I want to write a glowing review for Dr. Selassie who I’ve see every month for about 2 years. However before I begin I want to address the comments of Bradford Marley. How dare you post on a person's professional page the intimate topic of someone’s marriage coming apart, and worse yet mention the details. I don’t believe that this situation happened in front of you but even if it did you must be a rather unsavory person to repeat it online. Yes I have heard her husband mentioned in passing but it was after months of consults and it was pertinent to the topic at hand. You two clearly, Bradford Marley and Mark G, have no social skills or grace if you can’t handle someone’s loved one being brought up in pleasant conversation and if you felt that the doctor didn’t take a liking to either of you…I can see why.
Speaking of pleasant conversation I have had many with Dr. Selassie which always begin with asking about my health and mental state. I find this professionalism to be in stark contrast to many other pain doctors that I visited in the YEARS before I found Dr. Selassie. The other doctors were often attached to large institutions which are run like businesses. These institutions give pain doctors treatment quotas which must be filled, which mean the doctor will either demand you take their treatment or send you on your way. In my case I was told that if I did not want to risk a monthly epidural (which have been clinically shown to have NO LONG TERM EFFECT ON PAIN) I was supposed to take Ibuprofen instead….and I was given this BS answer after waiting 5 HOURS in a waiting room at Mt Sinai on Union Square. When I came back to the pain doctor (which was another 4 hour wait on a different day) I was told in confidence BY THE DOCTOR that she was being pressured by her bosses to only give epidurals. After I had this experience I found Dr. Selassie who did recommend an epidural on my first visit but after I explained to her my anxiety the subject was dropped and never brought up again. Instead other treatment options were discussed and to this day I feel that I am being treated like a person by a pain specialist. Even though she may be 15 mins late from time to time it is often because she accepts phone calls from patients when they need her help….which is a stark contrast to the never checked phone messages of the large pain clinics OR the 5 hour waits I endured (and I was never told how long the waits would be when I made my appointments). So, Mark G, you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about as in the field of pain management Dr. Selassie is a one of a kind with her small, private practice which gives her the freedom to give you the treatment you need rather than what your insurance will pay for…or worse yet what the managers demands be prescribed.
Speaking of staff: The same secretary has been there every day for the first year and now she alternates with a different secretary who also does paperwork. You have to remember that most medical staff are looking for higher paying positions and given how competitive NYC is in the fields of medicine at large institutions I suspect most of the workers move on to better employment opportunities because small private practices cannot compete economically. Despite that the work environment of Dr. Selassie's office is very calming and clean, a stark contrast to the many dirty and upsetting pain doctor offices I have visited in larger institutions where the halls are littered with screaming drug addicts and security guards (Mt. Sinai).
Overall I am very happy with my experience with Dr. Selassie. She listens, she prescribes what she thinks you need but will also listen to what you want. She is always available by phone when you have trouble, and her practice is a very calming environment. These are all traits which are hard to find in the NYC pain management scene and you’d be lucky to be her patient. P.S. there is free bottled mineral water!
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