Put the Phone Down—Especially Here
I was in a doctor’s office for a routine matter last week, and while I waited in the exam room, I couldn’t help but notice all the material posted on the wall—signs about proper health care, how to contact them in case of emergency, a reminder to get your note for absence from work or school, all the normal stuff.
But one sign caught my attention, posted on the door to a cabinet that probably contained supplies.
It had a drawing of a cell phone with the words, “Please do not use your cell phone during your exam. Thank you!”
I thought that was curious, so naturally I pulled out my cell phone and took a picture of it.
Now keep in mind…that was not a sign in the waiting room, where people frequently hold phone conversations at a level well above a whisper, or forget that their phone is in speaker mode. Nor was it a sign that said to turn off your phone because it interfered with electronics. Those I’m used to.
This asked you not to use your phone during the actual exam. Naturally, I was trying to figure out how that happens…and that it must be frequently enough to warrant designing and printing a sign that hung in all the exam room.
That was after seeing signs at various health care facilities, asking that you treat the staff with respect and cautioning that if you did not, you’d be asked to leave. So that’s a problem, folks who go off on medical personnel or who don’t treat them in a considerate manner?
Sadly, these days, you don’t have to look very far to find examples of how society has slipped…and why it’s so important to bring things back to the old normal.