ER Pet Peeves

Oh lordie, that was me!

But I really AM quite barfy when I take that antibiotic that I think has an "X" in it, but I'm not sure because that was about 15 years ago and it only took 2 doses before I got violently ill. My doc should have the records. But I truthfully do NOT remember the name of the med.

As a female that has migraines, why wouldn't you want someone with them? When I have a bad one, it would be dangerous for me to drive myself.


I second this!!

[quote=tvccrn]As a female that has migraines, why wouldn't you want someone with them? When I have a bad one, it would be dangerous for me to drive myself.



I wasn't talking about the people with a real migraine, but the hyper drama queen that must have an audience with her to truly appreciate her performance. I have actually caught one peeking under her closed eyes, covered with a cloth, to make sure she had everyone's attention, she then immediately returned to her moaning and crying. I would never make fun of a true migrine sufferer, I've seen a lot of those, and it's usually very obvious that it's a migraine. unfortunately, everyone that comes in with a headache calls it a migraine, even those laughing with friends, and eating chips and drinking a soda. I have lots of sympthy for those that really need the ER, but those that waste our time and resources are one of my pet peeves.

I am a migraine sufferer and my co workers know that if I come to the ER with one that something is bad wrong. I have meds at home for this and 90% of the time they work. The problem with some people who tell me that they have migraines is that they are telling me that their pain is a 10/10 and at the same time asking me how my family is doing and if we have been busy. Had one tell the doc that if she had known he was there that day she would have made him a pie before she came.

If I am in the middle of a full blown migraine it hurts to whisper let alone carry on a 10 minute conversation about someone's family or what kind of pie they like!!!!!

I'll admit I have called to see how busy the ER was before I went...when I had mono, I had the most horrible sore throat, fatigue, N/V, etc...I called my doctor at home to see if there was anything he could advise over the phone and he told me to go to the ER for lab, etc...it was a weekend, the clinics were closed, and we didn't have urgent care at the time. I didn't think I was dying or anything, so if they were slammed, I wanted to wait until things calmed down...I ended up with an IV and spent the night, so I guess I was sicker than I thought, but still didn't have any life threats...

I'm almost afraid to post these, just b/c of the "Well I did this one time, and you shouldn't think this" responses...Oh well. Never stopped me before.

1. "You should have it in your records." Although modern tech has brought us far ahead, we're not yet connected with every doc's office in the county.
2. Lady comes in for foot pain (via EMS, of course), with her gallon ziplock bag of goodies that includes vicodin. Have you been taking your medicine? Well no Sh*t sherlock, of course it's gonna hurt if you don't take your meds!
3. Person in triage who leaves w/o treatment after waiting an hour. Said they didn't want to wait that long, would come back around 3am when it was less busy. So um, that means you're gonna go BACK thru triage and registration, no guarantee we aren't busy, and you're still gonna be in pain the WHOLE time!
4. "I'm out of my pain/antipsychotic and just moved here, haven't found a new doctor yet". Don't you think you should have thought of tha BEFORE you ran out of your medicine? We're not a pharmacy.
5. "Momma hasn't eaten all day". Well, your mother is on a machine to help her breathe- that's a bit more important than food right now. Secondly, your mother weighs 400 pounds. I don't think skipping a meal is gonna starve her! Thirdly, I haven't eaten all day either.
6. People who snap their fingers or yell "Hey you!". Im a person, I'm your nurse. I can handle you hollering "Hey nurse", but barely. You will get called out on it if you yell "YO!" towards my direction. Treat me with respect if you expect the same.
7. After the doc has been in to see a patient (here for a toothache at 1am) and already told them what meds they're getting a script for, I'm giving d/c instructions and they say "I can't afford the medicine". Could you have told the doc that when he told you this?
8. "I couldn't get to the store to get my BP meds"- How did you get here? "My friend brought me" And your friend couldn't take you to get your medicine? Silence....
9. Fake anxiety attacks
10. EMS that is stationed 20 minutes south that gives you two minutes warning on a code blue. The driver also has access to a mike, let him call the hospital while you pound a chest.
11. The teen c/o abdominal pain that is getting mad she's not gonna be out in time to order chinese food.
12. "I'm here for a pregnancy test"- Well, here's a buck and change. The dollar store sells them now.

How about the person that leaves the ER, goes across the street and phones an ambulance?
Or the one that calls 911 from one ER parking lot to be transferred to another hospital?

mistake

One of my biggest pet peeves is when some guy or girl cuts him/herself with a broken beer bottle at a party, and then a group of them all come to the ER. They're all drunk, they're all complaining because the ER is too slow, they don't know if they have insurance or not, etc. They're almost always loud and obnoxious. And when I call the patient to register him/her, the entire group wants to come into the registration cubicle. And the cut usually isn't even bad enough to warrant an ER visit.

My next pet peeve are the patients on the state health plan who come in for a pregnancy test. It's not that they don't know what the symptoms mean--they KNOW what they mean. They just won't go to Walgreen's or CVS and buy a pregnancy test! But they don't have to pay the ER bill, so they don't care. And then they complain repeatedly because it's taking too long. Sorry, pregnancy test is a NON-URGENT case!! GRR!

I forgot one I had a while back re: preg test. Girl comes in and says whe wants a preg test. I said, ok.. what makes you think you're pregnant? Answer: I don't.. I'm a day late and I want to go out drinking tonight, but I thought I better make sure I'm not pregnant first. On Medicaid.. big surprise.