[canoehead]

Originally Posted by Gompers

She practically rolled her eyes at me when I insisted that I had thrush. Finally, after a gag-inducing look deep into my throat..."OH MY GOD, that's the WORST thrush I've EVER seen!!!"

Hmph!

ROTFLMAO

I hope you said "I told you so!"

[Spidey's mom]

Yes, I do.

I've called the ER doc for an rx for antibiotics for my son's ear infection while I was 500 miles away and didn't want to go to the ER there. I've called from home with a child who has been vomiting and having diarrhea X24 hours with no fluid intake and got an Tigan suppository rx.

I've also demanded better pain control for my #2 son than the pills they gave which he vomited up . . . . He had been vomiting for 2 days, high fever, fluid leaking from his ear and in terrible pain - he was 18 years old at the time . . .. um, can you give my son a shot? I felt like Shirley McClain in "Terms of Endearment". (that's the right movie, right? Her daughter has breast cancer).

steph

[Zachary2011]

I work in a busy busy ER, before this I have worked on PCU/ICU/CCU, and as Im sure many of you Nurses know when you get a pt. demanding TX before diagnostics or even after diagnostics it can be frustrating. It's people telling you how to do your job. I agree no one knows their body better themselves but its never proper to demand treatments or interventions as a healthcare person. There are ways to suggest and be diplomatic about what you want and then their are the ones that are demanding. Now when it comes to your child I completely understand, but instead of saying No Dr. he has to have this, say Dr. you know what worked well for him before, or Dr. you know he had trouble with that before. I see many Nurses as Pts. and even Physicians, and for the most part if you let them know the TX path your taking and the results of all diagnostics they are extremely happy. Nurses do not deserve special care, nor do physcians, (I do agree children do), I treat all of my pts. the same, as if they were family..........and sometimes family disagree. Just because you hav RN,MSN, or MD on your name badge is irrelavent to me. And as many of you ER nurses know when they are in the ER they basically post their badges on their forhead, so all can see that this some how makes them VIP. I understand there are bad nurses out there just like in any profession, so its always good to have some one that can understand and translate the medical interventions (hows and whys) to your family if they are being treated. But on the other hand a good nurse will do that for their pt.

[Altra]

As medical professionals, of course we're in a position to provide complete, relevant information which makes diagnosis & treatment decisions a little easier, and to participate in a meaningful dialog about treatment decisions for ourselves & our families. But ultimate responsibility for medical decision-making lies with the physicians & nurses providing the care. I'm a little uneasy with the underlying tone here (maybe I'm just being overly sensitive) that the ER is an adversarial place, where getting appropriate treatment is somehow a game of "gotcha."

Maybe I'm just making something out of nothing ...

[michelle126]

Hey....I see alittle of Zach point, however...why waste time and money?
Heck at work we can call the doctor and practically diagnosis the UTI, heart failure etc, why shouldn't I be able to tell the doc, I have strep or a UTI again, can we save some time here and just reoder me X. Heck I just spent $200 on doc appts (not covered by insurance) last month for simple things that I could have easily taken care of over the phone if I was at work.

[mom23RN]

Originally Posted by Zachary2011

I work in a busy busy ER, before this I have worked on PCU/ICU/CCU, and as Im sure many of you Nurses know when you get a pt. demanding TX before diagnostics or even after diagnostics it can be frustrating. It's people telling you how to do your job. I agree no one knows their body better themselves but its never proper to demand treatments or interventions as a healthcare person. There are ways to suggest and be diplomatic about what you want and then their are the ones that are demanding. Now when it comes to your child I completely understand, but instead of saying No Dr. he has to have this, say Dr. you know what worked well for him before, or Dr. you know he had trouble with that before. I see many Nurses as Pts. and even Physicians, and for the most part if you let them know the TX path your taking and the results of all diagnostics they are extremely happy. Nurses do not deserve special care, nor do physcians, (I do agree children do), I treat all of my pts. the same, as if they were family..........and sometimes family disagree. Just because you hav RN,MSN, or MD on your name badge is irrelavent to me. And as many of you ER nurses know when they are in the ER they basically post their badges on their forhead, so all can see that this some how makes them VIP. I understand there are bad nurses out there just like in any profession, so its always good to have some one that can understand and translate the medical interventions (hows and whys) to your family if they are being treated. But on the other hand a good nurse will do that for their pt.

You're right. I probably did overstep my bounds a bit last night but it was 2:00 in the morning and I was a bit grumpy. We just got back from a long vacation and long plane flight on Monday and I still hadn't caught up on my sleep yet. And I did play the "nurse card" which I don't usually do.

I think I might make something nice for the staff and go in and apologize for being a bit "demanding".

[PedsER-RN]

Originally Posted by Zachary2011

I work in a busy busy ER, before this I have worked on PCU/ICU/CCU, and as Im sure many of you Nurses know when you get a pt. demanding TX before diagnostics or even after diagnostics it can be frustrating. It's people telling you how to do your job. I agree no one knows their body better themselves but its never proper to demand treatments or interventions as a healthcare person. There are ways to suggest and be diplomatic about what you want and then their are the ones that are demanding. Now when it comes to your child I completely understand, but instead of saying No Dr. he has to have this, say Dr. you know what worked well for him before, or Dr. you know he had trouble with that before. I see many Nurses as Pts. and even Physicians, and for the most part if you let them know the TX path your taking and the results of all diagnostics they are extremely happy. Nurses do not deserve special care, nor do physcians, (I do agree children do), I treat all of my pts. the same, as if they were family..........and sometimes family disagree. Just because you hav RN,MSN, or MD on your name badge is irrelavent to me. And as many of you ER nurses know when they are in the ER they basically post their badges on their forhead, so all can see that this some how makes them VIP. I understand there are bad nurses out there just like in any profession, so its always good to have some one that can understand and translate the medical interventions (hows and whys) to your family if they are being treated. But on the other hand a good nurse will do that for their pt.

That's along the line of what I wanted to say, but you said it!!!

[pjayem]

hello

[TazziRN]

I don't know of an ER nurse who doesn't do this. When it's a problem I (or mine) have had before, such as my asthma, the docs usually ask me what's worked in the past. If it's a new problem (my 2-year-old had croup in December) the doc discussed it with me.

Only once have I ever had to insist on a treatment. Years ago my ex had a run of bad luck while we were camping. First he smashed his finger and dev a subungal hematoma, then the next morning he burned his other hand on the camp stove. We went to the local ER, which was a 2-bed ER run by a crochety old nurse and a doc who looked older than Methusalah. The nurse (I kid you not) had no idea what to do about the hematoma. The doc said it didn't look bad enough to drain but I insisted he at least try....the pressure was so great that he almost got hit in the face by the stream of blood.

At least they knew how to treat the burn......

[prmenrs]

My son needed tubes in his ears when he was ~ 2 1/2. His primary peds referred him to the ENT specialist, who carefully explained what they were, yada, yada. I listened politely and when he stopped talking, I said, "ok, fine. And as long as he's asleep, and you're in the neighborhood, I'd like you to bronch him, and here's why." I reviewed Juan's neonatal hx, numerous intubations, sick premie, and that I felt his voice was kinda hoarse. He looked @ me as if I'd lost my mind, but said he would do it.

Post-op, he comes to talk to me--Juan had a subglottal cyst! "I thought you were one crazy mother, but you get points on this one!"