My pdoc is medical director at the local mental heath hospital in the mornings and sees patients in his private practice Mon-Thurs afternoons. He normally take a week off in December and a week off during the summer to go visit family out of state and it is always planned. There was one time that I got a call from his office the morning of my appointment saying that he had to cancel for a personal emergency as offered to fit me into the ARNP's schedule for the day since rescheduling would not work as I was due for my shot. When I got the the appt, the office manager (also pdoc's wife) apologized and explained that pdoc had to go out of town to see his daughter because she was rushed to the ER in the middle of the night and had to undergo emergency gall-bladder surgery. I didn't ask why...she just told me. I would call that a valid reason though.

Other than that, his schedule is pretty full patient-wise. When I have to reschedule they usually say he has nothing for a few weeks, then remember that I can't wait that long because of my shot and will double book me with another patient on a sooner day and explain that I may have to wait a bit. They will also double book me with the same explanation if I call needing to get in sooner with a crisis (usually same day then).