I take it you're stuck in a waiting room. That's no fun.

In answer to your completely rhetorical question, it depends on the doctor. My guess is you are waiting for a specialist? It can take months to get an appointment with certain specialists, so once you are in the door, generally you are willing to wait as long as it takes to finally be seen. Doesn't mean we like it, but walking out puts us back at the end of the appointment calendar, and when you are talking about a serious medical condition, time is of the essence. A few hours is a small price to pay.

Sometimes it's just the nature of the job. When I go to my ob/gyn, I have to be realistic that there is a distinct possibility that some darned baby isn't going to respect my appointment time and dare to expect to be delivered right then and there. It happens. Not really something avoidable. Just have to have some patience with those kinds of things.

When my husband drives over an hour to get to his specialist and that specialist has a problem come up with the patient before him and takes longer than expected, leaving and having to reschedule is of course an option, but with a bit of waiting, he will be seen within an hour or so and not have to make that long drive twice.

When my sister had her bone marrow transplant and had to go up to the hospital every other day to see the doctors and have bloodwork done, leaving wasn't even an option; her medical care was dependent on it being done that day. Sometimes it was a long wait, but it is what it is sometimes.

Frustrating to just sit there though. Completely get that. Hope the time passes quickly. Have a good crossword puzzle to do or book to read?

I wouldn't wait anywhere near that long for a GP though. They can usually be rescheduled fairly easily, or I can find another one in a heartbeat, or they have an associate or PA who can see me instead. Totally different scenario.