Being a Patient Where you Work

Specialties Emergency

Published

Just curious if any of you have been patients or you close family members have been patients in the ER you work in? If you have never been in this situation, would you use your own ER if you or your family had an emergency?

I would go to my ER... I know the docs and the nurses... it would be so much better than going somewhere as a stranger.

If I roll in as a trauma patient, though, I will insist on more privacy than our traumas normally get and I'll check my own rectal tone, thank you very much.

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Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

I did it and they tried to put a posey belt on me thinking they were funny.... I'd still go back. I trust most of them.

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Specializes in CAPA RN, ED RN.

Yes once and yes more than once. The staff were great. If my family or I needed care there again I would not hesitate. I have several choices for EDs in the area where I work. I hang out there enough at work though and if I don't need to be there I find another way.

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Specializes in Emergency, ICU.
Just curious if any of you have been patients or you close family members have been patients in the ER you work in? If you have never been in this situation would you use your own ER if you or your family had an emergency?[/quote']

Yup. Have been and so has family. Only way to get VIP treatment.

But really, the best thing about it is that knowing the doctors so well, I know who to trust and who I need to request if things are really serious. I wouldn't have that inside knowledge otherwise.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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Specializes in Med/Surg & Hospice & Dialysis.

I get to have outpatient surgery at my hospital on Monday. I don't think I'll know anyone at that area.

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Yes. I wouldn't dare go to any other ER in town. Here, I know the nurses and doctors, I know there are just a couple of each I need to avoid, and the rest are going to take great care of me. I've brought in my son for stitches, daughter for stitches and husband for weird skin infection thing on his foot that freaked me out. When my friends think they need an ER, they call me first to see which hospital they should go to as various area ERs are better equipped to deal with certain emergencies based on which specialists they have, how often they see certain things, and presence of L&D or cath lab or trauma certs for instance. Most of my co-workers feel the same way, and I have treated a handful of them for various issues. I think it reflects well on our ER that we are willing to be our own patients ;-)

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Specializes in ED Clinical and Documentation.

Yes I have been a patient in my ER and I have brought my son as well. There is no other hospital that I would rather be!

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I absolutely trust the vast majority of people I work with, however, I do not go to my hospital's ER. Like someone else said, I don't want my coworkers to know me THAT well lol! Our ER is always crowded too because we're the main hospital in the city and accept everyone, with or without insurance. The company that owns my hospital also owns another hospital about 20 mins away from the one that I work at, so I go there! It's east of the city where there isn't as many people and it's never crowded. My PCP (and my son's PCP as well) have hospital privileges at the hospital we usually go to, but not at the one I work at. I know and trust the doctors at my hospital and most of them have hospital privileges at both so if I ever need any sort of surgery, I'm sure I'll be able to be taken care of by doctors that I know and trust.

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Specializes in ER/Trauma.

I've brought Dad in with cardiac complaints to my ED.

When I had SVT, I requested transport to a different ED - nothing against my ED co-workers (my best friend was working that night) but I was too embarrassed to go in as a patient!

cheers,

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

I had palpitations at work and was sent to our ER. Although I didn't know the staff well, I did know the RT who came to do my EKG. I was HORRIFIED. He was too. I finally just lifted my boobs up and moved them around for him because he was doing everything he could not to touch me. OMG HORRIBLE!

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Specializes in ED, School Nurse.

I was walking down my basement steps at home this past April when I fell and broke my fibula, and dislocated my medial ankle. I made it up the steps on my butt with someone holding my ankle, but once I got upstairs, there was NO way I was making it to the car. So I called 911 to be transported to my hospital. The ambulance crew (which were part of the same company we deal with 95% of the time in our ER) laughed at me when they walked in and realized who I was, and I "lovingly" told them to shut up. They transported me to "my" hospital, which I had just left after working a 12 hour shift about 3 hours earlier. So not only did I choose my hospital, but I got to deal with a very familiar ambulance crew as well. I got great care from both entities and would use both again in a heartbeat.

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Specializes in PCU.

I would trust our facilities with my family and myself. Two of my family members have been hospitalized and were treated amazingly well as I expected, except for that one nurse who allowed my daughter to be in pain, with severe nausea and vomiting, for several hours and told her she would just have to wait till morning (I came in to find my daughter on the floor in the bathroom retching and crying). Needless to say, I called the peds doc up. She called the unit and ordered antiemetics and pain meds. The nurse was mad and said now my daughter would have to wait longer to get her meds while the doctor updated the orders. I was appalled. I would never treat one of my patients this way, especially not a kid. I made sure to speak to the patient rep.

Other than that, though, everyone else was highly efficient and attentive. I would trust my loved ones there again.

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