I like Dr. Gentry's personality. He obviously has ample experience and is very sweet. I spent more than two years under his care. Many of my friends who were very pleased with Gentry spent significantly less time under his care before becoming pregnant. In my two years, Gentry never was able to associate my face with my name. That frustrated me because I felt like I had a very long, very frustrating journey and didn't feel like he remembered any of it when making medical decisions.
I understand that statistically, most people will get pregnant. If they try for a year and don't, they can go to Dr. Gentry. Statistically though, many of those people will get pregnant with little assistance from Gentry. Out of those non-pregnant people remaining, it seems that Dr. Gentry uses a uniform treatment plan. Out of those still not pregnant, he uses a bit more intense uniform treatment plan. If that doesn't work, he steps it up a notch. The problem is, everything is cookie-cutter. It felt like… he was treating me like I was a robot and that my personal history, my hormone levels, didn't matter. I've now switched drs, and feel that I am receiving a more personalized treatment plan. With that said, I'm sure that his cookie-cutter approach works with the majority of people - statistically, it should if the people are willing to give it enough time. I think he thought that since I was relatively young, there was no rush. However, 2.5 years of fertility treatments ( after 2 years of trying on my own) is beyond frustrating..especially when it feels like I was the only one who was in a hurry.
Other issues I had: For my appointments, I would often see different members of the staff. That would be perfectly fine if communication was strong internally. However, all those who saw me would scribble information on a piece of paper in my file as record keeping. I never saw anyone other than the receptionist use a computer. This was concerning to me because nurses would forget to call me or fumble for 10 minutes while they were trying to relearn my history. A wrong prescription dosage was called in for me twice, an important injection was not ordered for me when I needed it, and when I requested my medical records it was impossible to read a lot of the information. On my second IVF day, my file was "lost" temporarily. That would not be possible if they switched to digital record keeping. To contrast, when I switched to a new dr, he kept minutes digitally and then mailed them to me after I left so that I could have a copy.
As for his office staff, one nurse was constantly condescending (she doesn't mean to be, but just is) and another made incorrect statements about my meds frequently and then changed her statements when I asked her about them.
Maybe the most frustrating aspect of this office was trying to call at the start of a cycle. I have a pretty intense job and cannot take phone-calls at all hours during the day. I would call during my lunch or assigned break times, and leave a message. This office never has a nurse field phone calls. You call and leave a message - then they call you back the next business day. If you start a fertility cycle, there are only three days to get in for an ultrasound. I missed three different months in my two years of Dr. Gentry's treatment because we were playing phone tag. To contrast, my new dr office will answer the phone when I call more often than not.
Another frustration for me - Dr. Gentry is known for being late. His office staff both in Evansville and in Indy, along with the nurses in his surgical centers, all joke about it. As a patient, it is not something I liked joking about. If everyone knows he will be running at least 30 minutes late, why can't the front staff lie to him about his appointment times or something? Or why can't he just be on time? Is he getting held up because he talks too much to patients? Why not schedule patients further apart then?
And finally, after spending over two years with Dr. Gentry, and completing multiple rounds of IVF. My instruction was to come in for a blood test two weeks after my IVF. I received a negative HPT and never went in or called. Instead, I switch doctors. You'd think that someone in the office would have followed-up with me when I didn't show up for my pregnancy blood test. Instead, they all have completely forgotten about me, about my 4.5 year struggle, don't care that I'm still not pregnant, and I think that proves they were never on my side. Give them your money if they want - they are going to seem wonderful for the first 6 months, and then you'll start noticing those small mistakes are piling up.
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