Virginia Women’s Clinic

Dr. Fauzia is a very kind doctor who made me feel comfortable during my visits. I’d been wanting to get an IUD for a while but couldn’t find the time to go to an OBGYN since I have a strict 8:30 — 5:30 work schedule. Dr. Fauzia’s clinic hours were incredibly flexible for my demanding job. I had my IUD procedure scheduled for 6:30pm on a Tuesday and all follow-​ups were always after my job. Our pleasant conversations and her genuine spirit made me feel important and comfortable during such invasive procedures. Some may be thrown off by the religious aspect of the clinic but in my experience it was an honest environment in which Dr. Fauzia truly wanted to do her best. Our conversations got a little personal but I didn’t mind at all. During our conversations, I mentioned how I was having financial trouble moving into Arlington from another state and when my visit was over she kindly told me not to worry about paying for the visits right away and that I could make payments as my situation allows.
As for the previous low reviews, I don’t agree with a few of the things said especially regarding the gloves. Dr. Fauzia used to take off her gloves and leave them around close proximities when she would have to deal with the computer/​other stuff. However, the part of the glove that touches the patient would never come in contact with any surface. She would make sure that the only part that would touch the surface was the inside of the glove, which ultimately doesn’t come in contact with the patient. Nevertheless, ever since my first few visits, she hasn’t done this anymore and uses new gloves every time they come off. I think that she must have read the latest reviews and didn’t want her patients to leave her practice with such negative opinions. She is truly a beautiful soul who likes to improve in every way!

I was new to the area and went to Dr. Fauzia because of her positive reviews; unfortunately, my experience was anything but positive. Dr. Fauzia is a sweet, kind lady, but too many things went wrong for me to say that I would feel comfortable returning to her.
Firstly, I was finally seen over an hour and a half after my scheduled appointment. I was given no reason for the wait after the first hour, but when I was finally brought into an exam room, she asked if I wouldn’t mind waiting for a little while longer so she could see another patient who needed a «quick procedure.» I didn’t feel I had the choice to say anything but yes, so I waited even more. I was brought back into the exam room where I waited still more while she ran around literally trying to find patients – it seemed like she was splitting her attention between myself and two or three other couples. When she finally came back in, she asked if I had taken and noted my weight, even though she had not previously given me any instruction to do so (and maybe I’m being a brat, but usually nurses take all my stats. It’s not something I’ve ever had to do myself).
When she finally sat down and seemingly devoted her attention to me, she barely gave me any room to talk. I was extremely concerned about the pap I had come in for, but I didn’t feel as though I was able to communicate that to her. Instead she asked about my boyfriend and my mother, and proceeded to lecture me about how I would understand my mom’s actions when I became a mother myself (if I had wanted a sermon I’d have gone to church). She didn’t ask me to remove my clothing and just expected me to strip down in front of her (didn’t honestly mind this so much, but I appreciate the courtesy when other practitioners leave the room while I get undressed). I had come in for a full exam but she barely checked my pelvis and breasts.
One of the two biggest things that really pushed me over the edge was how she behaved while I was in the stirrups. I was half naked, legs up, literally mid-​sentence about my concerns when her phone rang. Instead of – oh, I don’t know – ignoring it or excusing herself, she just upped and left and took the call. She came back in as if it were no big deal and resumed her «exam.» Normally, most doctors would ask if I were sexually active and, if so, if I were monogamous. Dr. Fauzia asked me point blank how many partners I’d had in my entire life. She also suggested that I missed my parents and would move back home (I told her I had just moved out of their house and was living with my boyfriend).
FINALLY, THE EXAM. She deposited the speculum without any warning and whipped out her phone to take pictures of my cervix – WHO THE HELL DOES THAT!!! She didn’t ask if it was okay by me (it wasn’t) and she didn’t change her gloves while she handled her phone. I don’t consider myself a germophobe, but for the love of God, it was absolutely unacceptable. After the actual pap was over, she took this device, rolled a condom on it, and stuck it inside me WITHOUT TELLING ME WHAT SHE WAS DOING AND WHAT IT WAS FOR. I HAD TO ASK. Again, maybe I’m a brat, but in my experience, doctors are always sensitive and let me know what/​when/​why they are doing something to my body. I felt extremely uncomfortable.
The second biggest thing that really pushed me over the edge was how she handled herself after the exam. She removed her glove, set it on the scale I/​WHOMEVER ELSE HAD STOOD ON THAT DAY, and PLACED THE SPECULUM ON TOP OF HER USED GLOVE. This was ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE to me. Had I known that that was how she handled her instruments, I would’ve upped and left before she had a chance to bring me into an exam room. In previous experiences, the speculum and all other instruments were neatly set on a tray and on a sterile cloth; in her office, the speculum was just sitting on the table along with all her other stuff prior to the exam and, as stated earlier, on top of a used glove on a dirty scale after it.
She was kind enough to give me some time to ask her questions afterward, but at that point I was going to save my questions for my other doctor. She asked me to return in two weeks to discuss the pap results «in person,» and if I could, request a copy of my entire history from my other gynecologist so she could read and discuss. Spoiler alert: I’d had the other office send over my records a week prior to my appointment. She didn’t seem to believe me but said she’d ask the receptionist (her husband) to find them. Again, in my previous experiences, the nurse/​doctor is either fully aware of my history or at least has a freaking folder that contains all of my information. Dr. Fauzia clearly had not bothered to locate my records much less read them. I waited ten minutes while her husband browsed his computer, asking me to repeat multiple times the name of my doctor and misspelling it. At some point, he gave up and said he would locate it «later on.»
To wrap up, three words: never coming back.

I like Dr. Fauzia as a person. Her husband/​receptionist/​medical assistant is also nice and helpful, and the one daughter of hers that I met, seemed very cool. She supposedly refers her patients to some of the best specialists in the area. She also has convenient appointment times (like 5:30 pm during the week and all day Saturday)
But…as a patient, I was so stressed out, I had trouble sleeping the night after appointments with her. And, to add insult to injury, she billed my insurance in excess of their «100% covered/​no copay» maternity coverage policy AND didn’t bother to file any claims until several months after appointments. I was not informed of these excess services or given any warning that this was going to happen prior to having had several appointments with her. If I had not switched providers, I might have ended up owing her a thousand dollars. I don’t pay $ 100 a month for health insurance with full maternity benefits and choose a preferred provider to end up paying a thousand dollars that I would not have had to pay under any other preferred provider! I FEEL RAPED… and yes, as a person who has actually been raped before, I know what it feels like. A copay check from September was just cashed in January. Funny… as my new doctor thoroughly explained to me at my first appointment today, I do not have a copay for maternity services with my insurance.
Other Issues:
1) Wait time: 45 – 90 minutes before an appointment, 15 – 30 minutes of going back and forth between different rooms, and 20 – 40 mins after an appointment to schedule another appointment/​order tests, etc. Meaning, I would get there at 4:55 and get home at 8:00, and I would only see her for 5 – 10 minutes.
2) Blood Pressure: My blood pressure is always high in her office… it is also always taken from 2 different machines (usually done 3+ times because of inaccuracy). My new doctor said my blood pressure was «perfect.» Interesting…
3) C-​Section: If I hear this word one more time! Many appointments felt like they were recording a C-​Section promotional video. On my last appt, it was said that a baby over 7.5 lbs (i.e. due to gestational diabetes) is too big for the birth canal; and they would have to do a C-​Section. Common sense plus knowing real people with gestational diabetes (hi mom!), who delivered their well-over-7.5 lb babies without any medication/​surgical intervention, makes it seem like a gross exaggeration, if not misinformation.
Not Listening and Judging:
1) On my medical records, it says «threatened abortion.» From this I gather that she judged my going to Planned Parenthood for women’s healthcare (since before college) as me being abortion happy. I have never considered abortion as an option for myself, so I don’t understand why she would write something like that on my medical records. She could have asked me. Also, why would I seek out a religious Muslim OBGYN for a prenatal visit if I was considering abortion? The pregnancy was confirmed at Planned Parenthood… and obviously, I left, pregnancy intact.
2) Just because me and my SO have different health insurance, she is always asking if we are really married. What does that have to do with ANYTHING??? Do I need to bring a marriage certificate to all my doctor’s appointments too? She even asks us when he is there. Even if we were only married in our minds, asking 100 times isn’t going to change that.
3) She kept trying to tell me that I said my period was ⁷⁄₃₀ instead of ⁷⁄₀₃ and even wrote down that my dates were «inconsistent «in my medical records. Actually, at the appointment in question, she was falling asleep and yawning because she had stayed up all night delivering a baby, (which I understood.) I also watched her enter various numbers into the computer incorrectly, only some of which she fixed; others she waved away like it wouldn’t make a difference. I’m 200% sure that’s where the inconsistency came from, not my mistake but a mistake in her typing. I also wrote the correct date down on my medical history form, so maybe that should be relied upon instead of the numbers she typed while dozing off.
I could say more but I don’t want to be too negative.