Whats your biggest pet peeve working in the ED?

Specialties Emergency

Published

Id have to say my biggest pet peeve is when someone hands you a medicaid card as they pull it from their Louis Vuitton handbag with bling on their hands after having rolled up to the ER in their Mercedes Benz! After that I'd say when someone comes to the ER for a UPT. Dont they know they are available at the dollar store now adays?

Without sounding as if I am on a high horse, how do you know the pt doesn't have "real" seizures without running an EEG, and even then you don't always get a true picture of what is going on? Both my daughter and I have epilepsy and our seizures couldn't be more different. She has generalized seizures whereas I have both complex partial and simple partial seizures. I do have a post-ictal period after complex partials but usually not after the simple partials. It might help to get a seizure specialist to run a seminar on types of epilepsy, proper treatment, etc. and it should be an epileptologist. Not just a neuro. And those "fake seizures" are a true medical disorder, and should be treated with a Psych visit. As for the patients having them, 90% of them truly believe they have true seizures. Very, very few of us who are truly epileptic will even come to the ER unless where we are in status epilepticus or we had a particularly bad seizure last night, somehow got tangled in the covers and lost our ability to breathe, have been saved by a family member and we need someone in the medical profession to assess us, especially if we are having frequent seizures and are afraid of SUDEP.Just because we have seizures, we are not blithering idiots.

Responding to Jan 3 by murse636i dont know how no ED nurse has mentioned this yet..two of my biggest peeves are "seizures" you know that ones that can verbalize they are having a seizure during it, or are able to follow commands, and are never post ictal, hypertensive, or tachycardic. ive come to the conclusion that seizures are the adult equivalent to "temper tantrums" 4 year old throw hissy fits, middle age adults throw seizures. ive stopped many seizures dead in their tracks with the ammonia smelling salts....idiots, like do these people honestly think the medical professionals are going to be fooled. or the political correctness MDs use to cover their ass "i have non epileptic or pseudo seizures" i try my hardest not to laugh when i hear that.

Without sounding as if I am on a high horse, how do you know the pt doesn't have "real" seizures without running an EEG, and even then you don't always get a true picture of what is going on?
How many fake seizures have you witnessed? They're pretty obvious. An EEG (in the ER no less!) would be a waste of time and resources when you can tell the patient to knock it off because they're not getting ativan AND THEY DO. Being irritated and annoyed by people who fake seizures doesn't mean we can't recognize or treat true seizures regardless of the type. And it doesn't mean we look down on people with seizure disorders. Tell me, how long have you been working as a nurse in the ER? If you notice, just about all of our pages and pages of pet peeves can be categorized as BS that takes our time away from patients who truly need our care.
Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.

A patient experiencing a real seizure wouldn't respond to a sternum rub for one thing (atleast not during a grand mal). Or simultaneously carry on a conversation.

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

Can you share why?

I really can't give you a good reason.

If it's a uniform policy to wear scrubs, then why aren't they wearing scrubs?

The whole hospital wears scrubs, I can't figure out the rationale for going against the policy.

We are healthcare professionals, I think the attire should reflect that. I suppose their can be exceptions, during holidays (I am actually a BIG fan of the santa clause hat on xmas)

This is the ''corporate'' in me, but not following the uniform policy can make the facility look bad.

If you just ran an unsuccessful code on a person and their family are outside in the hall, the last thing you want is someone in a Red Sox t-shirt telling you that your loved one just died, especially If you're a yankee's fan.

Also, someone said something about the 1 out of 100 making them look bad, I feel the same premise applies.

Specializes in ER trauma, ICU - trauma, neuro surgical.

There is a true test for someone faking seizures...better than the sternal rub. And I'm not giving it away :sneaky:

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

Two more related ones I just thought of:

Pt: "What is my blood pressure?" Me: "136/66." Pt: "I don't know what that means. Is that any good?" Ugh, then why did you ask.

or

Pt: "What is my blood pressure?" Me: "158/86." Pt: "Wow! That is really good for me." Me: "Actually that is still fairly high, make sure your PCP rechecks it soon." Pt: "No, that is really good. I'm usually around 180/90." Me: "Well, over time this blood pressure can take a toll on your heart, brain, and kidneys." Pt: "Nope, it's good for me...actually its too low!" (ugh) "Can I have a ginger ale before I go?"

Specializes in being a Credible Source.

Pts who tell me over and over how hungry they are, and then become angry when I tell them I've no food to offer them.

The vast majority of people are perfectly able to go many hours, and even many days, without food and suffer no ill effect. A substantial portion of my patients could benefit from it, in fact.

We had someone ask for slippers for her husband (the pt). The nurse went in the closet in the room and got them. The nurse went back in later only to find the wife stuffing her purse with several pairs...is there anywhere else in public that people can get away with that? Do people go to a restaurant, go to the 'waitress station' and steal silverware? Nevermind, I don't think I want to know the real answer to that one.

The answer is yes, knives, silverware, salt shakers, condiment bottles, pretty much anything not nailed down.

I have many pet peeves. One is "I am hungry let me have a turkey sandwich ". Meanwhile this loser just walked trough the doors complaining of belly and and or vomiting

Second pet peeve. Oh and this is a big one! When a patient walks in and says "I took a pregnancy and I'm be vomitin like all day. ". I just want to smack the crap out of the pregnant woman

"I've been having this 10/10 belly and back pain x's 2 days. Go through all the stuff. Get the work up. Ur constipated. Best part, she knew it. Think you could have mentioned you couldn't poop? Then complain cuz I tell you to take some milk of magnesia?

*edited to add: insulted that I wasn't giving her IV morphine ect ect for her pain. Cuz she hadn't pooped in 2 days.. And she was young! No history of chronic constipation. No narcotic use ect. Grrr

I have two of them (at the moment).

When pts have that beloved abdominal pain and report nausea too--and the spend the whole time spitting into a bin. Really? Spitting? It doesn't make me think you are sicker.

When the doc won't give you any more pain medication and they get mad at ME and start treating me like I'm keeping it from them.

Oh and I guess I have a third too. Pts that do the huffing and puffing--right in my face! Again, it doesn't make me think you are sicker of you blow in my face with your moaning.

Ughhhhhhh. It was a long day.

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