When I was in China， I rarely went to see the doctor. This was because I seldom got sick. I often heard people complain about hospitals and doctors： how inefficient1 they were and so how time-consuming and unpleasant it was to go there. " It's cheap to see the doctor and it won't cost you much on medicine， either." I also heard such comforting comments from time to time2. However， when I felt under the weather3， I always took a " wait and see" attitude， determined to avoid seeing the doctor as much as I could. Most of the time， I got better as time went by4. Occasionally I had to go to the hospital， which was hardly a pleasant experience.

　　I came to Cornell University with the same " wait and see" attitude. As a university policy， each student is required to have some medical insurance， whether you like it or not. There are countless types of medical insurance offered to the students. Like most Chinese students who wanted to save money and had confidence in their own health， I chose the cheapest medical insurance， just to meet5 the university requirement. The insurance I had did not cover6 eye and dental7 care， which were very expensive.

　　I never thought I would use my insurance. However， as you age， something " unexpected" would happen to you. Once I threw up8 on the first day of my period9. My friend urged me to see the doctor. Believing that it would be much better than the unpleasant experience in a Chinese hospital， I decided to go. It turned out10 to be a painful process. First of all， I had to look up the insurance book and find out which doctor I could go and see. In the States， different doctors have different affiliations11 with medical insurance companies. Before you go to see the doctor， you should find out whether the doctor you are to see accepts your insurance or not. Most Americans have their own family doctors， and if they have serious problems， the family doctor would recommend them to see the specialists. Since I had no family doctor at all， I simply called up one doctor listed in the book. The receptionist12 answered my call and made an appointment with the doctor. Not until then did I realize that in the States you cannot just go and see the doctor once you find there is something wrong13 with you. You need to make an appointment， which could be one week or two weeks away depending how the doctor is booked14.

　　On the day of my appointment， I arrived at the doctor' s office 10 minutes earlier. When I came to the window， the receptionist first asked me to fill in several sheets15 of personal information. Then I was asked to show the insurance card. She made a copy of that and gave me a few agreements16 to sign. Then I was told to wait in the waiting room， where there were a variety of magazines for you to kill17 the time. After sitting there restlessly and leafing through18 magazines in pain for about 15 minutes， I heard my name called by a nurse. I followed the nurse to a small exam room. There the nurse took my temperature and blood pressure， asked me some questions on family history， and filled in the information. Then she told me to wait， explaining that the doctor would be with me in a minute19. However， the doctor did not show up20 until 10 minutes later. He asked me what was wrong with me. I explained and he listened. Then he told me what might be the problem and prescribed21 some medicine for me. The total time he spent with me was no more than 10 minutes. When I came out of the office， I was thinking to myself， " Did I come here to see the doctor or the nurse？" I had spent more time with the nurse than with the doctor. With the doctor' s prescription， I came to the pharmacy22 to get the medicine. In the States， you cannot get the medicine at the hospital. Most of the supermarkets such as Walmart and Kmart and drug stores have a pharmacy counter. There are two major types of medicines： over-the-counter23 and prescription. Many drugs for common ailments24 such as colds and fevers are available over-the-counter. The medicine the doctor prescribes for you is only obtainable through the pharmacist25. With my insurance， I would pay ＄ 5 for generic26 drugs and ＄ 15 for branded drugs. The rest of the expenses would be covered by the insurance company.

　　My experience with the hospital did not come to an end after I got my medicine. A week later， I got allergic to27 the medicine， with my mouth and face swollen28 and a rash29 all over my body. I called the doctor immediately. However， he was on call and the nurse answered my phone， telling me to go to the emergency immediately. Feeling extremely painful and also scared by the nurse， I drove to the emergency room right after I hung up. I always thought that patients would be taken care of immediately once they came to the emergency room （called ER in the States）。When I got there， it was just the same as in the regular doctor's office. Again I had to fill in several forms. Again I had to wait in the waiting room. Again I was checked by the nurse for blood pressure and temperature. And again I waited in the emergency room for the doctor to show up. This time the doctor only spent 5 minutes with me， listening to my description and then telling me that I was allergic to the medicine. As soon as I stopped taking the medicine， I should be fine.

　　A month later， I got a statement and several bills from the insurance company and the doctor' s office. It turned out that I had to pay 10 dollars for my first visit and 50 dollars for that visit to the emergency room. These payments together are called co-payment， which is the fixed30 amount paid by the patient if he uses these services. The statement from the insurance company showed that the doctors were paid around 60 dollars besides the co-payment out of my own pocket， but only for 10 minutes spent with me. Time is money――this is especially true with the doctor. If I could choose my career again in the States， I would choose a career in medicine.

　　我在國內很少去醫院看病，因為很少生??；而且常常聽到周圍的人抱怨醫院和大夫多么沒有效率，看病多費時間，令人生厭。但我也時常會聽到寬慰的話："看病很便宜，藥費也不貴。"不過，我感到身體不適時，總抱著"等等再說"的態度，盡量不去醫院。大多時候，隨著時間過去我慢慢就好了。偶爾不得不去醫院，那經歷總令人不悅。

　　到康乃爾上學，對于疾病我還是抱"等等再說"的態度。大學規定每個學生都要買醫療保險，不管你愿不愿意。學生可以選擇的醫療保險種類數不勝數。但像大多數要省錢及對自身健康充滿自信的中國學生一樣，我選擇了最便宜的保險，只是為了要達到學校的要求。我的保險不包括眼睛和口腔，因為這兩項費用太貴。

　　我從沒想到我會用上保險。然而，隨著年齡的增大，很多"意外"的情況隨之而至。一次我來例假的頭一天嘔吐，我的朋友催我去看醫生。我覺得在美國看病總應比在國內感覺好些，就決定去看醫生。誰知這竟是一次令人痛苦的經歷。首先，我得翻出保險手冊，找出可以去看的醫生。在美國，不同的醫生與不同的保險公司有合作關系。在去看醫生之前，你得知道你要看的醫生是否接受你的保險。大多數美國人都有自己的家庭醫生，如果他們有嚴重問題，家庭醫生會推薦他們去看專家。因為我根本沒家庭醫生，我就隨便給保險手冊里的一位醫生打了電話。接待員接的電話，幫我和醫生預約了一個時間。直到那時我才意識到在美國你不能一發現自己有了什么毛病就去看大夫，你得預約，預約的時間有可能在一兩個星期之后，全看這個醫生的預約日程安排是否很滿。

　　我在預約那天，提前10分鐘來到醫生的辦公室。我到窗口前，接待員先讓我填了幾張個人情況的表格，然后又讓我出示了保險卡。她復印了我的保險卡后，讓我簽了幾張協議。接著她叫我到接待室等候，那兒擺放著各種雜志用以打發時間。我在那兒坐立不安，忍著疼痛翻了一刻鐘的雜志。終于聽到護士叫我的名字，我跟著護士來到一間小的檢查室。護士量量我的體溫和血壓，詢問了我的家庭病史，在表上填了這些信息，之后，她讓我等著，說醫生馬上就來。然而我等了10分鐘醫生才露面。他問我什么毛病。我詳細地敘述了一遍。他聽后，告訴我可能是什么問題，給我開了一些藥。他總共花了不到10分鐘就把我打發了。從醫院出來，我想："我是到這兒來是看大夫還是看護士？"我和護士呆的時間比和醫生呆得還長。拿著大夫的處方，我來到藥房取藥。在美國，你不能在醫院取藥。大多數超市，像沃爾馬特和凱馬特以及藥店，設有專門的取藥柜臺。藥分兩大類，不需處方的藥和處方藥。很多普通病諸如感冒發燒的藥都不需大夫處方，隨處可買。醫生給你開的藥只能通過藥劑師取得。我雖有保險，但如果是一般的藥需付5美元，如果是名牌藥得付15美元。其余的費用由保險公司承擔。

　　我拿到藥之后并沒意味著和醫院的交道就此告終。一星期后，我吃的藥令我過敏，嘴巴和臉都腫了，身上起了很多疹子。我立刻給我的醫生打電話。然而醫生出診了，護士接的電話，讓我立刻去急診室。我難受極了，又被護士一嚇，一掛電話就驅車去了急診室（在美國，通常簡稱為ER）。我總認為，一旦病人到了急診室，就會立刻受到精心護理。我到了那以后，就像到了一般的醫生辦公室。我又一次填了幾張表格；又一次在候診室等待；又一次由護士檢查血壓和體溫；又一次在急診室等候醫生來到。這次醫生只用了5分鐘聽我敘述，然后告訴我對藥過敏，只要停止服藥，就沒事了。

　　一個月后，我收到保險公司和醫生診所寄來的一封信和幾個帳單。我得付10美金初診費給我看病的醫生，50美金給急診室。這部分錢稱作"共付費用".病人如果用了這些服務就要固定地付這部分錢。保險公司的信表明除了我自己腰包出的錢之外，醫生還從保險公司得60美金左右，而他們僅僅在我身上花了10分鐘。時間就是金錢，對于美國醫生來說再正確不過了。如果我可以在美國再選擇職業的話，我要選擇醫生這一行。

　　注釋：

　　1.inefficient adj.無效率的

　　2.from time to time 時時，間或

　　3.under the weather 不舒服，有病

　　4.go by （時間）過去，逝去

　　5.meet vt.符合，應付

　　6.cover vt.包括，涉及

　　7.dental adj.牙齒的，牙科的

　　8.throw up 嘔出，嘔吐

　　9.period n.（婦女的）經期

　　10.turn out 原來是，最后證明是

　　11.affiliation n.聯系，從屬關系

　　12.receptionist n.接待員

　　13.wrong adj.不正常的，有毛病的

　　14.book vt.預約

　　15.sheet n.一張（紙）

　　16.agreement n.協議

　　17.kill vt.消磨（時間）

　　18.leaf through 草草瀏覽，匆匆翻閱

　　19.in a minute 立刻，馬上

　　20.show up 露面

　　21.prescribe vt.為…開（藥）

　　22.pharmacy n.藥房，藥店

　　23.over-the-counter adj. （藥）無醫生處方也可合法出售的

　　24.ailment n.疾病（尤指微恙），病痛

　　25.pharmacist n.藥商，藥劑師

　　26.generic adj.非專利的

　　27.allergic adj.（與to連用）對…過敏的

　　28.swollen adj.腫脹的

　　29.rash n.疹，疹子

　　30.fixed adj.固定的，確定的

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