It works for somethings, but not for everything. Spanish doctors have a routine they must follow in order to treat every patient. 1. Nurse brings you in and asks you what's wrong, then sends you back to the waiting room. 2. You get an x-ray, when in doubt, get an x-ray, then back to the waiting room. 3. You talk to the doctor, he prescribes 600 mg of ibuprofen and tells you to ice and elevate.
When I got injured I expected the same exact visit at the emergency room, but to my dismay, they skipped the second step. I couldn't believe it when they called me directly to the doctors office after I had spoken with the nurse. What did I do right? Then I realized, the only difference from my first visit and my second visit was that I was actually seriously injured.
Now here's where socialistic healthcare breaks down a bit. I went into emergency room on Sunday and got the usual. Then the doctor said that I would need to get an ecografía (which I thought was an MRI, but ends up it is a ultrasound) and then I would have to see a traumatologo (orthopedic surgeon). Alright, let's do it. Well, first you have to call your insurance company again, then you have to get them to fax over a document saying that they will cover the ultrasound, but only if its in the scheduling. Yay.
Well, thanks to the fine medical work in Spain, I was diagnosed, after 2 minutes of twisting and turning my ankle in every which direction, with a torn inner calf muscle, but make sure that you schedule an ultrasound to make sure. Well doc, can I work? Sure, go ahead, just try not to walk too much, but that should be no problem. Awesome. No notion of crutches, just ice, elevate, and medicate. Thanks doc, that sounds great, or does it. Stay tuned for the finale in the next couple of days.
Basic Spanish
ordenador-computer
Advanced Spanish
ecografía-ultrasound
Basic Basque
n/a
British English
n/a
No comments:
Post a Comment