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Summary: Ronald Smith has been a long-standing patient at University of Maryland Medical Center since 2003, when he received a heart transplant (see related story). When Smith recently started having gallbladder symptoms, one of his doctors at the Medical Center recommended that he see Patricia Turner, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. After the visit, Dr. Turner recommended that Smith have his gallbladder removed with a laparoscopic approach. On May 11, 2009, Smith had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. He shares his story below.
My name is Ronald Smith and I am thrilled to share my gratitude towards Dr. Patricia Turner and the University of Maryland Medical Center. I am a long-standing patient at UMMC as I had a successful heart transplant there in 2003. I have nothing but great things to say about UMMC, and my feelings about UMMC only grew stronger when I went to see Dr. Patricia Turner.
I had been experiencing some issues with my gallbladder toward the beginning of 2009, and in April it really became inflamed. One of my physicians at the Medical Center recommended that I see Dr. Turner about this. My physician contacted Dr. Turner immediately and she was able to direct her staff to get me an appointment as soon as possible.
On April 22, 2009, I had an initial consultation with Dr. Turner. Even before I met with her, I was impressed with the courteous nature of the staff in the clinic (AeroDigestive Center) as well as her nurse (Sheilah Williams) that met with me before Dr. Turner came into the room.
Dr. Turner eventually came into the room and boy was I impressed. She was very professional, straight-forward, gave me time to ask questions, and quite honestly, very refreshing. For someone who has had a heart transplant, I definitely want a physician who is going to tell me what I really need to know rather than just “sugar-coating” things, thus I really appreciated her professional manner and honesty. After my evaluation, Dr. Turner recommended that I have my gallbladder out and she said that it could be done laparoscopically, which would be more beneficial for me.
On May 11, 2009, I had my surgery. My wife came with me to the hospital that morning; she is a nurse at another hospital, thus her expectations of patient care are very high — everyone at UMMC that day exceeded all of these expectations. Before the surgery, Dr. Turner came to speak with my wife and I about the procedure and to make sure that we did not have any questions before the procedure.
It’s now been over a month since my surgery, and I recently had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Turner. Everything that I experienced during my first appointment was the same for this appointment; all of the clinic staff continued to treat me in a courteous manner, her support staff remembered all of my medical history, and Dr. Turner was just great! I never felt rushed in my visit, and I continued to feel refreshed by her professionalism.
As I previously stated, I am a long-standing patient of the University of Maryland Medical Center, and my experiences with Dr. Turner and her support staff only continue to make me happy that I come to UMMC for all of my health care needs. People who work at the Medical Center treat patients with pride and dignity, and I am happy that Dr. Patricia Turner was a member of my care-taking team.
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