Left patient mid-way in tears .... read on.
We recently had the misfortune of having to see Dr. Douglas Conn at his Oakridge Clinic to get a root canal done for my wife. The experience right from the beginning has been disappointing. My wife genuinely was going through severe anxiety due to the impending procedure. Although my wife had been seeing dentists for many years, she recently had a bad experience with a different dentist and we attributed her anxiety to that experience.
I was appalled by the lack of empathy (and the degrading talk) by the doctor's chief receptionist. For instance, she would say things that imply "This is very unusual, nobody is so anxious, we rarely have patiently like this, we are doing you a huge favour etc., we need to set aside double the usual time for an appointment like this" (note that I am not quoting her verbatim but the implication was obvious to both me and my wife - this is essentially talking down to a patient). We politely took everything in stride and met the doctor. They made my wife wait for about half an hour because of her anxiety and then when we met the doctor he spent about 10 mins with us and abruptly said we needed to take another appointment because we used up most of the time that day (we believed this at that time but in retrospect appears to be a cheap trick to force patients to take more appointments than required). During the first appointment, Dr. Conn asked my wife about the doctor with whom she had a bad experience. Out of respect for the other doctor, my wife refused to reveal his name. He insisted on knowing and finally my wife had to reveal the name of the other doctor. This was the first sign of his unprofessional behaviour - My wife and I cringed.
So we setup a second appointment. The chief receptionist makes a reminder call a day before the appointment and talks down about my wife and her anxiety (almost as a laughing matter). I thought it was unprofessional but did not express my disconcert over the phone. We showed up the next day at our appointment. My wife was again getting quite anxious. I asked if the appointment was going to take 1hr or 1.5 hrs. To the best of my memory, over the phone the previous day and during our previous appointment we were told this procedure usually takes 1hr but they are giving 1.5hrs for my wife (given her anxiety). On the day of this appointment, the chief receptionist comes to me and says with a clear tone that is used to talk down to people "I told you yesterday that it is a 2hr appointment ....". I retorted "I am sorry. I don't want to argue but I have a good memory. We will do what is required today." My point is that even if I had misunderstood her (which is certainly not true) she could have conveyed the same information politely. Of course that is what is expected in a professional setting rather than talking down to people.
A few minutes later the doctor walks in. I say "Hi". He doesn't look at me or respond. Quickly grabs his tools pushes the patient's chair down to the horizontal position. My wife asks him "Can the chair be at a slight angle?". The doctor tersely replies "No". He opens her mouth and starts working with her teeth. My wife says "I am getting palpitations can we wait a minute please". He says "You have already wasted my time last time. You should go somewhere else." and walks away. No empathy. No compassion. No apology. My wife was in tears (and on a funny note they didn't have napkins!). The doctor thought it was a waste of his time although we paid for the time.
This is the most unprofessional and disgraceful behaviour I had ever seen in a doctor. It makes it even worse given that he was a past president of Canadian Academy of Endodontists. It takes many years to build a reputation but it is in instances like this that truly great doctors shine through and others reveal their true nature and fail utterly. Dr. Conn is in direct violation of Point 17 of code of ethics of Canadian Medical Association (https://www.cma.ca/Assets/assets-library/document/en/advocacy/policy-research/CMA_Policy_Code_of_ethics_of_the_Canadian_Medical_Association_Update_2004_PD04-06-e.pdf) for refusing to treat a patient. I must admit I don't know if he is a member of that association. Nevertheless, this behaviour is unbecoming of his profession.
I think a bigger problem with clinics like Dr. Conn's is that for them treating patients is a business and patients' health or well being is secondary. The scarcity of doctors and the long waits in the Canadian medical system make it easier for clinics like this to survive and thrive.
You will be surprised to know that even though my wife had a bad experience with the other doctor, she always felt that they were very professional about her anxiety and was never resentful.
I am sorry that I don't have better things to say about Dr. Douglas Conn.
Good luck with your teeth! read more
