"In my current role, a few months ago, a patient walked in and demanded to be seen. This person was not our patient, and our clinic was already overbooked that day. The front staff let the person know that we could not take walk-in patients and that he would have to call our main office to register as a new patient, and then they would schedule him for an appointment. He was agitated and yelled at our receptionist in front of a room full of patients. I came to the front desk and asked him to step out into the hallway with me. I first ensured he wasn't having a medical emergency, as even if he is not our patient, it's my duty to help someone facing a critical medical situation like chest pain. He had a toothache and wanted something for the pain. I reiterated what our front staff had told him and explained that we had an obligation to treat our current patient load and respect their time so they could provide adequate care to those already waiting. I provided him with a list of walk-in clinics in the area and an emergent care dentist's office. In this situation, it was important to remove him from the main office where he was causing a scene while also trying to provide him alternate solutions so he could get the care he needed."
