Are you afraid to go to the ER?

Specialties Emergency

Published

Soooo...I believe in Karma, but sometimes making fun of people who come to the ER is just too flippin' funny. We had a rare (brief) downtime the other day and the consensus was that NONE of us would dare show our faces in the ER for anything less then an amputation. We had a new nurse (new grad, in her early 40's) present with "chest pain" the other day. She ended up with a dx of acid reflux. I think she about died of shame, poor thing.

What would bring you to your own ER for tx???

(don't include your children. I have brought my kiddo's in for a few different things that probably could have waited. The doc's I work with are super nice about taking a look at staff's kids and I really let them know how much I appreciated them!)

ER stands for EMERGENCY ROOM. If you are not about to die, you probably do not need to come the the ER. Sometimes, pain will make you feel like you are about to die, so in those circumstances, yes, you probably should be in the ER. If you are not truely in pain (ER nurses and doctors CAN tell what 10/10 pain is), then you need to go to your PCP. If your PCP sends you to the ER for tx, you need to find a new PCP.

Unfortunately a lot of PCP's are getting out of their practice incrimentally. They see patients in their office but "farm-out" or job-shop aspects of their practice to other institutions...the ER's being one such part. Instead of closing their practice they simply turn their practice into a type of outpatient daytime clinic and refer all of their emergency situations straight over to a hospital ER. They turn there practice into a "walk-in clinic" but by appointment.

I am afraid that some nurses being cloistered within their own work environments for a long time may not be aware of how functionally different private practice is becoming out there in the real world. The private practice docs want to transfer some of their liability over to the hospital.The hosptials don't care because they don't own the emergency rooms (which are a contract service). My most recent PCP sent out letters to all of his patients that he was closing his private practice. He was going to teach instead. The patients are becoming ping-pong balls for any medical service with a mit/paddle.

Of course not to be totally one-sided here.......but patients are becoming more and more strange as society becomes more unstable overall.

However,

Every person with a medical degree of some kind has an opinion. All these people have ego's, needs and desires Some of these people have power lust....some are good and some are downright evil. Their opinion doesn't matter one ioda....only facts counts.

I will site this example and then leave you to digest what I have said.

Another neighbor here was taken out of his apartment by the fire rescue and put in am ambulance by the EMT's. Their last comments before they closed the door and drove off with him were....he just needs a little attention and he will be alright. The man ended up diagnosed with end-stage ALS......and he was dead in less than two months.

Moral of the story is this: If you have become jaded in your profession take time out until you can get your humanity back and if you never do, never set foot in a critical care evaluation center again. It would be for the good of all and the good of society at large.

Go sell cars or something where you can mock the stupid customers until the cows come home.

I speak as someone who has had nurses training, worked with physicians in private practice and hospital settings and know the inside jokes.

When you lose your humanity and patience you have lost your soul.

i am not afraid to go to the ER for what i consider a true emergency that cannot wait. i recently went because i was having severe knee pain and swelling and unable to bear weight on a joint replaced knee. it ended up being infected and i was admitted and had surgery. about a week after i came home i was having panic attacks for no known reason....i actually had to call the EMT's because i started to drive myself and felt like i was going to either kill myself or someone else on the road. embarassed? yes, of course i was, but i felt like i was going to be helped and felt better knowing i was in the ER where if something went wrong, i would be taken care of. that time they d/c'd me and i had another panic attack on the way home, and thought i could get thru it, but this time my husband took me back. this time they weren't as nice to me...i felt they thought i was drug seeking. but i was admitted and got meds to help. so, i go when i feel i have an emergency. i've been for kidney stones, taken my kids for broken bones and bike accidents and whatnot, and the stomach flu for intractable vomiting....but other things i see my PCP. the main thing is to make sure they don't know you are a RN!

am not afraid to go to the ER for what i consider a true emergency that cannot wait. i recently went because i was having severe knee pain and swelling and unable to bear weight on a joint replaced knee. it ended up being infected and i was admitted and had surgery. about a week after i came home i was having panic attacks for no known reason....i actually had to call the EMT's because i started to drive myself and felt like i was going to either kill myself or someone else on the road. embarassed? yes, of course i was, but i felt like i was going to be helped and felt better knowing i was in the ER where if something went wrong, i would be taken care of. that time they d/c'd me and i had another panic attack on the way home, and thought i could get thru it, but this time my husband took me back. this time they weren't as nice to me...i felt they thought i was drug seeking. but i was admitted and got meds to help. so, i go when i feel i have an emergency. i've been for kidney stones, taken my kids for broken bones and bike accidents and whatnot, and the stomach flu for intractable vomiting....but other things i see my PCP. the main thing is to make sure they don't know you are a RN!!

I ended up having to go last week for severe nausea, diarrhea, mid-ab pain(8/10 a lot worse than early-mid labor pains.) Vommitting, oh I wish I could have vommitted I think it would have made me feel better. Sadly, I'm a retcher and a heaver and when I vomit or even attempt to it is a whole body experience and a very painful one at that.

The one time I got violently ill at work(about 2 years ago non medical environment) I had the co-workers who heard me freaking that I had an ulcer or something because I retched and heaved for a good 5+ minutes before I finally got up about 1-2 Tbsp of the coffee I had drank 5 hours prior and it was nicely streaked with blood. I didn't have insurance so I didn't go to the ER. I felt too sick to go to the ER and wait for 10 years to be seen at the county ER, so I went to my PCP who treated me well and got me somewhat back on my feet. I ended up getting insurance, going through a million and ten tests and got my gallbladder removed as it was the source of all my problems.

This time, I was having pain and symptoms very similiar to a gallbladder attack but knew that wasn't possible(I never had gallstones so I knew it wasn't that I was passing a gallstone.) I had been nauseous for over a week, hadn't been severely nauseous unable to eat or drink for 3 days at this point, so I knew I was also dehydrated. Called my PCP in TX(I'm currently living in IL) hoping she was the one on call since she had helped me the last time I went through this and might have some advice other than go to the ER. She wasn't, her partner was who told me, before I could even say what was wrong with me, to go to the ER. I didn't want to so I waited a good 2+ hours before going trying to do anything to get relief. I was exhausted but in too much pain and the nausea was so bad I couldn't sleep. No matter what position I was in I was very uncomfortable. I felt like I was dying(even though I knew I wasn't.) I took Reglan and it didn't even touch the nausea. Finally, I gave up and went to the ER, expecting to maybe be sent back to be treated sometime in the next week, since n/v/d and non right side ab pain are not serious so I knew I was in for a long wait. Luckily, it wasn't that busy so I didn't have to wait but maybe 30 mins in wr to start getting treated. I will say first thing I did once I was in the back was to politely the nurse(and yes i said " could you please see if you could get me some anti nausea meds since I am really nauseous and feel really bad?") for some anti nausea meds, and she did get me some, Zofram, which didn't work. She then started my IV with fluids since I know I was dehydrated, and gave me a diff anti nausea med(can't remmeber what, I was kind of out of it due to the pain), which also didn't work. They finally gave me that really lovely, nasty concoction, a GI cocktail, which gave a terrible stomach ache until it finally kicked in. It was heaven, I felt like once I got home I might be able to sleep. I was sent home with a script for some Phenegran suppositories and I slept while I waited for my dad to get back with them(I was sick and couldn't drive) and told to get a stool sample. Still wasn't feeling better by Thurs so went to my local PCP who had the ER report and gave me some more Reglan as I had run out and sent me to the lab to pick up the containers for a stool sample. The entire time I have had to keep telling everyone that I hate spinach and wouldn't eat it if you had a gun to my head so it isn't spinach related e coli.

I will say I dislike going to the ER and avoid it if at all possible. The only other time i have gone to the ER as an adult was for a fever of 103.4(or something like that) 3 weeks after giving birth to my son, turns out I had mastitis.

Taryn

First off, let me say that not only do I try to stay away from the ER, I also discourage any friends and family who want to rush in there with a sliver in their finger or my favorite, "a 2 week long pain". I encourage all to go to their PCP, and when they whine that they don't have one, I get online or on the phone to find one for them. I often get calls at 2am re a friend who needs medical advice and I tell them my stock answer: GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR IN THE MORNING!!! I do not give out any medical advice, but I will alert them to the reasons TO go to the ER: fever or diarrhea in an infant >101.9 lasting 24hrs or more, etc. I try to be as compliant with the vows I took in nursing school as possible!

That being said, I have visited myself to the ER in the last 5-10 yrs as follows:

1. I slammed an 8x10 framed picture over my kid's fathers head (picture the cartoon w/the character looking "framed")--he was fine, I, however gashed my hand and needed 7 stitches. (Hey, I was like 20 at the time, and he even admitted that he deserved it--spending our rent money on drugs)

2. One fine summer evening, after my PCP's office was closed, I decided to skip a social science class (6p-9p mon-thurs, yuck), and join my kids and their father (we did have SOME good times) in a nice game of softball at the park. Well, I somehow went wrong catching the big softball and completely dislocated my left ring finger in the process. I was more embarrassed than anything, it did not hurt but it was so badly bent that the tip of the finger touched my pinky with no effort (very disfigured--ewww!). The doc took great care of me and the whole ER had a good laugh at my twisted finger's expense! It did bruise up and hurt later on, especially since I was an admitting clerk at the time and data entry was about 90% of my job!! See what I get for playing hooky from class??!!

3. The worst story of all time for me. Very intense and I cannot believe that I am even going public with this story, but I am overtired and sleepy so here goes: In 2003, I got hip to the whole "shaved look" for what reason, I still am not sure. And you know where I shaved--real sexy. WEEEEEELLLLLL, only I could end up with the WORST case of folliculitis I had ever seen or ever felt (never had so much as a bad pimple on any part of my body before, honest) I could barely sit down. In a word--NIGHTMARE. I went to my doctor, then to my OB/Gyn, all I was given was Keflex and kind words. NO HEALING. I ended up in a ER in Indiana, too embarrassed to go to my job--and the female ER doc did 3, count 'em 3 I/D's on me. Pain 10/10. I had done my own research on the problem and begged her for Bactroban ointment, she gave me the prescription along with Augmentin PO--worked like a charm. Needless to say I am NEVER going near that area w/ an electric shaver or wax or ANYTHING sharp ever again, and while I have always prided myself on EXCELLENT personal hygiene, I am now a germophobe when it comes to my special areas!!!!!!!!!

4. Almost forgot: terrible toothache at 4am, got a shot of Toradol and went to the dentist w/in 3 days for treatment.

I don't think I have abused the system, do you????:sofahider :chair: :eek: :saint:

Specializes in ER.

I have been to MY ER 3 times.....all for kidney stones. I agree with everyone else that I would have to be hemorrhaging or either amputation of a limb before I got to the ER, but with kidney stones, that is a different story. And for those who have never had the pleasure of having a kidney stone, I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemy.

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
I have been to MY ER 3 times.....all for kidney stones. I agree with everyone else that I would have to be hemorrhaging or either amputation of a limb before I got to the ER, but with kidney stones, that is a different story. And for those who have never had the pleasure of having a kidney stone, I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemy.[/quote

I know people I would wish that on, and that the hosp they go to had all their narcotics on Back Order, and had none to give them except Toradol

or Ultram

Funny. They are all Republicans

Specializes in NICU.
I know people I would wish that on, and that the hosp they go to had all their narcotics on Back Order, and had none to give them except Toradol

Hey, I got Toradol twice in the ER for my kidney stones and it was wonderful! Why use a narcotic when Toradol works just as well to relieve pain? I actually asked for it the second time, because I didn't necessarily want to have a narcotic buzz. Both times it took my pain from a 7-8 to a 0 in less than five minutes.

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

I agree about Toradol. Really good stuff.

Well, I am not a nurse, but when I was a secretary I avoided it when I could. One time I took myself in was when I had a crohn's flare. I had a fever, and knew something was just not right. I crawled in there and my temp was 106. I was intractable at that point, and had surgery soon after.

I did make the mistake one night of saying I felt a little lightheaded, and my HR turned out to be 120. SLAM, on the gurney she goes! Anxiety. But no, we need to do a workup. I guess we were pretty slow that night. So I was embarassed, but I wasn't the one who thought I needed treatment.

When it xomes to the kids, though, when in doubt I go. Luckily, after 4 kids, I don't often have doubts.

Specializes in HEMS 6 years.

Toradol is nearly diagnostic for kidney stones. That and a couple liters of NS,

Specializes in NICU.
Toradol is nearly diagnostic for kidney stones. That and a couple liters of NS,

And what's funny is that my urologist says he HATES that they always give Toradol, because it reduces renal blood flow. Personally I think a couple liters of saline at the same time will make up for it.

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