A Generation of Wimps?

BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Dec 17, 2007

Welcome to the ER!!!

bethin · Dec 17, 2007

Is is just me, or is anyone else seeing more and more patients in their late teens to early 30's that are a bunch of wusses? I mean relatively minor ailments (nausea/vomiting for 1 day, headache, cough/congestion, back pain) and these pts act like they are at death's door! Enough drama for a year's worth of Broadway shows. I'm not referring to any pt with serious or chronic illnesses. I mean stuff that is really minor, that should be addressed with a routine PCP visit, but instead they end up in the ER. Inevitably they get the million $ workup (labs, Xray, CT, etc.) only to be discharged with DX of "gastritis" or "muscle strain." I just worked a 4 day stretch and easily half of my pts fit this category. What's going on?!

Yes, and sometimes these patients are admitted to med surg!

Last weekend we had a 15 yo admitted s/p tonsillectomy. I took her breakfast tray into her, and she cried hsyterically because there was no sugar for her tea! She also threatened to leave AMA because we would not let her 19 yo boyfriend spend the night, in the same room, in the same bed.

I like to attribute this behavior to the lack of control and pain medications. I pray that it's not permanent!

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2007

I think that generation by generation we are becoming more pampered as a society. My generation was softer than my parents as well. Yes, I've noticed that many young people are weinies.

Medic04 · Dec 17, 2007

I am noticing more MEN being WHIMPS. Ooooooooooo the pain...

(But can go smoke.....) Come back in tears to the floor"Oh the pain......"

What ever happened to Men being Men, have wussed them too these days?

TRAMA1RN · Dec 17, 2007

I agree today society is be enable by the previous generation. As to men I see it in women too.

MrsCannibal · Dec 17, 2007

I remember a family I had when I was doing ER clinicals...the toddler hadn't had a bowel movement in ONE WHOLE DAY, so the whole family loaded up (grandma, aunts, etc) and descended on the ER. They of course stopped at a fast food joint on the way, and brought dinner with them. I guess it was a boring Friday night at home, so they decided to enjoy an evening out at the ER....the family was very angry that we weren't going to do anything more than make a dr appt for the next day and send the baby home. Honestly, this child was healthy as a horse...what are people thinking?

Jo Dirt · Dec 17, 2007

I'm a weiner. I can't help it.

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2007

Ya know....I pride myself on being able to deal with a lot in this life....your back hurts...well, I work 3 days a week and go to school 5 so why should mine?....I attribute it to growing up with the adage that a good day's work was its own reward. So many people my age(26, especially guys....) act like ohhh...my poor throat...I'm scratchy..or I had "elective" surgery, I didn't think it would hurt....ummmm, IT'S CALLED SURGERY FOR A REASON!

Some of us can't take it I guess....although, when I'm having mad pain and wind up in the hospital someday...please, don't let me be the one everyone is talking about....

loricatus · Dec 17, 2007

I wonder if this trend has something to do with instant gratification? Society, in general, is becoming more accustomed to obtaining instant gratification and it seems as if it has spilled out into the world of healthcare.

Got a HA- take an Motrin

Upset stomach, diarrhea-Pepto;

doesn't work, still got a HA, upset stomach, diarrhea---------oh, no it must be an emergency................annnnnnnnd where do I go for this emergency...

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2007

I've noticed that these days "natural childbirth" = lady partsl birth with an epidural. Whatever happened to Lamaze and going without drugs?

grapejuice01 · Dec 17, 2007

"Last weekend we had a 15 yo admitted s/p tonsillectomy. I took her breakfast tray into her, and she cried hsyterically because there was no sugar for her tea! She also threatened to leave AMA because we would not let her 19 yo boyfriend spend the night, in the same room, in the same bed."

In situations like these (and almost every other "do what I want or Ill leave" situation) Ill happily witness the AMA form for a patient...

The sad fact is that we, as a society, are raising new generations of ER abusers every day because children who are treated for routine ailments in the ED will see this as the norm and do the same with their children and continue the cycle. A lot of it is the fact that many people dont have insurance and therefore cant afford to see a PCP but thats not to say that the insured dont abuse the system as well.

Many hospitals in my area (Dallas) now have PAs functioning as screeners in their triage areas to help decrease the load that we actually see. From what Ive heard they do a quick assessment of every patient after they are registered and seen by the triage nurse-- they can write an Rx and discharge for easy cases like ear infections and sore throats that they would normally see in Fast Track and other non-emergent pts that would require any sort of workup are required to pay an upfront fee if they do not have insurance to cover their visit or they are referred to a PCP/dentist/what have you and sent home.

Of course our hosp refuses to do this because we're a "faith based hospital" and our president thinks it would be against what we stand for so we now get all of the non-emergents who are sent away from other EDs and instructed to f/u with another provider... its frustrating and our triage overflows nightly.

The only positive is that when we have 30 pts in triage we "advance triage" (labs, xrays, CT, etc before the pt gets to the room prior to seeing the doc) That way labs etc are back by the time they make it back to the room and the pt can usually be discharged immediately or tx right away for whatever the issue is and sent home rather than waiting on labs etc.