triage patients

Specialties Ob/Gyn

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Iam always amazed at the reasons some of our patients come in to get evaluated in the middle of the night. We had a patient show up at 2 o'clock in the morning, 35 wks with flu like symptoms to be evaluated. Why would you get yourself (and significant other) up at 2 in the morning to come to Labor and Delivery for the flu? Or they come in at two in the morning with abd. pain for 5 days that is no worse than it was when she went to sleep.

So has any one else encountered this with their patients?

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She came to L/D for flu symptoms...geez...I dunno what to say about that...other than it is rampant stupidity...was she severely dehydrated??? I feel for you...I really do...this is an example of why I chose to get away fro the ER, though. I got tired of the "clinic" pts who would come in with minor crap and called in complaints to administration if we were too busy to see them immediately (perhaps, there were a FEW actual EMERGENCIES happening at the time they walked in with their headaches,constipation,stuffy noses...) and then administration came up with the brainchild of all insults and had us monitor (paperwork) the length of time it actually took for pts to be seen, all in the name of QA.

It's a societal problem that is getting no better...sorry this happened to you...but unless a major miracle happens,this will be encountered again...

Just remember to breathe...;)

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in the er, you can count on booming business if:

1) TV is all repeats

2) end of month...no $ for other entertainment

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:D agree sunnygirl...:rolleyes:

Heard that administration is putting TV's in ER rooms now...maybe pts will stayhome if theyhave re-runs in ER as well...but then again, I can imagine pts demanding DVD's with new release movies in the ER...:eek: :rotfl:

Yee hah!!!!!!!!!!

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yes in deed we get stuff like that all the time. just recently we had a patient come in 12 days in a row thinking she may be in labor each time we would go over signs of labor ,every night see would return.

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We had a pt that wouldnt leave the hospital a few months ago. She refused to leave until she was induced and delivered. It was hilarious. Finally after being here for 24 hours with no changes and her being so tired from walking the floor non stop, she gave up and went home.

Andrew

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Originally posted by Andrew_LandD

We had a pt that wouldnt leave the hospital a few months ago. She refused to leave until she was induced and delivered. It was hilarious. Finally after being here for 24 hours with no changes and her being so tired from walking the floor non stop, she gave up and went home.

Andrew

We have some like that, too. The other night we had a lady with cxt that looked like squares on the monitor. I entered the room when she was having one . . . she was pushing down on her toco! She was "contracting" every 2-3 minutes for 60 sec until I stood in the room chatting with her . . . not one contraction that whole 15 minutes!

Gail:chuckle

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:eek: You know,stupidity is RAMPANT...

I guess I was having a brain fart and forgot that Lo,many years ago, I worked postpartum...:p And I DO remember the pts who would come in "laboring"...most just needed BM, then others needed a swift kick in the derriere !!!! Back in those days, we had no special equipment such as fetal heart monitors,so our L/D nurses would "observe" the pts and after it was decided they were NOT in labor, they would be transferred to me...I also seem to remember them as great PIA's...

All I can say is Bless yall...oh yeah...and thanks for the memories!!!;)

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Originally posted by GailWHNP

We have some like that, too. The other night we had a lady with cxt that looked like squares on the monitor. I entered the room when she was having one . . . she was pushing down on her toco! She was "contracting" every 2-3 minutes for 60 sec until I stood in the room chatting with her . . . not one contraction that whole 15 minutes!

Gail:chuckle

Yep, seen 'em do that too.....what do they think, we're stupid?? I also love it when they're all moaning and groaning and writhing until the s.o. and/or family leaves for a minute. Puleeze. Sometimes it gets so annoying. :rolleyes:

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Well, yeah, there's a lot of stupidity in the world.

And I can see how all that moaning and groaning for the benefit of the family would get old after a while. But I can see mum's point of view, too. How often do they get to be center attraction? The focus of everybody's attention?

And soon they'll have a baby they have to take care of and everybody will make the fuss over the BABY not the mum.

On a totally different topic but this reminded me, here's something spooky:

Early in my pregnancy with my elder daughter, I had a repeating dream where I was pretending to be in labor and surprisingly enough, all the doctors and nurses were pretending that I was in labor, too. They took me to the delivery room where I didn't have a baby.

That was the pregnancy with my older daughter. She was overdue - like a LOT overdue, and they would admit me to hospital from time to time to induce labor which NEVER progressed. But there I was - in the labor room, all hooked up to monitors and pitt (close enough to pretending to be in labor), and the nurses checking me and the doctors coming in for opinions from time to time (close enough to them pretending I was in labor) and then I had to have an emergency c-section, but they waited until she was dead. She'd had a twin that died, but they were able to revive the one. That was WAY too close to not having a baby.

Love

Dennie

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Often, patients report to the hospital ER w/problems like flu symptoms, headaches, or broken bones or "something" and *immediately* get sent up to L and D regardless of their condition or the fact it has NOTHING to do w/their pregnancy. (Oh, yes, I saw a lady w/ an untreated BROKEN FINGER in my labor/delivery unit once who stated there was NOTHING going on w/the pregnancy but her finger sure did hurt!). grrrowwwlll!

This may partly explain some of the stupidity you see.....that and sometimes, I have found, they will page their doctors, who then tell them to come in to see us in L and D w/o even attempting to listen and direct them to the right place to go first.

So it's not always the PATIENTS who are "stupid". Sometimes, we (the medical community, as they would perceive us), can be, too.

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Had a 34 week pregnant woman come in to the ER for back pain the other night...had already been to her family MD who ruled out labor as the cause...he told her it must be work-related...

(and no, we didn't fly her up to l/d at the speed of light...sent her home with Rx for Tylenol. ) ;)

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