ER Pet Peeves

-Family Doctor or specialist calls in saying, “sending so & so to emerg for x reason”. Patient arrives and is upset that they aren’t immediately rushed to front of line, their Dr made an appointment!

-Pt calls ambulance from pay phone downtown with c/o pain somewhere (I have a good suggestion!) is triaged, downloaded into the waiting room or on a stretcher then disappears. Check of pt information finds pt lives 2 blocks from ER. Of course they don’t pay for the ambulance as they are on assistance or are destitute. Some even make sure they get as much food as they can get out of us before they disappear.

-Pt who keeps asking when he’ll be seen (every 5 minutes), when finally gets a stretcher (after having to be called numerous times as outside for smoke, gone for coffee, etc.) again asks when Dr is coming. Asks to use phone then 1 minute after he hangs up Grandma calls and reams out nurse for Grandson not being seen immediately and that he is in soooo much pain. (He has a tooth abscess, never went to a dentist, and didn’t take own morphine before coming in as figured he’d just get it from us.)

-Pts who closely watch for your reactions when they give details at triage, my pain is a 6/10, no an 8/10, no a 10/10! I have pain in my stomach, well no across my whole front, well no in my chest, well no chest and down arms!

-And, finally, how often the horrible symptoms the patient has had for days, vomiting, diarrhoea, bloody stools, etc, disappear as soon as they arrive in the ER and never are seen again even though they are there for 8 hours. It’s amazing the cure one gets just walking (or being carried) through those ER doors.

Whenever I get some manager or admin type telling me I'm not doing something right, or that I should be doing more, faster, better etc. I say:
Since I cannot seem to be able to do (insert favorite complaint) why don't you do it and I will watch. That way I can learn from your superior abilities.

Usually they shut up and walk away shaking their heads.

Patients that burn up so much time and money in hospitals because they've made STUPID choices in life - for YEARS - and they are laying there vomiting and crapping blood,

AND taxpayers are paying for it.

I hate liver failure due to drinking and or Hep C: both USUALLY avoidable if one were not so STUPID in the first place.

I also hate diseases induced by smoking. In this day and age there is NO excuse for any of this! Where is personal responsibility?

I can take things that cause illness unrelated to "whatever abuse".... but "intentional suicides" the "slow way" **** me off.

I'd vote for a ban on smoking/drinking/drugs in the WORLD if anyone had the cha-chas to enforce it.

What a WASTE of resources.

YAY!!!!! Great job!!! I would do something like that but since I'm not an ED RN (or an RN for that matter... yet!! ) it would mean more coming from a group of hospital workers who have to deal with the ramifications of irresponsible journalism.

Whoever wrote that article was definitely guilty of being irresponsible.

For all who are wondering, it's the Good Housekeeping issue for November 2005, on page 65.

I say, a great big pat of the back to you all for responding to this piece of negligent writing.

All I can say to this one is OMG!!!!!!!!!!

The pt. screaming of ear pain...one look w/ otoscope reveals a live cockroach...irrigated out and still alive...pt asks for spec. cup to "take him back home"




OMG!!! I have never had one ask to keep it!

how about the doctors that order only one test at a time, and the non emergent patient ends up being there for hours.

the adult neurotic daughter that comes in to speak for daddy because he obviously can't get a word in edgewise

people who are allergic to everything but demerol

or who tell you they have a high pain threshold and it takes x amt (enough to kill a horse) to get their pain under control.

drunk people. the police have to bring in the public drunks who have urinated on themselves and the GBI has to bring in the the alcohol kit thing so everything will be legal, the drunk people who were cooking and dropped the hot grease accidentally all over the floor and themselves, the drunk people who ride four wheelers with no helmet, the drunk people who are watching football games and fall down and go boom and their wives bring them to the ER. These people take up time on Saturday night that could be spent seeing the really sick people. ALSO, the fevers that could have been treated at home, the sore throats that could have been treated at home, the constipation that could have been treated at home--but the biggest is the ETOH.

We also get the "are you busy" phone calls. I WANT to ask..... would you like a reservation?? Or better yet, the family members that call ahead to tell us they are coming and to reserve a bed...... uhhhh right...... go to triage babe. If they're that sick, call EMS.


My favorite is,"Are you going to call the ER and tell them I'm coming in. I want them to be waiting outside for me to arrive."

My answer, "No I 'm not calling ahead to the ER, and No, they will not be waiting outside for you to arrive. This only happens on TV."