Dr. Golru Ghaffari, DO

After midnight on January 24, 2022, I entered the Emergency Department of Suburban Hospital with severe shortness of breath. After spending approximately an hour in the ED, I was approached by a nurse asking to do an ABG Test. I was not familiar with this test, and since it involved taking blood from an artery, I asked to speak to the prescribing doctor first, as I had not met her up to this point. The doctor (Dr. Golru Maryam Ghaffari) came to my room and explained what the test was for, but I still did not feel comfortable doing the test. However, I decided to trust her and let her perform the test. However, after she stuck me with the needle for the test and drew blood, she informed that she had stuck a vein, rather than an artery as intended. I was upset at having been stuck and losing blood for no reason, so I told her that I would not let her stick me again since she had failed to do it correctly the first time. At this point, she proceeded to yell at me about how I was behaving… worse than her children and how my mother would be ashamed of me if she saw how I was behaving. (Ironically, I was separated from my mother at the admissions desk by the staff, allegedly due to COVID restrictions, leaving me isolated and defenseless in this emergency department). I simply sat there listening to her, as I was alone, still wearing a breathing mask, and was worried about what else would happen to me if I responded in anyway (not that I knew how). She then said she refused to treat me any longer, walked out, and started complaining to the nurses about me. I was discharged soon after without any further treatment or advice. Two days later, I was still having difficulty breathing and was told by a cardiologist that I had fluid on my lungs, and so we tried to schedule an emergency dialysis appointment that day with my dialysis unit. However, before I had the chance to go there, I had another severe attack of shortness of breath, so bad that I thought I would pass out. We called an ambulance and I crawled on my hands and knees to the door while waiting to be picked up. They took me to Sibley Memorial Hospital (I asked them not to take me back to Suburban even though it was closer) where I had to endure a traumatic and painful 3-day stay. If Dr. Ghaffari had behaved like a professional and done her duty (or at least respected my wishes when I told her that I did not want the ABG test), I could have gotten treated sooner and may not have had to go through the ordeal I went through the next several days. A doctor who behaves like this towards any patient, much less emergency patients, should not be allowed to practice emergency medicine. I thought I was going to die while I was at Sibley Memorial Hospital, and I was only there due to this woman’s negligence and malice. It's a disgrace that Johns Hopkins and the Maryland Board of Physicians continue to allow this woman to practice emergency medicine.

This ER Doctor has no regard for patients care! Saw this DR in the ER and from the onset it was obvious she cared NOTHING about my issue. She asked why i was there in way that implied I shouldn’t be there. Her examination of me was a slight touch of my upper back (note went in with stomach issues). She could obviously see I was in pain, she ordered pain meds for me and NEVER came back to check on me, to see if the pain had subsided, it had not! I left the ER still in pain, And even as I type this review. It is my hope that no one else is made to feel the way I felt! This DR really doesn’t need to work with patience. Especially, in an ER setting. Particularly, where compassion is a must!

Went to Suburban ER. Nurses were very nice, but this ER doc was clueless and misdiagnosed me. I was neglected for hours getting the wrong treatment. It wasn’t until I was transferred to another service that I actually began to improve. So be careful if you end up with her. You should request to be seen by someone else.

Was dealing with a complicated, interrelated, series of medical issues. She was more than competent from a medical perspective, and absolutely professional in answering my questions and recommending a path forward. Would recommend.

This physician took excellent care of me at Sibley Memorial's ER.

This doctor is everything the previous patient noted: insecure, officious and obnoxious.

young doctor. She is either insecure or just plain officious and obnoxious.