The Adventures of me and my HMO

I've always had an HMO and up until yesterday, didn't really understand why people have PPOs. OK, sometimes it's a pain to get a referral, but it's not really a big deal. I just thought that people liked PPOs because they already had a doctor that they liked. I was wrong.

So I had a urinary tract infection last week, was put on antibiotics and I thought that was that. Wrong again. I worked Tuesday night and was woken Wednesday afternoon with the return of the UTI, I had some medication that helps with the symptoms so I took that with the intention of working that night then going to urgent care in the morning. I head over to urgent care after work, and I'm the only one in the waiting room! Whoo-hoo! I hand the receptionist my insurance card and she tells me that they can't see me until after 4 because of the contract they have with the partnership. I ask what I'm suppose to do, and she tells me I can go to my MD or to the ER. Great.

I go to my MDs office, which is just down the street. I get there, thinking they open at 8, the office is closed. I call and find out they open at 9. I'm starting to panic because I have to work that night and it's not looking like I'm going to make it to bed before 11. I call my insurance co, and tell them it's ridiculous that I can't go to urgent care since my MDs office is closed. We found a solution (or so I thought). I changed to an MD who doesn't have restrictions on urgent care and was given the address of the new urgent care. Drive there, 20 minutes away, and sign in.

The receptionist there tells me that I need a WRITTEN REFERRAL to go to urgent care. You have GOT to be kidding me. What is the point of going to urgent care if I need a referral? I might as well just go to my MDs office. I call the office, asking if I can just get a referral, they tell me no, but I can take an 11 o'clock appointment. "I guess I don't have a choice." was my bitchy reply. So frustrating! I call my boss, crying at this point and ask her what I can do. I called in last week and there is a limit as to how many sick calls you can have. She tells me not to worry about it, and to get myself better. I will need to show her proof that I went to the doctor. This lowers my stress level a little.

I drive all the way down to Newport and get in to see my new MD, who is the wife of one of the neonatalogists I work with. I get right in, give them a sample and she's in the room with me within 20 minutes. She's great, I'm not exaggerating, the best MD I've had. She's friendly, listens, offers good advice and acknowledges that some of the suggestions may not be realistic with my lifestyle. Writes me a script, tells me to call her if I need anything else and sends my on my way. I fill the script and decide since I'm so close to Sprinkles, I'll go get myself a cupcake. And that, of course, made my day better.

You all will learn about my cupcake obsession....

Introduction

Hello readers,
Just a little intro to my life and what my intentions are with this blog. I'm a twenty something night shift Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurse (NICU) at a children's hospital in Southern California. This is probably what most of my blogging will be about, the trials and tribulations of dealing with that. I will warn you here that sometimes it might be upsetting for the layman to read. Sometimes it will be funny and/or surprising, but brace yourself for the sad. While I'm at it, another disclaimer- this is my opinion and my point of view. I might say things about work sometimes that may seem mean or callous to someone who doesn't know where I'm coming from. If you are offended by something that I say, please just stop reading my blog.

I grew up in a small town in Northern Nevada (Winnemucca), and it definitely has shaped the person that I am. I live in Southern California and mostly love it! I often hate the traffic. However, there are so many good things that outweigh the bad. You can get anything, ANYTHING you want or could even imagine somewhere down here! I have expanded my palette greatly and have tried and love all kids of cuisine. And let's not overlook Disneyland!

I'm an annual pass holder and love to go on the rides and enjoy the happiest place on earth atmosphere! The people watching is awesome and there's bound to be some blogs about my observations. I've invented a game I like to play called "harness". It's like slug bug, when you see a kid in a harness, you slug (lightly) the person you are with and say "harness"! It's a lot of fun and hilarious to see how many there are. There is really only one rule and that's that the harness must have a leash, or it could just be a back pack.

I have an amazing boyfriend named Suman. He just graduated from his pediatric residency and is in Northern Arizona working for Indian Health Services in a town that makes Winnemucca look like a booming metropolis. He's working there until May, then he will be moving back to SoCal and starting a pediatric neurology fellowship. It's going to be a long ten months of separation, but I'm really proud of him! I miss him like crazy, though.

So there it is. I hope my blog is entertaining and strive for it to be enlightening. Thanks for taking the time to read it!