OMFG.
Okay. This is the amazing true story of the OB-GYN I went to in December. If you do not want to hear an OB-GYN story, now is your chance to click away.
Okay.
In December I went to a new doctor. This was Dr. Norma Salceda, at the Brotman Medical Center, 3831 Hughes Ave, Culver City.
I had a bad experience. We’ll get to that in a minute.
Today, looking up a dentist through my Blue Shield HMO — the same way I found Dr. Salceda — I decided to do a little research into my dentist to make sure I didn’t have another bad experience.
The dentists I looked up all had fair to good reviews, so I decided to retroactively look up Dr. Salceda to see what my standard of comparison should be.
Oh. My. God. You can Google her yourself, if you like, but here are some choice excerpts from the very first link on Yelp:
The equipment is from the Middle Ages – the bathrooms stink and are dirty, and the staff is very poorly trained and Dr. Salceda actually told my wife who we thought was having a mis carriage to “cross her fingers”.
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Additionally, and possibly most importantly, I got the worst breast exam I have had. They did not have me take my top or bra off prior to my pap and when she finished with the roughest pap I have ever had, she had me sit up, she lifted up my shirt and bra and she gave each breast a grab. I could have had a million lumps.
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Dr. Salceda was brusque, and gave me the most painful exam of my life. It was as if she had never inserted a speculum before. I was in major pain, and was moving away from her. I told her emphatically that it hurt, to which she kept pushing and responded, “No it doesn’t”. WTF?!?! Seriously? It was a seriously traumatic experience. Thank goodness it was not my first exam, because this is the kind of experience that would scare a person into never going in for an exam with any doctor, ever again.
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I agree with what everyone here has said. You will wait forever, the office is filthy and messy, Dr. Salceda is ROUGH, rude and mean, and they won’t give you your results unless you go back in.
All these observations are consistent with my experience. And there are more.
What was MY experience with Dr. Norma Salceda like? Well, here’s the letter I wrote to Blue Shield:
To Whom It May Concern,
After an initial patient visit with Blue Shield Plan member Dr. Norma Salceda, I will be seeking further care with a different provider.
I found Dr. Salceda’s care unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
– Initial patient interview was held in a room without a door, ten feet from the checkout area of the front desk.
– During gynecological exam, Dr. Salceda did not describe her actions before she performed them. At the conclusion of the exam, Dr. Salceda stood up and briefly inserted her finger in my anus, without warning or explanation.
– For the complaint that brought me in that day, Dr. Salceda requested a blood sample for hormone tests, and an appointment for an ultrasound. I sought a second opinion from another OB/GYN, and the second doctor did not feel either of those procedures were cost-effective.
I can provide further detail if necessary.
Please let me know if Blue Shield has any concern with my changing providers to another Blue Shield Plan member.
The lesson? If you’re going to a new doctor, GOOGLE THAT DOCTOR.
The other lesson? If you go somewhere (anywhere! not just a doctor’s office) and have a bad feeling about it, TRUST THAT INSTINCT. That instinct comes from a good and wholesome caveman-saving place. Be brave and RUN!
Holy crap.
Unicorn chaser in 3… 2…
*** Update 3:15 PM ***
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