More advice for new commissionees

Angry doesn't even begin to describe the level of my fury right now (I'd say that she was livid). Rather than smash all my dishes, though, I've decided to offer more advice to those of you who just commissioned. (Especially if you have a baby.)

Getting Macy to see a doctor has been ridiculous. The pediatric clinic here is a joke. (Not the funny kind.) When we finally got our PCM assignments I called to schedule the appointment, but the doctor couldn't see her for a month. We went in for our appointment today. It was scheduled for 7:45 and we got there at 7:50. When we got there we learned that you're supposed to arrive 15 minutes early and if you're more than 5 minutes late for an appointment it will be automatically rescheduled.

Does anyone else find it crazy that you have a five-minute grace period when you're seeing a doctor for a baby? A million things could make you late and they're not even the least bit understanding? And we did arrive barely within the five-minute window, but they were unflinching. There was no one in the waiting room, they clearly weren't busy. I've been to those appointments before and the doctor is with you for about five minutes. She couldn't spare that time?

I was never informed of the cancellation policy, I didn't get a reminder call for the appointment, and every time I've called the clinic I've been treated like an idiot. So now we'll see the doctor on May 28th and Macy will be nearly 8 months old for her 6-month well baby visit.

So what have we learned?

1. Enroll your family in DEERS as soon as possible. You have to enroll in DEERS before you can sign up for Tricare.
2. Remember that when you relocate you'll have to switch Tricare regions before your new PCMs will be assigned.
3. Call to make appointments as soon as you get your PCM information, no matter how long it is before you need your next appointment.
4. Make sure you ask about their cancellation policy.
5. Just because it's a medical clinic doesn't mean it's not the military.

Having said all that, I should also say that the negative aspect of our medical experience is unique to the baby. When I called to make an appointment for me I got in within the week and didn't have any problems when I got there. I did arrive early and I didn't have to wait long at all after checking in.

I probably just need to calm down. I'll work on that.