's now 1. I take out today's paper, assuming I'll have time to finish it. At my previous ob/gyn, I could have read most of War and Peace while waiting, and I am not a fast reader.
I am midway through page 1 and I hear my name called. Unbelievable.
The nurse leads me to a room, where she asks me to undress, and performs some routine tests. All is good. She tells me the doctor will be with me soon.
And soon the doctor is with me. This, too, is something new to me.
Dr. Dardik comes in and I like her immediately. Not that that's an important criteria in choosing a doctor. She is charming, likable, and easy to talk to. The easy to talk to part is important, especially if you're talking to someone about such an intimate topic as gynecology. By the time I leave, she gives me a short list of her favorite recent books and her personal email. If she weren't my doctor, I'd want Dr. Dardik to be my friend.
This, compared to my friend's experience at her new gynecologist. This doctor (a woman yet) tells my friend that her vagina is atrophying. I'm not even sure what this means exactly but whatever it means, there surely must be a better way to say it.
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