I'm just curious, how many of you are directly impacted by this? (It's what is supposed to be distracting me from feeling miserable tonight).....I'm focusing on the reason that the doctors don't have time to evaluate my case because of staffing issues and realizing exactly how few psychiatrists there are. I go to a well-known hospital that most doctors would consider a major victory to work for but they can't fill this position. That says a great deal about the shortage. It also explains why several of the unit doctors at my hospital are very young. The one who left was a fellow when I was first there as a patient and then was in charge until he left several months ago.

I guess I'm impacted in a way; there is one pdoc in this area and NO WAY I'd see him. I don't think there is a pdoc that I would see in a 60 mile radius. But I've been driving to see my pdoc for so long I've never considered otherwise really. I drive 2.5 hours each way and it's totally worth it. Granted when I first saw her it was 5 minutes each way and then later 2 hours and just in the last 18 months has it been 2.5 hours because she had to stop working at a satellite location. But she's working 5 hours of driving.

Still, if things continue to not be resolved and issues like the current one happen and the fault is hers (at this point it is not hers, it is the hospital drs and has been for weeks now) I would need to change. And honestly I'd change to someone else at the same hospital because I know how poor the selection is here.

How bad is it for you? Are you forced to see a Pnurse when you don't want to? Does anyone do group appointments? Do you travel a long way? Hate the person you are stuck with?

Help me stay distracted a litte while please.