Failure to Communicate

My daughter starts high school tomorrow and one of the things her school requires is a TB test. I found that out at the last minute. We rushed down to the Kaiser injection clinic last Monday for the test. My daughter went in by herself. When she came out she told me I could come back for the results on Wednesday. I forgot all about it, so went to get them on Friday. Too late!

It turns out I was supposed to bring my daughter back on Wednesday so the nurse could look at her arm! What?!? That's not what I was told!!!

The nurse who gave the injection had such a thick accent, I'm wondering if my daughter didn't understand her. It was either that or the nurse assumed my daughter knew what she meant when she said come back for the results. Sorry, we are not TB test experts.

Back my daughter went for another shot (totally unfair to her). We were told to come back on Monday, now 3 days later, rather than 2. Hmm. If we get there and they tell me we waited too long I will have a major meltdown.

I am all for equal opportunity, but effective communication is a top priority in any job, especially when dealing with the public. And when you have a breakdown of communication in a hospital you are just begging for a lawsuit.

What do you think about effective communication? Is it important?