I've always been a follow-the-rules type person. My husband teases me because I'm the girl who stands at the crosswalk when absolutely zero cars are coming because the DON'T WALK sign is still on. And even when I think the rules are dumb, I still think I should follow them because there's obviously a logical reason the rule was put in place.
When we moved here from Germany, we hand-carried our medical records. I took my records to my first doctor's appointment intending to relinquish them to Records, but the doctor told me not to bother turning them in because we're only here for six months. So did the next doctor. And even the person behind the counter at Records.
So why then are their signs plastered all over the building with screaming-yellow highlighter saying that no patient under any circumstances by punishment of death will hand-carry records?
I know I can keep good track of my own records. And I've heard horror stories about records getting lost, so naturally I want to hang on to mine if they'll let me. But I also want to follow the rules.
One of the most frustrating things about the military is just simply figuring out what the heck the rules are. We've all gone into finance/transportation/medical and gotten information, only to get completely different information the next time. My husband's Finance, and he's seen poor people turning themselves in circles because every soldier in the office tells them a different rule.
So the rule is that I can't hand-carry my records. But everyone in that hospital has told me to ignore the rule. That's something I'll just never understand.
