Thanks Mrs. D for validating what I thought was mostly my problem. The two who work for Dr. J are undereducated and probably underpaid. It's pretty clear that they regard patients as necessary evils. And because they are not entirely answerable to the doctor (I think the hospital pays their salaries) they can pretty much run the show as they want.

What kind of auditing does your husband do of support staff? Does it evaluate their performance/skills, etc.?