Anadolu Medical Center, Istanbul

For my annual physical, I saw Dr. Aydin. He was running about 15 minutes behind, but his assistant apologized and offered tea. He remembered my concern about cholesterol from last year and had the previous numbers pulled up. He spent time showing me on a diagram what the slight improvement meant. It didn't feel like a conveyor belt appointment.

My husband came in with chest pain on a Tuesday afternoon. The triage nurse, a woman with kind eyes, had him in a bed before I'd even finished parking the car. What stuck with me was the doctor explaining everything to me in the hallway, his voice calm but direct, while another nurse brought me a glass of water without me asking. The whole thing was frightening, but they moved with a quiet efficiency that made it feel manageable.

I was scheduled for a knee replacement and frankly, terrified. The anesthesiologist visited me the night before, not just to check my chart, but sat and asked about my garden to distract me. After surgery, a physiotherapist named Mehmet showed up the very next morning, patient but firm, and the way he adjusted my exercises based on my winces made all the difference. The room was simple, but the window looked out on trees.

I went for my annual checkup, expecting the usual rushed hour. Instead, the internist spent forty minutes with me. She noticed I'd mentioned occasional dizziness on a form from two years prior and actually followed up on it, ordering a simple test I'd never had before. The waiting area had those awful plastic chairs, but they had fresh magazines and the coffee from the machine was surprisingly decent.

Had a minor procedure done. Everything was fine. Clean place, short wait. Staff were polite. Got clear instructions for aftercare. No complaints.