Is earwax removal an emergency?

Specialties Emergency

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What is an emergency? Is an overdue ear irrigation one? How about bedbug bites from a sleepover? A stiff neck from sleeping wrong? A child's fever, who got started on antibiotics prescribed by PCP this morning and went away after Tylenol given prior to arrival.

Do the people with these types of 'emergencies' actually have co-pays? And, what are health classes teaching in the schools these days?

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Coping skills are the biggie IMHO. Common sense in the US is gone!

Sometimes you WILL have pain or be uncomfortable and time takes care of this sometimes.

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College Health 101 sounds like a fantastic idea. I work in college health and some of the students really have a hard time navigating their own health needs for the first time without a parent. A little preparation would take a lot of the stress out of it for them.

I think it's probably hard for the parents whose kids are away from home, too. I see a fair amount who have minor ailments and do take the step of calling home to see what to do about it...but I imagine it's diffitult to tell your child to wait it out/take ibuprofen, etc. when you can't see how they look or how much distress they are (or aren't) in.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
I think it's probably hard for the parents whose kids are away from home, too. I see a fair amount who have minor ailments and do take the step of calling home to see what to do about it...but I imagine it's diffitult to tell your child to wait it out/take ibuprofen, etc. when you can't see how they look or how much distress they are (or aren't) in.

We're lucky. We run a full service clinic and to just come in and see someone is covered by the student health fee. So when I'm doing phone triage, I have a low threshold to suggest that someone just come in and be seen. I also think it's kind of cute when I suggest a strep test (small fee for labs) and the student asks if he can call home first. They always get a yes answer from a parent. Some will tell me: "I'm not really feeling that bad, but I called home and my mom is insisting that I come in." :yes:

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
I think it's probably hard for the parents whose kids are away from home, too. I see a fair amount who have minor ailments and do take the step of calling home to see what to do about it...but I imagine it's diffitult to tell your child to wait it out/take ibuprofen, etc. when you can't see how they look or how much distress they are (or aren't) in.

In the age of skype and air drops I think we can see exactly how bad our kids are feeling, but it starts at home as most common ailments do not require an emergency room! If young. My doctor does video conference appointments via SKYPE. She will then order a prescription if needed. She will also have you come in to the office if she thinks something more serious is going on. If you use this system you get expedited treatment in the urgent care. My son has had a cold since Monday and he got on line to his doctor this am. (That's right available on Thanksgiving day) I had to laugh because I heard the doctor tell my son to continue what mom was doing, Ibuprophen for aches and pains, lot's of fluids and rest and he should be "Good to go" in a couple of days. "

Hppy

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Ear irrigation is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. My perception is that most patients presenting to the ED I work at are in fact NOT having a true "emergency" but it is so concerning for them that they come in. Does that make sense?

My mentor in my undergrad nursing program told me that ED nursing is mostly running noses and belly aches with a few exciting moments sprinkled it. Now that it's been a few years, sometimes I think she's right but I still wouldn't trade it for anything! I love the variety and the pace and the collaboration.

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Specializes in Neuro.

Man, I'm jealous of these people's copays! My $200 copay always has me avoiding the ER at all costs. I begrudgingly went to the ER once when urgent care shoved my rear onto the ERs doorstep.

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I just want to put my 2 cents in as an EMT-B and nursing student (insert groans, it's ok I accept)! One of the most impactful things my EMS instructors ever said to me was: it's not MY emergency. That simple. I've practiced that way as an EMT and tried to approach my clinical as a nursing student that way as well. What is an EMERGENCY to me may not be to my patient.

Respect to you as RNs and...I get it. We have the luxury of knowledge and often privlege when we walk through the doors because we know people working here! Anyhow, just my very basic take on the situation.

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Years ago, my first nursing job was in a community clinic. We served pediatric and prenatal patients. We had daily walk-in hours every morning from 8-10, as well as scheduled appointments and could always squeeze a patient in if we needed to. Anyway, one thing which I really liked was the Children's Hospital ER used to call us if one of our patients showed up during our regular office hours. They would call and ask us if we could see the patient, VS. them seeing a non emergent case that was going to be five times the cost to the patient. We always said yes and the patients always had the final say but 99.9% of the time they would come see us. A lot of it was just education. Many of our patients had "fever phobia" and would race to the ER for a temp of 101, or the baby was crying and they would panic. Anyway, my point is, I wish things like this still happened, but with all the changes in health care, all the urgent care facilities, and people having generally busier and more hectic lives, many feel it is just easier to show up at an ER, rather than call the doctor, wait 2 hours for a call-back and then hope they can see you in a timely fashion and at a time that fits in with your schedule.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, ER, Peds ER-CPEN.

That's a typical day in my world lol

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Frankly, without all those non-emergent cases, we wouldn't employ nearly as many nurses as we do. Job security.

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Lol. I had a parent bring in her 4 year old (not the first child) for cold like symptoms. During our assessment the mother explains that she was diagnosed yesterday with a cold and has been giving her the prescribed medication (Tylenol & Motrin for temperature control) and wants to know why she is still sneezing.

She was advocating for antibiotics. Not on my watch. I'm not going to have a hand in making antibiotic resistant strains lol. Loading people up with antibiotics for absolutely no reason.

I thoroughly educated her about a virus and it's life cycle. Then it dawned on me that noone probably spent the time to explain this to her because she did not speak English.

Some cases are funny like coming to the ED for a tooth extraction and the pt being upset that we discharge them to the dental clinic. Sorry.

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I would comment, but I just sneezed. I gotta make a run to the local Level 1 Trauma Center.

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