To call or not to call - the Dr. that is

What mom, or dad, has not had the question, "Should I call the doctor or not?" How many of us have called our moms, sisters, best friends, auntie who is a nurse, a gal pal who once knew a nurse, etc. to determine whether the set of symptoms in our child warrants a call to the doctor. Why do we feel uncomfortable wasting the doctor's time, yet presume all of our friends and loved ones would love for us to waste their time to determine whether or not we should waste the doctor's?

Sure, we are busy moms, stay at home moms who don't (stay at home that is). Sure, we don't have time to run to the doctor for no reason. Sure, we don't have time to sit at home and wait for a callback from the nurse. Sure, we think the symptoms "She's cranky and she took a nap today" sound dumb when said aloud to a medical professional.

Yet, I think it is deeper than that. I think that deep down, we all fear going to the doctor and getting the patronizing smile and nod and the "I don't see anything wrong." Or worse yet, "It's just a virus, there is nothing we can do." We don't want to be one of "those" moms. You know, the ones who call the doctor for every sniffle. The one who the nurses see coming and sigh. You know. None of us wants to be her. So we continue to call our friends and loved ones with the question "Should I call the doctor or not?"