Er predictions

[Sassy5d]

Yes, you can't predict the weather or illness. But how are your patient predictions? As in, as soon as the football game is over, the ER becomes flooded with patients..

Or the volume increases towards the end of the month when the food stamps are gone.

What kind of oddly predictable trends do you notice in your ER?

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

All of this is so incredibly true...... :)

I'm currently working to develop an algorithm whereby we can predict the % of lame excuses and tie it to the ambient air temperature.

(Seriously had a guy WALK a couple miles to our hospital in sub-zero temps with a CC of 'unable to satisfy his woman'. THAT is dedication to the cause!)

[melissa8321]

Mondays are always the worst day (most volume), Sundays after the football game there is a rush of ambulatory younger patients, during the football game there are lots of young females with "pelvic pain" c/o ie: requesting a pregnancy test (grrrr), Friday and Saturday after 2 am (high trauma, lots of GSW's....did I mention I worked in Detroit for 5 years, lol), Labor Day and Memorial Day lots of trauma (GSW's), New Years Eve & Christmas Eve again with the "pelvic pain" complaints (maybe trying to give bf a gift for the holiday lol, weekends and early evening in the fall pediatrics, end of August to October tons of 10-18 year old sports injuries, snow and rain = increased number of ambulances instead of walk in patients, I could go on and on, people can often be very predictable...it's funny :)

[Sassy5d]

The end of the month abdominal hunger pangs came early this month. I'm wondering if it had anything to do with a holiday at the start of the month

[miasmom]

Not an ER predictation. Years ago worked fast food. The 1st and 15 was mothers day. Governmrnt checks issued.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

All of this is so incredibly true...... :)

I'm currently working to develop an algorithm whereby we can predict the % of lame excuses and tie it to the ambient air temperature.

(Seriously had a guy WALK a couple miles to our hospital in sub-zero temps with a CC of 'unable to satisfy his woman'. THAT is dedication to the cause!)

Haha! Had "no erection x 12 years" during a blizzard. And he had the nerve to write a complaint that we didn't help him and instead discharged him! Lol

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

Mondays are the worse in the ED I came from. Everyone needed an excuse for a three day weekend I guess.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

snow blower hand injuries and MI's while shoveling post snow storms

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

The beginning of the week is always busy for us for some reason. And full moons.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

I can also predict with startling accuracy that if you tell me I'm beautiful, your BAC is at LEAST 0.30. Guaranteed.

The drunkards come in 7am for breakfast, 12pm for lunch and 6pm for dinner....not a minute before or a minute after!

"Don't feed the rats; they just get bigger and it encourages them to return."

I think only people that work in the health care system understand that this is true!

I have not observed this to be the case. If anything, full moons are less crazy because it's well lit and fewer people are stumbling and bumbling.

[Pudnluv, ASN, RN]

Mondays are the worst. No one wants to give up their time to be seen on the weekend, so they put if off til Monday. Also, we recently opened a GEM care unit for the elderly, and Sunday afternoon seems to be the busiest time for that. I've also noticed that the week before a major holiday (like this week), the numbers decrease, but the acuity increases. No one wants to come to the hospital unless they are really really sick. It's been a busy week.