Nobody likes waiting at a doctor’s office, but most people accept that delays come with the territory. Emergencies happen, appointments run long, and sometimes patients need more care than expected. The real question is: at what point does “please be patient” turn into “your time doesn’t matter”?

This parent took her child to a pediatric dermatology appointment expecting a routine visit. Everything started normally—the nurse checked them in, a resident examined the child, and they were told the attending physician would be in shortly to finalize everything. Then they waited. And waited. And waited some more.

After multiple assurances that the doctor would be there “soon,” the delay stretched to more than 45 minutes past the scheduled appointment time. With a work meeting looming, OP finally approached a nurse and explained that she also had professional obligations and needed a realistic timeline.

The comment didn’t go over particularly well, and now she’s wondering whether standing up for her own schedule crossed a line.

AITAH for mentioning I’m also a professional when a doctor took over 45 minutes to finally appear at an appointment?

I want to start by saying that I understand doctors are busy. I do not make an issue of reasonable delays, especially because the doctors are very apologetic when they do come to see me. In fact, I have not experienced a doctor delay that was more than 15 minutes in I don’t know how long.

Anyway, today I took my kid to a midday pediatric dermatology appointment. Since my kid’s issue is minor, I scheduled a client meeting for later in the afternoon figuring we had more than enough time to get the issue checked out and for me to get to the meeting.

My kid and I got to the doctor’s office early and were called back right around the time it was scheduled. The nurse checked us in, we waited 10 minutes for the resident to come look at my kid, and then we were told that the main doctor would be right in to finalize everything.

Sounds copasetic so far.

We were 25 minutes into our appointment, and the doctor still hadn’t shown up.

At this point, a nurse came in to say that the doctor was just finishing up with another patient and would come right in. Fine. But 15 minutes later and still no show.

So, I approached the nurse to ask when we can realistically expect the doctor to see us. She said, “The doctor is with another patient. She’ll be with you in 10-15 minutes.”

Uhhh…

I was admittedly exasperated since it had been 40 minutes past our appointment time, and I needed to leave soon. I responded (not angrily, no yelling, nothing like that), “We’ve been waiting a really long time. I am also a professional, and I have a meeting that I have to attend, so I do need to wrap this appointment up.”

Five minutes later, the doctor finally came in (45 minutes after our appointment time), didn’t apologize for the delay, didn’t even look at me when I said something, and began speaking directly to my preteen kid without asking me anything about the condition.

Overall, it was an annoying experience.

Ya don’t say?

Anyway, after the appointment, my kid said it was embarrassing when I mentioned that I’m a professional. B

ut my reasoning is that I *am* a professional, my time is as valuable as the doctor’s even though it was not being treated as such, and the delay was not only frustrating in and of itself but it was also affecting my ability to do my own job.

So, Reddit: AITA for mentioning that I’m a professional?

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mom who homeschooled during the day and worked at night, only to have her employer try to change her schedule.

Reddit was fairly divided, but the overall verdict landed somewhere between NTA and mild ESH. Most commenters agreed that waiting 45 minutes after already being roomed, especially after receiving multiple inaccurate updates, would frustrate almost anyone. Many felt OP was perfectly justified in asking for a realistic estimate and advocating for her own schedule.

The debate centered around the phrase “I’m also a professional.” Some commenters felt it came across as unnecessarily self-important, as though only professionals have valuable time. Others thought the statement was clearly shorthand for “I have work obligations too” and wasn’t nearly as offensive as some people were making it out to be.

What most people agreed on, however, was that the doctor’s office handled the communication poorly. A sincere apology, honest updates, or even the option to reschedule likely would have prevented the entire situation from escalating.

The general consensus? The wait was the real problem, not the comment.

This person has similar experiences.

This person says it’s annoying but also expected.

And this person has some good advice.

Nothing makes people question your wording faster than being 45 minutes late while insisting everyone else stay calm about it.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a professor who missed a major funding deadline after they told their graduate student to leave them alone.