Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic

This office has gone down significantly since we last used it in 2022. It used to be minimal wait times, prompt communication and generally things were in order with limited confusion.This time we have made appointments that “were never scheduled,” I’ve spent more time in two visits, waiting to be seen for my appointments than I did in our entire fertility process last time.I have sent messages to the portal that went for three-four days without being answered. It used to be same day, almost immediate communication. This does not give me a lot of confidence to move forward with Vanderbilt fertility this round.

I met with Karen Norfleet-McEwan and she was absolutely the best NP. She cares about their patients and answers all questions. After trying with 2 other clinics this team really cares about helping you and you don’t feel in a rush during the appointments. The receptionist Camie is very kind and helpful with appointments.

They helped me have my first baby, so I am so very grateful for that! Dr Roach is to the point and obviously knows her stuff. I appreciate that in a physician. The nurses and receptionist are wonderful as well. The only reason I removed a star is because they don’t have any weekend hours which makes it difficult to work around follicle scans and IUI timing.

Beware you will get a call center your messages won’t always get to providers it’s very difficult to manage care

So I was scheduled for a new patient visit about three weeks ago so they had enough time to check my insurance to see if it was in network. They waited until the day of my appointment when I was 5 minutes away from the clinic to tell me they don’t take my insurance. I live an hour away from the clinic and it was a 7:30 appointment. So I lost sleep, wasted my gas and time and now I am losing hope of ever getting pregnant. Worse communication ever.

I saw Dr Roach a few weeks ago and decided to not have her as my doctor due to an unprecedented lack of bedside manners (Let me be clear that both the secretary and nurse had a good attitude and bedside manners).Dr Roach was very late (about one hour) and behaved in a disregarding “cookie cutter way: never a smile, showed bad rapport and acted as if the consultation was not a service but an unwanted favor she was doing. She had a nurse and a junior doctor talk to me first, and repeated what was already said by them in what was probably a mere 5 minutes exchange.As we went through my repeated miscarriage history and diagnosis, Dr Roach was the only medical provider I ever talked to that completely dismissed the emotional side of this experience - nothing like “I am so sorry for your losses” or “its a hard diagnosis to experience” or even the slightest acknowledgment of any emotions this process puts us through.I know doctors in the US are getting worse and worse about bedside manners and patient relations and a lot of that is due to the overburdened medical/insurance system (Vanderbilt being a very burdened system and Dr Roach being the only fertility doc in their system as of mid 2023) but when simple eye contact and a short “I’m sorry” aren’t done, it’s too little humanity to trust her.Bottom line: Dr Roach is dealing with patients who faced loss and grief. If her bedside manners are many times worse than what a ChatGPT response would be, this is the wrong specialization for her to have, in fact, maybe she is better cut as a medical research or something not clinical.PS: she is also highly conservative regarding the infertility investigation: only old school “hard evidence based” stuff is tested, which nowadays makes for a very shallow fertility assessment.

I met with Karen A. Norfleet-McEwan, my PCP made a referral and it was not what I was needing specifically, however, Ms Norfleet-McEwan took an hour of her time to talk with me, validate my concerns and feelings, and made the proper referral. I would recommend her specifically if her expertise fits your need. I am very appreciative of her kindness.

So far the communication has been really bad speaking as a patient. Don’t schedule any treatment until you receive a breakdown on how much Vanderbilt will charge for every test, ultrasound and treatment. Don’t get stuck with the bill like I was! You are your only advocate as a patient! I’m thinking about leaving and receiving treatment some where else very soon.

Love Dr. Session