Southwest Medical Associates at Flamingo

This is one of those places where I felt overwhelmed, stressed, and highly uncomfortable. Waited an hour and did not get what I came in for. I even came in 20 minutes early as requested. The nurse did not call my name until an hour after my appointment. The nurse said «the way this doctor works is that he has students with him». They require a Pap smear at this location if you wish to get birth control pills (this information was not explained prior to my appointment). So you expect me to –quote by the nurse– «FULLY UNDRESS» with students observing (not to mention the doctor was male and that information was also not conveyed) for a required Pap smear? And then she smiled as if I was suppose to feel comfortable after she said that.
No thanks.
From prior experience, I know doctors SUGGEST Pap smears but they do not REQUIRE it. I asked if I could get a Pap smear at a different location and bring in the form, they said «that’s not how we work, because you are a new patient». Well, I called another office and they do not require it (in fact I called several women centers and it was the same response).
Some suggestions for this location if the staff and faculty members intend to provide quality care for their patients:
1. Convey important information and Confirm that the patient understands what is needed and required for their appointment. If you require a Pap smear DO LET THEM KNOW. This is not a universal understanding– again, not all locations do this.
2. If there will be students to observe, explain that before you have patients wait for their appointment.
Confirm with them if they are comfortable with that and If not, allow them the convenience to see only the doctor. The way this nurse handled this situation seemed as if I had no other choice.
Normally, I do not mind students observing, except in this particular situation, it made me feel highly uncomfortable.
3. Develop some empathy and respect for your patients.
Let your patients know if their appointment is delayed or will take longer than usual if that is the case. Normally I receive a little courtesy message that lets me know how things are going such as «just a few minutes the doctor is running late».
As I was in the wait room, I noticed some troubling conversations between patients and staff — all dwindling to a form of miscommunication. I saw «professional» staff treat patients as if they were incoherent and seemed disrespectful and rude to patients. It seems this staff has a lot to learn.
Overall, I DO NOT recommend this place for women services.

first off, i would like to say I really like my PCP, Susan Schuder. she seems to really care and i trust her. the praise stops there. i went in to see her yesterday for some pain, swelling and grinding in my wrist. she gave me a brace, sent me for xrays and said she would send a referral letter to Steinberg diagnostics right away bc i need an MRI. She told me to call the following morning to make an appt for my MRI. I was on the phone twice with Steinberg and twice with SMA between 7 and 10 am bc the referral letter still hadn’t gone through and I was unable to make an appt without knowing what kind of MRI i needed. when I explained to the guy that answered at SMA at 10 am that my Dr. hadn’t sent the referral and I wanted to check on the status of it, he snottily told me Susan Schuder was not a doctor, she is an APN, and then proceeded to tell me it can take 5 – 7 days for a referral to go through. that’s fine, but first of all, i don’t care about her title, stick to the point, and second of all, she was the one that told me to call the following morning to make my appt! it didn’t just make this s**t up, and I don’t appreciate being talked to like i’m an idiot.

I know Quest and it’s partners get a bad rap, but I have to say my experience today was great. I made a 8:30 am appointment and didn’t have to wait at all when I arrived.
I’m not a fan of needles and passed out. The nurses got me to a bed and calmed me down. The nurse who took my blood, Cathy, was gentle and understanding and finished quickly. They gave me juice and let me relax until I was ready to go home. I would definitely go back.

I couldn’t agree more with all the people ahead of me. This place is terrible, from the front desk to the Doctors. First it took me 6 weeks to get my appointment because they had to cancel my first one that I waited 3 weeks for and it would be another 3 weeks wait for that one and then I would not see my primary, the Doctor I saw told me he was doing me a favor my seeing me. I had already been to their Urgent Care and they told me to see my primary. I had a terrible swollen leg and it was inflammed. Dr. walked in and tolded me I needed a Weight reduction clinic, and that would fix it. I take meds that put weight on me have for 20 years, tried to explain that to him, he said my other Dr. was crazy. This Dr. was so rude and nasty, that I left, got his name, and called my insurance company and complained about him. They said they were doing an investigation on him, but who knows. All this place wants is money, they never have any appointments so that you have to go to their Urgent Care which costs much more in co-​pays. This place is criminal !!!

Came in to make sure I was thoroughly over a cold. Decent wait time, had to pay up front. Everything ok to this point. The nurse who walked me in? Cold and completely uncommunicative. Jennifer couldn’t be bothered to make a statement in complete sentences, much smile or remove the expression from her face that said I was a waste of time to her. I went in feeling relatively decent, and I was offended. I can’t imagine being seriously sick and having this woman as my initial experience at the doctor.
When it came to scheduling, Dr. Norris is my primary care provider. I’ve always had pleasant, through rushed, experiences. To get any kind of appointment that wasn’t three weeks out (which is no good for a possible strep), I had to see the PA. No problem. But she came in, looked at my eyes, ears, and throat and said that I probably just had a virus and that there wasn’t anything they could do, and walked me to the front. It was pretty much a waste of a copay.
Nothing keeps me from going to the doctor more than having this office as primary care! I can’t wait to change my insurance options and go back to Dr. Paul Mitchell on Rainbow… that whole place is amazing and the complete opposite of southwest medical.

Let me tell you what I look for in a doctor’s office: Doctors. Doctors who listen and make accurate diagnosis to relieve pain and suffering. You won’t find that at this place. You’ll find some support staff with certification plaques who are referral gatekeepers to other certified assistants and needle pushers and prescription writers. This is not a doctor’s office. This is an insurance office. You are not
A
PAtieNt
With An Illness,
You are a
recurring customer
with an account.
I’m not going to name names, and there are some good with the bad, but I do not feel like many of my concerns were adequately addressed the first few times I’ve been to this office.
Further, the technology at this office is beyond poor. I got asked over and over again with each new visit «How tall are you»? For the love of all that is holy, how about a freaking simple database? My God! It doesn’t have to be a sophisticated player tracking system like the kind used in casinos since the 1980s… but my height DoEs NOt cHaNge!
I favorably added consideration (a star) for the one certified assistant I liked and the one receptionist who was genuinely nice and the two nurses aides who were skilled.
«I am insane and you are my insanity. (maniacal laughing)».Bruce Willis in director Terry Gillam’s renowned future-​shock film «Twelve Monkeys».

This place is horrible, everyone in the staff has an attitude problem. I made an appointment with Dr. Norris to check out a horrible rash that I had, and to see if there was anyway she can treat me for my back pain. She didn’t acknowledge my aching back whatsoever, and her answer for my rash was «I’ve never seen anything like that before.» Then she left the room and her assistant let me know that I was only getting checked up and I left with no satisfaction. They simply do not care about patients at all. I would rate them no stars if I was allowed to.

Nowhere to park, little room to sit and the staff is cold… This place is worse than the DMV!!! Oh, and they require a payment before they even see you.
I went in just because I needed a referral to see a chiropractor and I had to convince the doctor that chiropractors help people, I could tell this doctor saw them as little more than snake oil salesmen.