Dermatologist

Today I had my first medical appointment since the pandemic started ... Actually the first time I had physical contact with anyone but my husband. I went to the dermatologist for my annual skin screening and to have a couple weird moles checked out.

I felt totally comfortable the whole time. The doctor is in a large medical building with several different practices, and they set it up so everyone has to use a single entrance, where they perform a temperature check. They use some kind of thermal scanner that just picks up general heat, so a) everyone who came in got dinged for being too warm, had to wait a minute, and then scanned fine, and b) this doesn't even tell you anything because many people are sick with no fever. And of course all visitors to the building must wear a mask.

Once inside, I checked in at my doctor's office area. There was glass up across the whole front desk, and I didn't have to sign anything or do any paperwork, just gave my name. The chairs in the waiting area were spaced out into the lobby, and every other chair was blocked with a sign saying not to sit there.

Usually the doctor has an assistant with her while performing the exam. In what I assume was an effort to limit contact between multiple people, I was only with one person at a time. The doctor herself came to call me from the lobby, wearing a mask, plastic face shield, and paper gown over her scrubs. She let me get changed, then came back to perform the exam. I had one mole removed, and she left and a different nurse came in to set up for the procedure and apply numbing agent. Then my doctor returned to remove the mole herself - again, usually this is done with an assistant. 

I got an elbow bump from her on my way out, and the whole visit took about 20 minutes. Overall, very good experience. I have another medical appointment coming up in a few weeks in the same facility and I feel more at ease about it now. (Still nervous for the dentist, though 🙈)