Doctor. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor.

If this movie quote sounds familiar to you, then maybe you were one of the many who watched Spies Like Us a hundred years ago. Or maybe you started watching it some recent forlorn weekend night on Netflix's "Watch Instantly" joint, until your husband fell asleep and the battery on your laptop ran out of juice. Not that I know anyone who falls into that category.

Today I went to the doctor, not to be outdone by my perfectly healthy (or, only slightly erkaeltet) (erkaeltet is a German word that means stricken by a cold- good word, right?) toddler. I have had a cold for a week and a half, but it has the unique feature of a super sore throat that will not go away. Usually that action abates after the first day or so. And we have health insurance, so why not prop up the economy with another co-pay?

The doctor I see regularly (though I wouldn't call it that) I chose based on the location of the office, which is not too far from our house. I kind of liked the first doctor I had there, but then after a long break from medical needs, when I went back, she was gone. So they shuffled me to a new one, who is actually a physician's assistant, but perfectly adequate for the kind of stuff I usually need to visit a doctor for. She seems nice enough. But today when I went in, and had my throat rather briskly swabbed by the nurse, the PA lady said, well, the rapid strep test was negative, but we'll send it off for culture, and in the meantime, I'll call in some antiobiotics.

Really? What could it be if it's not strep? She implied that it's some kind of bacteria, so I may as well get going on the treatment. Um, OK. I guess. The whole interaction with the doctor, or PA, was probably between forty-five seconds and two minutes. I am all for efficiency, but she asked me about my symptoms and then made me open my mouth for a look before I could finish talking. And she didn't tell me what looking at my tonsils made her think of. Leaving me to consider how I look if I say, tell me, Doctor, what do my tonsils make you think of? I never had the chance!

So, doctors of the world, I am on a two-post tear (I promise to let it go after this one)... I am very happy with my kids' doctor, but I am thinking it would not be such a bad thing if I could find a doctor for myself that I really like. I may be a little spoiled by the pediatrician experience, and for that matter the midwife experience, because when you see a doctor fairly regularly, you at least have the impression of some kind of relationship with them. Not so with the local antibiotic dispensary...

And because I keep hearing from my sisters, who, though older than I am, are not THAT much older than I am, about their many many rigorous checkups and ensuing follow up tests and what not. And if I am in line for that kind of stuff, which I guess I am, wouldn't it be best if I had a doctor on deck that I could at least pretend to have some kind of relationship with? Who wants to team with me to actively manage my health, or whatever is said on this subject? Or do I just have to wait until I'm in the nursing home for that?

Do you have a doctor for your own grown-up self that you like? One that at least pretends to remember you from previous visits? How did you find this doctor? Did you luck into it? Or do you have a method for finding a good primary care physician? Do tell...