Dr. McAvey is kind, optimistic, and has a great bedside manner. Even when I am feeling down about the process, she is encouraging and hopeful. She has been willing to answer all of my questions both by email and phone...I haven't actually interacted with her very much throughout the course of my treatment. I had an initial consultation with her before I started the IUI process (3 rounds), and then one more before starting my IVF retrieval cycle. Other than that, aside from one or two emails to answer a question, I didn't have any contact with her until she called to let me know my IVF failed to produce any normal embryos.
I found that sometimes the information you received from the nurses would vary from nurse to nurse....Monitoring appointments at RMA of New York are well organized. I typically never waited longer than 15 minutes to be called and was typically always in and out within 45 minutes....It's easy to feel like a number at this clinic, but they ARE pretty organized. While I got used to seeing a different doctor every time I went in for monitoring, one thing I did not like about RMA was that the actual procedures (IUI and IVF egg retrieval) were also performed by whatever doctor was on duty that day.
How was your experience with Beth McAvey at RMA of New York?
My experience with Dr. McAvey has been fine. Whenever we speak she is kind and hopeful. I haven't actually interacted with her very much throughout the course of my treatment. I had an initial consultation with her before I started the IUI process (3 rounds), and then one more before starting my IVF retrieval cycle. Other than that, aside from one or two emails to answer a question, I didn't have any contact with her until she called to let me know my IVF failed to produce any normal embryos. It was only then that she let me know about taking CoQ10 to improve egg quality and to pursue acupuncture (which I had pursued on my own and told RMA I was doing). If you have questions, Dr. McAvey will absolutely answer them, via email or phone. But it's really up to the patient to proactively ask (and research/figure out WHAT to ask). When we found out there would be no transfer cycle for us, Dr. McAvey was optimistic and encouraged us to try again as IVF is really just "a numbers game".
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Beth McAvey at RMA of New York?
Do your own research and ask as many questions as you can at your initial consultation and all throughout the process. You have to be your own advocate.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Beth McAvey at RMA of New York?
Dr. McAvey is kind, optimistic, and has a great bedside manner. Even when I am feeling down about the process, she is encouraging and hopeful. She has been willing to answer all of my questions both by email and phone. At RMA, it's easy to feel like a number, because there are so many women being treated there every day. Even when I felt like "just a number" on my monitoring days, Dr. McAvey never made me feel that way during any of our interactions.
Describe the protocols Beth McAvey used in your cycles at RMA of New York and their degree of success.
3 cycles of IUI: five days of Clomid, Ovidrel trigger shot, IUI
I cycle IVF (retrieval only, no normal embryos to transfer): Gonal F / Menopur / Cetrotide / Dual Trigger Lupron + hCG
I was not given a rationale for following this protocol. I have a good ovarian reserve for my age, so based on this IVF cycle my issue appears to be egg quality.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at RMA of New York.
The nurses at RMA of New York ranged from pretty nice to very nice. All of the questions I had throughout my IVF cycle were answered by the nurses vs. the doctors. Whenever I asked, they would sit down with me to walk me through the process and help me figure out my "medication ordering plan" (since I found the process of ordering the meds to be more stressful than actually taking them).
Describe your experience with RMA of New York.
RMA of New York definitely has a system down. It's easy to feel like a number at this clinic, but they ARE pretty organized. While I got used to seeing a different doctor every time I went in for monitoring, one thing I did not like about RMA was that the actual procedures (IUI and IVF egg retrieval) were also performed by whatever doctor was on duty that day. There was one doctor at RMA that I didn't particularly care for (his bedside manner was not a match for me) that did one of my IUI's, and I would never have actually chosen him to do it. At RMA, you are very limited when it comes to choice in that sense. I didn't even SEE the doctor who did my IVF egg retrieval. I was already under anesthesia before he even came into the room. Overall, I've had a good experience at RMA (despite my treatment failures).
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at RMA of New York.
Monitoring appointments at RMA of New York are well organized. I typically never waited longer than 15 minutes to be called and was typically always in and out within 45 minutes.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Beth McAvey at RMA of New York.
My health insurance covered my IUIs in full and one cycle of IVF (up to $10,000), however it did not cover most of the expensive IVF medications. For my IVF retrieval cycle, out of pocket I paid ~$4,500 for my medications, $2,000 for the embryo biopsy, $750 for anesthesia, and $750 for PGS testing of 4 embryos plus all office co-pays ($40 each). Billing for my IVF egg retrieval procedure hasn't gone through my insurance yet, so I don't know if I will owe anything additional.
What specific things went wrong at RMA of New York?
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at RMA of New York.
I found that sometimes the information you received from the nurses would vary from nurse to nurse. Not mission critical information, but things like 'how many days before you should expect your period' or 'how many eggs are normally retrieved from someone my age'.
7
Clinic
RMA of New York
NY - Westside