Anonymous Doctor

"Doctor, could I get your cell phone number?"

"Sorry. Can't give that out."

"But what if I need to call you?"

"You can call the clinic and leave a message. If it's an emergency, go to the hospital. If it's not an emergency but you want to see a doctor, go to the walk-in clinic. I'm only here twice a week, so I may not be able to return your call right away."

"I want a doctor I can call."

"I'm sorry. That's not how it works here. We're residents, and we rotate through. We're not able to be reached by phone directly-- we don't even have offices here."

"My last doctor said I called him too much."

"How much did you call him?"

"Like six times a week."

"That sounds like too much for a busy doctor to handle-- there are lots of patients to see."

"I don't know. The office was never that busy."

"That's still a lot of times to call."

"I had problems."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"So you were going to give me your cell number?"

"Nope. Sorry."

"Just thought I'd ask again."