Dana McQueen

I'll just include the letter I sent to RMA after my negative pregnancy test. It says all there is to say about Dr. McQueen. (Her response was generic and basically reiterated that she was busy all day.) Good morning. I woke up still so angry about how my negative test result was handled, and I already spoke to Ingrid [client relations person], but I think it’s important that the whole team hear directly from me. I don’t blame you for the negative pregnancy test; that was obviously always a possibility. But making me wait til the absolute end of day for that result, ignoring my message to Spruce asking for an update around the time I was told I would be called, and the doctor (who I have never met, so I have zero connection to whatsoever) making the excuse that she waited until the clinic was nearly closed to call me because she was “in clinic” all day…all that is unacceptable. The result of this test is what every woman who steps foot into your clinic is waiting for; and my specific result is what every woman fears. THIS was the moment for you to show up for your patient. Not only a pregnancy test, but a NEGATIVE pregnancy test. This was a critically important moment to handle with care and tact. There is no reason you couldn’t prioritize making what amounted to a 60-second phone call. (The first 10 seconds of which were spent waiting for the doctor to seemingly pull up my chart, as if she had no idea what she was about to tell me, and then suddenly switch tone of voice to tell me it’s negative.) And if a doctor really isn’t available all day, why on EARTH can a nurse not read me a negative result? It’s not like Dr. McQueen told me anything at all. She offered ZERO words of encouragement. ZERO reasons she thinks it might have happened. ZERO “we are SO determined to help you get pregnant, sweetie! Let’s grieve this, and then kick ass next time!” THAT’s what a patient wants to hear on their first negative pregnancy result. A patient wants to hear that you’re on her team, that you deeply feel her pain but that you are ready to lift her up to keep going if that’s what she wants. I’d rather have the nurse tech Trish call me–at least she makes an effort to look like she’s happy to see me every time I come to the office. Please understand what it’s like to be a patient at an IVF clinic. You are dealing in an extremely sensitive space. The best person to deliver bad news is not a doctor who doesn’t have time for you or doesn’t wish to offer you words of encouragement or empathy. You need to prioritize giving people their pregnancy test results. You need to prioritize delivering bad news ESPECIALLY. I didn’t schedule any clients all day until 4pm, figuring that surely I’d have at least a couple hours to recover no matter the result. But instead I had 20 minutes. Like I said to the doctor, we’re getting a vasectomy reversal because the problems I’ve dealt with from this clinic have made this incredibly difficult process even more difficult. Speaking of which, next time a patient shows up in my situation, where a vasectomy reversal was an option, please tell them what it’s like to do IVF. Dr. Shapiro didn’t push back at ALL when we said we didn’t think vasectomy reversal was the best option. She should have said something like, “We will of course respect your decision, but let me tell you what IVF is really like. It is grueling. It is potentially multiple egg retrievals where you’ll be going under general anesthesia. It is weeks and weeks of injections–multiple per night–which you’ll have to administer yourself with minimal instruction. It is month after month of potentially bad news. It is no cake walk. My honest recommendation is to get the vasectomy reversal.” If Dr. Shapiro had told us that vasectomy reversal was going to be so much less of an ordeal than IVF would be, we might have been able to skip all of this heartbreak. I’m aware that this might be dismissed as one woman complaining, but I urge you not to do so. I KNOW that for every single patient, the universal truth is that this process is gut-wrenchingly hard and vulnerable. THAT is the fact that I hope guides your clinic’s decision-making in how you work with patients. I really hope you are able to hear all this feedback and change the way things are run for the sake of your other patients. Thank you for listening.

Doctor McQueen's response time was incredibly fast, she did not leave me hanging when I would ask questions through the app and never left me feeling like she was too busy or too important to respond to me in a thorough manner. In the beginning of the IVF scheduling, my insurance dropped the ball and I sent a message to Dr. McQueen about being upset, not knowing it was my insurance's fault, and she consoled me and messaged my husband to check in on him and let him know that this process can be stressful. Her "bedside" manner was good.

We found Dr. McQueen after a long struggle with recurrent pregnancy loss. We live outside Washington DC and assumed we would easily find a fertility clinic that could help us diagnose the cause of our issues and guide us through the IVF process. Unfortunately, after meeting with two clinics in our area, we were shocked at how impersonal and cold the process seemed. I found Dr. McQueen through listening to podcasts and googling experts in this field. From the first time we met over a telehealth appointment, I felt cared for, heard, and understood. She was extremely knowledgeable and answered all my questions. I felt fully confident that she was the doctor we needed to work with and we decided to fly across the country for treatment. It was the best decision we could have ever made! Dr. McQueen was available and communicative (as is the entire team and nursing staff at RMA). This process can be stressful and I always felt like she fully answered all of our questions and got back to us so quickly. It felt like she was the quarterback of our fertility journey and I could just focus on going through the treatments. It was honestly such a relief after several years of struggling to find the right team and fit.

Dr. McQueen and the entire staff at RMA were incredibly responsive and personal. They were accommodating to my busy schedule as an executive- giving me flexibility with early morning appointments, and promptly and throughly answering my questions within a few hours. The app the clinic uses made me feel like my care was completely personalized and first class.

The staff were always warm and friendly and accommodating to my schedule. Coming from an out of state clinic that catered to a huge number of patients, care was much more personal and individualized at RMA. The app that this clinic uses for patient communication was excellent and response was quick most of the time. It felt like you could always connect with someone with clinical or admin questions pretty easily. A few admin details missed a couple of times ie required pre req lab testing but nothing major and all corrected in time.

Dr. McQueen is a compassionate and thoughtful doctor. I requested a test for endometriosis because of a suspected diagnosis and she worked with me and did a complete early pregnancy loss panel and outlined all of the contributing factors to early pregnancy loss. She listened to me when I asked for less medications and answered all of our questions.

Dr. McQueen spent as much time as needed to answer all of my questions... and I had a lot of them! I felt she really cared about me, even though my protocols themselves were pretty straightforward.

Dr McQueen was alway cheerful and present when we met. I know that she is a busy doctor, but she took the time to chat a bit and make me feel comfortable - I never felt rushed in our meetings. She also wasn't too much. Some folks try too hard at their bedside manner and it can feel disingenuous - I always felt like Dr McQueen was just being real with me :)

Dr. McQueen always responded quickly and personally to my questions and communications. She knew our story and remembered our situation each time we interacted with us. She checked in often to see how I was feeling and doing and if I had any questions. She acknowledged the difficulty of our journey and was always sensitive to the rollercoaster that is IVF. She was supportive at every turn. And she went above and beyond in every interaction. We had 3 doctors before Dr. McQueen and they pale in comparison to her treatment of us as fellow humans.

Dr McQueen seemed genuinely engaged and committed to my care, from start to the positive pregnancy test. The Spruce app allowed us to "text" in a casual but professional way and Dr McQueen communicated with us in a very natural way.

Dr. McQueen was extremely helpful. She explained everything thoroughly and was super responsive throughout the process. She would often message me back after hours and even wished me good luck on my first night of injections.

Dr. McQueen was always available to answer questions, whether via Spruce, phone, or at our appointments. She always seemed to remember our specific details, was on top of all follow-up information, and just genuinely seemed to fight for us.

Dr. McQueen personalized our care plan according to our very specific circumstances

Dr. McQueen showed an incredible level of care and attention to me as a patient. She was never rushes, answered questions in a detailed manner, and sought to get to know me on a human level as well. She clearly understood the pain and anxiety that comes with recurrent pregnancy loss and was gentle but also direct in her diagnoses through my third miscarriage. For my fourth pregnancy, she showed me once again that she understood the anxiety of pregnancy post RPL and allowed me as many visits as I needed, made time to see me within 24hrs after I had some vaginal bleeding, and even went out of her way to check in on me when I was dealing with a family emergency well after the time that I "graduated" from her care.

Dr. McQueen is an incredible communicator. She's very responsive and speaks clearly and with plenty of humor, remembered me as an individual, asked detailed questions about my life that she remembered from previous visits and made me feel respected, informed, comfortable and happy.

Dr. McQueen always took the time to explain things and answer my millions of questions.