thought these were funny and true. add on if desired....
Alas, sometimes in the ER the family is harder to deal with than the patient. Here are some family member we all have seen in our ER:
DOORWAY GAWKER- stands and stares at the staff, arms folded, from the doorway with an impatient, angry looks on their faces
THE VENTRILOQUIST - talks for the patient until you tell them to stop it
THE SHADOW- you have to pry this person away from the patients bedside in order to do your job. then they watch every move you make as you start an IV, give meds, etc.
APATHETIC ANN/ANDY - brings a book, laptop - has a sort of been here/done this attitude - seems uninterested in whats going on
THE SUCKER - accompanies a patient with some kind of bogus chronic problem and has bought into it hook, line and sinker
THE KLEPTOMANIAC - you might catch this person rummaging through the cupboards, drawers and perhaps pocketing a thing or two
THE ERRAND RUNNER - may come up to the desk requesting warm blankets, footies, water, food, more pain meds, etc etc etc
MAMAS BOY MAMA - accompanies their grown son or daughter to the ER and sits with concerned look at bedside
BABY DADDY - accompanies girlfriend to ER and is suspicious of any male that comes into the room. Wants to stay there when pelvic exam is being done.
THE DUMPER- drops off confused mom/dad/annoying sibling/girlfriend/boyfriend and leaves
SPACE INVADERS - crosses that line into the staff area or follows the doctor into their area - definitely a no no
MAJOR HOLIDAY GIFTERS - brings mom/dad/grandma who they haven't seen for months to ER because they "aren't doing that well/can't take care of themselves/need to go to a nursing home"
CHICKEN LITTLE - runs to triage desk requesting help for mom/dad/etc in the car who are dying (99% of the time they are fine). Comes up to the desk and tells you heart monitor is dinging - is that OK??!!!
SUSPICIOUS STAN/STELLA- takes notes - wants names of staff, name of medication, name of tests. Has special "medical notebook"
I actually found it amusing when I travelled in Washington DC that I was always a racist when the wait was to long. I am from the south with a very strong accent. So being that it was busy was never the case! I would just tell them my black husband wouldnt appreciate that comment (btw I am single).
Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.
Love it... had one the other day. Family member half dead with big head bleed on vent ask me "are they going to get to go home today?" And she had just told me she was a nurse... What the?????????
Well, it's possible that she really was a nurse. Don't forget "Denial ain't just a river in Egypt."
When it's family, occasionally the brain refuses to compute what the eyes and ears are telling it.
I don't have a cool nickname for this, but I have my theory of INS (interference with natural selection), they've either survived their mishap and thereby invalidating themselves for a Darwin Award or they've done something that (10,000 years ago) would've gotten them thrown over a cliff by the other cavemen! changing the gene pool one drop at a time.
A surgery fellow told me once she did a rotation in an ED that had a sign in the breakroom: "XXXXX ER: Outwitting Darwin since 19(whatever)"
Specializes in 6 years of ER fun, med/surg, blah, blah.
I am using all this fabulous information as a study guide. With 5 years experience in the ER, & been out of the work force for 8 months, I am considering returning to LaLa Land to get back into the fray. (I've been living in Saudi Arabia where I could not be hired as a nurse because I was not recruited from my home country & am a 'casual employee').
Keep up the good work, laughs & support! Miss you all desperately.:loveya:
Love it... had one the other day. Family member half dead with big head bleed on vent ask me "are they going to get to go home today?" And she had just told me she was a nurse... What the?????????
Patient on the vent, ARDS, renal failure, having haemofiltration, multiple infusions, septic and very sick. Wife asked when we would start life support?
That was my mother, asking about my dad. She wasn't stupid, just could not believe what was happening...she kept saying, 'but I just cooked Christmas Dinner and it will all go to waste'.
The nurses that guided and supported us during dads final journey were wonderful, and continue to influence my nursing practice to this day.
MRSA MARY/TB TIMOTHY: Wears no protective equipment with infectious relative despite repeated warnings/danger signs posted and teachings, believes that love will prevent them from catching infection, often brings their young children in to share in the germ fest to pass on to their classmates and eventually your children.
Wow, glad to know how the people who are supposed to be 'caring' for us and our loved one's really feel! We pay a good price for your services, God forbid we are concerned or scared for a loved one and don't spend half our lives(yet) in the ER until we are bitter & immune to empathy.
Just last week I was working in prep and had a nurse daughter actually push me aside to pat her mother's hand to "get a vein up for you; she's a very hard stick.":icon_roll
JenbeckRN
3 Posts
I actually found it amusing when I travelled in Washington DC that I was always a racist when the wait was to long. I am from the south with a very strong accent. So being that it was busy was never the case! I would just tell them my black husband wouldnt appreciate that comment (btw I am single).