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Thursday, February 19.1976
5
Watkins wait tries patient patience
University Daily Kansan
By FRED JOHNSON
Staff Writer
Students who want to see a doctor at Watkins Memorial Hospital without spending time in the waiting lounge should get there early.
With 10 doctors available to treat an average of 125 patients a day, somebody can handle it.
Although the large number of patients sometimes extends the waiting period to more than an hour, doctors and students often wait until the patients are treated as quickly as possible.
Martin Wollmann, director of Watkins Hospital, said vacacations and illness in the hospital staff had increased the time that patients spent in the waiting lounge.
"A FULL STAFF would be 12 full-time doctors and one part-time doctor." Wolkman said Tuesday. "Two doctors left the hospital to get special training and one is ill, so we are down to nine full-time doctors and one part-time."
Wollmann said it was impossible to predict when the vacancies would be filled. Several qualified people have shown in previous years that they couldn'tin the staff before July or August.
Wollmann said the staff had considered having patients make appointments to try to decrease the time spent in the waiting lounge. The problem with an appointment system is that a doctor can't know in advance how long it will take to treat a patient, be said.
If a doctor takes more time with a patient than he has scheduled for him, he said, patients must be treated.
WOLLMANN SAID the doctors had tried to encourage students to come to the hospital as early in the morning or afternoon as soon. If they come early, Wollman said, their waiting time will be shorter; most of students in the lounge will be cut down.
Patients may check in 8 a.m. to:
11:30 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to: 4:30 p.m.
A doctor is on duty to treat emergency cases
24 hours a day.
About 20 per cent of the patients are treated by nurses, Wollmann. Nurses can't do everything a doctor can, he said, but they can handle such things as periodic allergy injections and treatment of minor cuts and abrasions.
Wollmann said he hoped to change the part-time position on the staff to full-time and add one more staff position in July, in addition to filling the two vacancies.
THE NEW positions have to be approved by the state legislature, he said.
Bryan Walters, general practitioner,
said he thought a number system might cut
down the number of people in the waiting
lounge. If a student could pick a number
checked in he could leave and come back
back later without losing his place in line, be said.
"I tried the appointment system for about
City...
were continually moved. However, he said,
mowing the entire cemetery takes one week
and some parts become overgrown in that
time.
From page one
City Clerk Vera Mercer, who has collected grave lot fees for almost 10 years, said no city policy has ever dictated that a burial be buried in a special section of the cemetery.
Commissioner Marinie Arsenger, who was a member of the six-man committee, apologized for any injustices that may have caused him to miss a mission could not improve the reeburial plan.
In other discussion, the commission seemed in agreement to recommendations of written notices of probation periods; legal investigation of probation purchases; review of Affirmative Action guidelines; implementation of training; safety programs; and no requirement for employees to operate unsafe vehicles.
45 years in my private practice before I
didn't work," he said. "I will had patient
ships."
Walters said most of the students didn't get upset about waiting to see a doctor. Very rarely does a student complain about having to wait, he said.
Mary Hatfield, general practitioner, said an appointment system would cut down on the number of patients a doctor could see each day. She said time would be lost if the patient less than time lapse scheduled to treat a patient and didn't have another one waiting.
HATFIELD SAID the students were gracious about waiting.
Dennis Dahl, general practitioner, said most of his patients understood that the hospital was understaffed and that the ratio to doctors made waiting unavoidable.
"Many students have apologized for coming to see me when I was so busy," she
"They understand that doctors in private practice have patients waiting too," he said.
waiting lounge indicated that they were
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One student, who asked not to be identified, said he thought the doctors were doing their best to see patients as soon as they could.
aware of the hospital's problem and knew they might be a long wait before they please the doctor.
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Bill Kempin, Leavenworth sophomore, said he expected to have to wait because he slept last and didn't get to the hospital until after 11 a.m.
"This is a busy place," he said. "They could use more doctors."
Open 7 a.m.-12 p.m.
The student said he sometimes waited two hours to see a doctor.
"THERE are just too many students and not enough doctors," he said.
Steve Baru, Overland Park senior, said that the long wait at the hospital interfered with his classes but that he understood it. He said that the doctors had patients that came to the hospital each day.
Another student, who asked not to be identified, said he came to the hospital and waited during his lunch hour to beat the afternoon rush.
He said that he didn't know how many doctors were on the staff but that he assumed there was a large patient-to-doctor ratio.
"IF YOU WAIT until the afternoon to come in, you usually have to wait at least an hour," he said.
Kathy Nelson, Wellington senior, said she came to the hospital after her last morning class so she could see her doctor as soon as he got back from lunch.
Students who want medical advice but don't want to wait in the hospital can call 843-4456 and talk to a nurse or leave their number and ask a doctor to call back when he is free. There is someone at the hospital to answer the phone 24 hours a day.
We'd Like Your Opinion
SUA Forums Committee has drawn up the following list of possible speakers for the remainder of this spring. We considered availability, subject, price and appeal. Please tear out this ad, or write ONE choice on a piece of paper and drop it in the box in front of the SUA office in the Union. We think this will help us to better serve you. Thanks.
1. TOM WOLFE (author, the Electric Koolaid Acid Test)
2. GARY TRUDEAU
(Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist of "Doonesbury")
3. LEONARD NIMOY
3. LEONARD NIMOY (author; Mr. Spock on "Star Trek")
4. BILL RUSSELL (coach/general manager, NBA Seattle Supersonics)
5. JOHN GLENN (astronaut; U.S. Senator from Ohio)
6. DAN RATHER (CBS News correspondent; co-author, All the President's Men)
7. MARK GREEN (attorney; former Nader's Raider; topic-American legal system and judicial reform)
8. HUNTER THOMPSON (Gonzo journalist; political observer; author)
9. BARRY WEISBERG (People's Energy Commission- Nuclear power opponent)
11. MR. NICOLAS GONZALES REVILLA (Panamanian ambassador to U.S.)
10. CECILY TYSON (acclaimed theater and television actress)
We can't guarantee that we'll be able to obtain one of these, but your opinion would be of help. Other comments that might help us to define the Forums area would also be welcomed. Please respond only once.
s/Brad Bradley, SUA Forums Chairman
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