Dr. Tara Teresa Tenney, MD

We are all in UC because we feel terrible or are in terrible pain. I am baffled by this doctor's dismissive attitude. I understand if her hands are tied and there is nothing she can do but there is a professional and compassionate way of going about it. Who in the world hired this person and how does she still have a job? If she walks into your room in your time of need, run.

Dr Tenny went out of her way this week to make sure we were recording the best possible services available. I felt completely heard and cared for. She listened carefully and responded clearly. I highly recommend DrTenny.

My experience at the Santa Cruz clinic has been consistently positive. Until yesterday. My 10 year old had a laceration on his finger and we needed a quick help. From the moment we walked into the clinic the receptionist acted quickly and got us a triage nurse right away. The triage nurse was a sweet caring person, asked my child age appropriate questions and made sure he felt as comfortable as possible. Another nurse came in, introduced herself and took more information. Then, our experience changed. In came a woman, didn’t state who she was, no name or title. I asked her if she was the doctor on call, she responded that she works there. She briefly looked at my child’s injury and said it will need stitches. She did not address him, did not asked his name or how he was. No bed side manner whatsoever. After a brief exchange she left and came back with a needle. At that point I asked her about a Lidocaine gel. She made a face and said it would take 40 extra minutes. I said… that’s fine. A new nurse came in with a Lidocaine cream, introduced herself and said directly to my child that it will burn. There is a difference between being honest and discouraging. My son, already in pain and distress, was horrified about more pain so he refused. Less than 5 minutes later the doctor came back and said if we don’t do the cream now she is going to proceed with the needle. She was going to just jam it in my son’s finger. I asked her for extra pair of hands, knowing my son would probably have a hard time to stay still. She looked surprised and asked if she needed to bring a nurse. I said it would be helpful. Has she never had a child patient? After numbing my child’s finger at about 3 places that made him cry the nurse left and the doctor proceeded to stitch right away. Again, she did not say anything to my son and did NOT check with him if his finger felt numb enough. (Even dentists do that! This was a mini surgery.) I asked about waiting a few minutes for the shot to activate but she said it should work right away. Well, it did not. The first stitch made him shake and sweat as he was trying not to cry. I addressed the doctor shouldn’t it be completely numb?? (I have had pleasant experience with stitches before and know the lidocaine injection should work). She said maybe it wasn’t completely numb because he was squirming too much during the numbing process. (As if it was his fault?). She continued with 3 more stitches with 3 more excruciating pain for my child. After this traumatizing experience the sweet triage nurse came in to bandage the finger and we were off. On our way out the door we ran into the doctor walking back with a bag lunch. Was she so cold because she was in a hurry to eat? Urgent care doctor should be prepared for a busy day, not to mention my child was the only patient there at that time. And, above all, every doctor should have some bedside manner and introduce themselves by name and title, especially when treating a child. NOT recommending Tara Teresa Tenney, MD. Period.