Dr. Erick Bournigal

I have worked with his office staff and Dr. Bournigal for years. They are awesome.

Dr. Bournigal listens, is thorough, and his office is well run. It does take a bit of time to get in.

During my medical appointment with Dr. Bournigal, I admit that I have never seen a licensed physician act with such verbal and emotional abuse. My diagnoses is chronic lower back pain and I carry about 25 pound than I should lose . He called me FAT; raged about my opioid addiction (which I don't have); complained how horribly the Jews treated the Arabs and the resignation of Nikki Haley from the UN made it worse. He complained that his father favored his sister who gave money to the parent; and the he had spent $4000,000 on his daughter's education and she was ruining her chances to give him grandchildren. He complained that women were built to bear children but got too fat to become pregnant. Also his wife had a "hot" body when he married her but now she was too fat. Then he told me he could do nothing about my pain unless I took some new costly meds which might not help but would give me nausea, headaches, sleeplessness etc or I would have to have a stomach band surgery which… would cost $18k which I can't afford.While he ranted in this way, he backed me into a chair with his large( fat) chest and arms , and yelled in my face, telling me to start crying. I finally moved toward him, stiffening my body, and asked him in a firm voice :"Do you ever help any of your patients.? And I will not cry." I stared him directly in the eyes as I spoke. Suddenly he backed away, fumbled with some words that yes he did help some patients. Then he turned and abruptly left the office. A nurse came in the a RX and said come back in 6 months. Well, that's not going to happen. I will find a sane, competent Dr who is not off of his meds.

As long as my rare autoimmune disease was in remission, everything was fine with this "doctor." As soon as I said my symptoms had returned, he became enraged; threw my list of symptoms and questions away without even glancing at it; told me I was attempting to tell him how to do his job (???); YELLED at me that I was being manipulative (bc I brought a list?); made me complete a Depression Screening list ( I am a retired Licensed Counselor with 41 years experience; I KNOW how to diagnose depression and throughout my long journey with this disease, I have sometimes been sad but never depressed. Fortunately, my history of teaching others how to remain calm and dignified during an altercation served me to remain so during this attack. ); scored my screening questionnaire ; commented that he had never gotten such a low score, smirked and said he didn't believe me . I had completed the short screening long before he returned to the room, so I had time to retrieve my list… and circle the symptoms that put me in risk of moving into a horrifying level of the disease....still with the hopes that he would address them. I gave him the list and asked him to at least look at the circled items. He took the list and addressed ONE symptom (digestive problems)...which was NOT circled. I requested he look at one of the circled items: my disappearing fingerprints. He looked at my fingertips and did not say a word about them. He turned away and again said I was trying to tell him how to do his job. I sighed and told him my gut had sensed that he would not listen to me. He again YELLED that I was being manipulative. I responded with dignity that I was simply doing what is routinely recommended to patients who sense that they are not being heard. He again YELLED, "See, there's that manipulation again." BOTTOM LINE: If you have a very common diagnosis, he might be OK for you. Just do not go in if you have something he apparently knows nothing about.

Most thorough doctor I've ever had of any physician

Very unprofessional

This man is on top of everything. He WILL figure out how to fix whatever is bothering you. If there is no real fix, he will tell you that also; then he suggests coping methods. Dr. Erick is a genuinely nice person who just happens to have great medical skills and intuition that proves to be right. You will not be disappointed if you choose him.

I have been seeing Dr. Bournigal for over 20 yrs., first when he was solely internal medicine and then as a rheumatologist. He is one of the brightest and caring doctors around and truly loves his work. I wish all were like him. He has always made a point to listen to all your needs and tells you what he thinks and most of the time hits the nail on the head. He will not hesitate to send you to another specialist if needed. He does have one arrogant nurse but the others are great. On a score of 1-10, I would rate him a 20.

I was referred to this Doctor from my local Urgent Care when I had come in multiple times within a week with a complaint about joint pain that's only been getting worse (I am in my early 20s, so not typical for someone in my age group to have this). After X-rays and blood tests coming back clean and prescriptions not helping, they referred me to Dr. Bournigal. I wish I had seen these reviews before I went - absolute WORST experience I have ever had! Talked to me as if I was a child, was rude, and cut me off multiple times before I could completely explain what I was feeling. When I was asked about the notebook I brought with me, and I explained it was all the symptoms I had been experiencing over the past month or so, and he cut me off exclaiming "OH you have OCD?" then questioned me to "confirm if I had OCD" - to which, big surprise, I don't, then said "Sorry, I have to ask those questions. It's my job." For what?? Writing down symptoms during my daily life along with what I… ate/did that day to see if there was anything that was happening during my day-to-day routine I should be avoiding? I had only been doing it for the past month when a nurse suggested to me I do that so he can have a picture of my daily life to see if anything was an issue there. He also rambled on about how women are more flexible and this is because of how we're built to birth children - WHAT does this have to do with my knees and wrists/arms/hands aching badly?? He prescribed me Gabapentin - which, by the way, is medication for seizures and nerve damage - and told me if it worked, he did not need to see me anymore. It gave me an overall impression he is not interested in patient's health and comfort, as he has terrible bedside manner and does not actually listen to his patient's concerns and symptoms. Find yourself someone else to go to, and save yourself the headache! It was 1-2 hours of my time (and money) wasted, and I'm still not sure what the issue is, no thanks to him helping.

After a pleasant initial meeting with Dr. Bournigal's nurse and explaining my concerns and two diagnoses that I am interested in having eliminated, I hear her explain to him through closed doors. His voice sounds sarcastic as he replies, "I heard." I considered him arrogant because, throughout the consultation, although he heard me, I do not feel that he listened to me. Attempting to be helpful, I brought in a disk of a recent chest x-ray. When he entered the treatment room, he dismissively hands me the disk and tells me that my x-ray is boring. A few minutes into the consultation, he places his elbows on his knees, looks me in the eye as though I am not hearing him and tells me that I have an "emotional attitude," and that I should listen to myself. I stand up and tell him that I am not here to waste his time and that I am attempting to paint him a picture, and that he should listen to me. Additionally, I inform him that if I have an "emotional attitude," it is because of the pain… that I am experiencing with few answers as to why and that I am truly frustrated. Furthermore, I held up my bag of medications and explained to him that I felt that all of the medication I am on is masking the symptoms and impeding our finding out what is wrong. The only agreement that we came to was that I needed more restful sleep in order for my muscles to "heal," and if I wanted to have any quality of life. I felt belittled, because I asked him to include those words in his notes (about my poor quality of life), he chose to not do so, as he did the rest of our visit. I left with the impression that he isn't interested in any new patients. If you choose to see Dr. Bournigal, be prepared to deal with someone who appears more interested in hearing his own voice than the voice of his patient.