When I got hired at my job, they told me that I needed to have a physical. I put off doing it because I really didn't want to shell out the money for it. Some other people I work with told me that they paid $200+ for their physicals. I figured I'd wait until someone at work bothered me about it. Well, we had a meeting one morning last week and the program managers announced the names of people who were missing paperwork. My name was called as missing a physical. So, I asked around to get some idea of where to go and get my physical done. My coworker Leroy told me and Pete (another of my coworkers who also needed to get a physical) about a place in NW DC called B & W Stat Clinic, where he got a physical and TB test for $50. The place is walk-in only and their weekend hours are only on Saturday morning. Well, I figured that I only wanted to have my physical form signed, so I'd try to get the cheapest deal possible. Pete offered to pick me up and drive me there on Saturday morning, so I figured that that was the easiest way to go...
After my number was called and I went in, my physical was completed within 15 minutes and my form was signed. The doctor asked me to read one line on the eye chart with both eyes (he never had me read anything with the left or right eye separately), quickly pumped up a blood pressure cuff on my arm, asked me if I was "smart" (there was a blank on the form he had to fill out about mental condition and intelligence), and had me go into the restroom and pee into a little dixie cup. I paid $35. When I looked at the form the doctor filled out, I realized that it was filled with blatent misinformation. He recorded both of my eyes as having 20/20 vision and I know my left eye is bad. My blood pressure was written as 100/60 and every time I've had my blood pressure checked in the past three years, it has been around 140/90. I've been told to watch it...I even had to go in for three blood pressure monitoring visits before UHS would represcribe my birth control pills my senior year at Madison. The doctor simply wrote "well" near most of the other items on the physical checklist...and he wrote "smart" on the line next to "Mental Condition and Intelligence" (well, at least that's not a lie...haha). I suppose it all worked out okay for me because I really didn't care what he filled out as long as the form got signed by someone with "M.D." next to their name. Really, I'm glad that I got it done for $35 instead of $200. Once I put in 90 days at work, I'll get health insurance and hopefully get a real physical then. But I can't help but wonder if other people go there hoping to actually get some sort of medical information or care and the doctor does the same sort of quick and dirty job...
The clinic is located near Howard University, and the neighborhood is very much a "black" neighborhood. I was the only white person in there. I'm sure I stood out. After my physical was done, Pete got called in. I sat in the waiting area reading a magazine. A few minutes later, a nurse who knew I'd already been in for my physical came out by me, looked at me suspiciously and said, "What you waiting on?" I replied, "Um, my coworker is still in there..." She nodded and walked away.
So, yeah...that was an interesting experience. One for the memory banks.
Emily in Wyoming
14 years ago
