What was the MOST ridiculous thing a patient came to the ER for?

Specialties Emergency Nursing Q/A

And did you have to treat them?

I am just curious. Your stories always seem to either crack me up or shake my head in amazement.

Thanks for sharing ?

I think the funniest patient in the ER was a 400 lbs woman, who was in her mid-40's, came to the ER for abdominal pain that would come and go. She continued to complain, and when questioned about her menstral cycle she thought that we were crazy to ask. She had gone through "the change of life a few months back." She kept complaining about having to use the bathroom ( to have a bowel mov't). To make a long story short: she delivered a 8.5 lbs baby boy.

The funny thing about this is we kept saying, "How did she not know she was pregnant?" Well, not long after that I found out I was 19 1/2 weeks pregnant, and I never realized it. I will never make fun or criticize a patient for not knowing something ever again!

Almost 4 1/2 months later I delivered a healthy 8.1 lbs baby girl.

Thought that this story would make someone smile.

Tags,LPN :rotfl:

I think the funniest patient in the ER was a 400 lbs woman, who was in her mid-40's, came to the ER for abdominal pain that would come and go. She continued to complain, and when questioned about her menstral cycle she thought that we were crazy to ask. She had gone through "the change of life a few months back." She kept complaining about having to use the bathroom ( to have a bowel mov't). To make a long story short: she delivered a 8.5 lbs baby boy.

The funny thing about this is we kept saying, "How did she not know she was pregnant?" Well, not long after that I found out I was 19 1/2 weeks pregnant, and I never realized it. I will never make fun or criticize a patient for not knowing something ever again!

Almost 4 1/2 months later I delivered a healthy 8.1 lbs baby girl.

Thought that this story would make someone

Tags,LPN :rotfl:

Tags,LPN

What a great story/lesson. It reminds me of the evening a woman came into the ER c/o of severe intermittent abd. pain. She arrived with her husband who had JUST completed a year stay at the penatentary. She swore up and down that she had regular menstral cycles and had just completed one. Yup, she delivered a full term infant right there in the ER with her very unhappy husband standing by....hope he is not back in the pen. Gotta laugh when you can. Enjoy! Dogsrbarking.

HIPAA??? Even if you tell us he drank Drano and ended up on Levophed and Dopamine w/ a pressure of only 80 and was transferred to toxicology, HIPAA couldn't touch you...Just don't use names

(me shouting loudly) "Hey HIPAA, I treated a guy in 1996 w/ the above story"

(anyone w/in the sound of my voice) "cool story, thanks"

Had a young idiot come in to triage at 0100 for a paternity test, as he was due in court IN SIX HOURS!!!

I told him to leave...

Hah! My guy was going to be deported...he wanted a docs note stating he had to stay for medical care....did I mention we all paid for his visit? :nono: dogsrbarking

I had one guy who told me in triage he had a bee sting on his arm and he had an allergie to them. When asked how long ago ut had happen thinking at the most a hour, he told me 3 days earlier. Needles to say you couldn't find the sting on his arm

I also had our local PD bring a DUI in one night not for an ETOH level but because she had eaten the cherry scented toliet cleaner brick in the PD bathroom. That was nice. But at least for a drunk she had pleasent breath.

and do you have to treat them?

I am just curious. Your stories always seem to either crack me up or shake my head in amazement.

Thanks for sharing :)

The more difficult concept for me to understand is the flagrant use of ambulances by those who don't need them.

I usually don't say anthing, but this one time, I simply HAD to KNOW why the elderly woman called an ambulance at 6 o'clock in the morning.

Our conversation went something like this:

"Why did you come to the ER?"

Pt: Because I don't know whether or not I took my pill. I'm supposed to take Xanax 3 times a day, and I don't know if I took it last night.

"So, you came here to see a doctor?"

Pt: Yes, I have to see a doctor.

"Why do you have to see a doctor?"

Pt: Because I don't know if I took my pill.

"Are you feeling anxious?"

Pt: No, honey. I'm not anxious at all.

"So, why did you need an ambulance?"

Pt: I had to get to the hospital.

"Yes, but why an ambulance?

Pt: I needed a ride.

"Don't you have someone, family, friend or neighbor, who could give you a ride?"

Pt: Nobody's up this early in the morning, and I don't drive anymore.

"What about calling a taxi?"

Pt: HONEY! Those cost MONEY!"

(I guess she figures that ambulance rides are free.)

And we wonder where our medical resources go....obviously not to the ones who pay so that others can use them so flagrantly.

These trivial complaints are generally not covered by any form of insurance and even medicaid is cracking down on non emergent visits. The patients are usually very angry when they receive a bill for $600.00 in the mail. More and more hospitals are becomming more and more aggressive at collecting on these bills also. The way to treat under educated consumers who utilize a resource for the wrong reasons is to hit them in the pocket book. Paying a huge bill will get them to think about visiting their primary care physician first or trying home treatments. People just dont want to think any more. They'd rather go crying to "Mommy" aka the "ER" than to try to take care of it themselves. We've created a very dependent society.

RE: making people financially responsible for their flagrant use of ER resources:

Now that's the BEST NEWS I've heard in a LONG time.

And I fully agree that we have created a dependent society. Thanks for stating in so well.

RE: making people financially responsible for their flagrant use of ER resources:

Now that's the BEST NEWS I've heard in a LONG time.

And I fully agree that we have created a dependent society. Thanks for stating in so well.

Back to crazy ER visits...It was an insane Saturday evening in the ED. We had just finished pulling a GSW out of the car and had started working on him when 2 units arrived with 2 new pts. We didn't hear the ringdown as of course no one was near the radio. Turns out one of our new amb. pts. (whom I might add appeared alert, oriented, sitting up, pink, and dry) had decided to spray a can of pesitside into a glass to sip on for his evening cocktail...obviously I didn't know this when I gave him a gown and pulled the curtain. I was standing just outside the curtain just starting to get report when we heard a loud crash, I pulled back the curtain and there on the floor lay my pt. defib paddles hanging and the lovely scent of burnt skin lingering. Yes he shocked himself at 360j. As the Paramedic and I picked him up to put him on the guerny much to my surprise his prosthetic leg came off (which he received after jumping onto power lines) in my hand.

Very happily the pt. was fine. I of course can laugh now but at the time it just was NOT the least bit funny.l:rotfl:

and do you have to treat them?

I am just curious. Your stories always seem to either crack me up or shake my head in amazement.

Thanks for sharing :)

one of the funniest: guy who had a big roach crawl in his ear, and to make matters worse - he sprayed pesticide in there to kill it. Then his grandma told him to try to poor baby oil in his ear to kill it. Needless to say, all it did was make the roach slippery.

Non-emergent one: Family brought in the grandma by ambulance because she had diarrhea in her pants and they didn't want to change her.

one of the funniest: guy who had a big roach crawl in his ear, and to make matters worse - he sprayed pesticide in there to kill it. Then his grandma told him to try to poor baby oil in his ear to kill it. Needless to say, all it did was make the roach slippery.

Non-emergent one: Family brought in the grandma by ambulance because she had diarrhea in her pants and they didn't want to change her.

I agree that these pts. do not belong in the ER but if they didn't keep coming alot of us wouldn't have jobs. How many of your patients are truly emergent?:rolleyes:

I agree that these pts. do not belong in the ER but if they didn't keep coming alot of us wouldn't have jobs. How many of your patients are truly emergent?:rolleyes:

probably about 20%

Here is a good one...busy saturdayin the ER ambulance calls in bringing a pt that had just had surgery on her toe and was having severe pain.. Pt arrived with something red on her toe with the odor of ketchup... pt demand percocet 10 for her severe pain the md gave her ES Tylenol and he said she had bbq sauce on her toe...we asked if he tasted it...needless to say she left unhappy.

Ok, get ready....I'm in triage and a pt comes in. He and his wife explain he just spent 3 days in another hospital for a kidney stone. His admitting doctor could never get the nephrologist to come see him (????). He said he got the dc instructions but on the way home they decide to stop at our hospital and have someone here call that darned 'ol nephrologist again to come see him (who isn't even on our staff). It took me so long to get them to understand all hospitals are not "connected", that since he was a new pt. to us he would have to go thru the process just like every other pt. and let the ER doc see him if he had a medical problem. He swore he felt fine, just wanted that dr. called and he could just come see him before he gets all the way home. The ER is ripping with patients everywhere, I have 9 more just waiting to be triaged and this nut comes in. ARRRGGHHH!!

+ Add a Comment