Flu Cases

andhow5, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2008

We've had mostly "A", several "B", and a few that were positive for both. We treat symptomatically, and a few scripts for tamiflu if recent onset of symptoms.

If I'm triaging, I give them a mask and tell them to cover their mouth AND nose, and if they refuse to wear it, I chart on the front in BIG RED letters, "pt REFUSES mask."

I've had a few people that were instructed to stay home from work for 3 days (which made them happy), but they said they had other things to do (attend weddings, etc).

I was not a very nice nurse and told them exactly what I thought of their intent to further spread the transmission of the mutated flu virus to others. Pure selfishness!

RedSox33RN · Feb 26, 2008

And gee whiz, guess what I woke up with this morning??? Cough, fever, body aches, chills......just what I needed!! lol

alkaleidi · Feb 26, 2008

Tons of flu, and our swabs are on back-order until like 3-11-08. Yippee!

LeahJet, ASN, RN · Feb 26, 2008

Call me insensitive, but I totally agree with the whole "whiner" thing. People don't seem to realize that life is not perfect..... ya DO get sick every once and a while. The last I heard, there is no cure for the Flu or the common cold yet. Do they expect us to give them our Magic Motrin or sprinkle fairy dust on them?? I had the mess a couple of weeks ago. I stayed home and rode it out, treating my symptoms..... and guess what?..... I made it.

The "flu people" are clogging up the ER even more than it already is.

ughhhh.

We need more WW11 generation type people. They are TOUGH. I had a 86 year old vet bleeding out of his eyes and was he whining? Nooooo.

sharona97, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2008

It's not always the flu during flu season, do you have a staff that thinks outside the box, or just complain about patients?

I'm sure it is unbelievably frustrating in the ER when the patient should have....gone to the doc....or urgent care.....but they didn't.

So we end up doing our job that just totally infuriates us at the patients ignorance, what matters at the end of the day (shift) is they came to your facility and deserve to be treated and assessed apropriately, IMO.

sharona97, BSN, RN · Feb 27, 2008

Call me insensitive, but I totally agree with the whole "whiner" thing. People don't seem to realize that life is not perfect..... ya DO get sick every once and a while. The last I heard, there is no cure for the Flu or the common cold yet. Do they expect us to give them our Magic Motrin or sprinkle fairy dust on them?? I had the mess a couple of weeks ago. I stayed home and rode it out, treating my symptoms..... and guess what?..... I made it.
The "flu people" are clogging up the ER even more than it already is.
ughhhh.
We need more WW11 generation type people. They are TOUGH. I had a 86 year old vet bleeding out of his eyes and was he whining? Nooooo.

Thank God you only had the flu and survived and treated yourself appropriatley. As for your 86y/o vet kudo's do you that you can speak of compassion for him while treating him. You can't pick your patients and until some negligent doc with attitude and doesn't do a full work-up on you that causes an end to your career, let's talk. :nono:

LeahJet, ASN, RN · Feb 27, 2008

Thank God you only had the flu and survived and treated yourself appropriatley. As for your 86y/o vet kudo's do you that you can speak of compassion for him while treating him. You can't pick your patients and until some negligent doc with attitude and doesn't do a full work-up on you that causes an end to your career, let's talk.

I'm sorry for your health problems and misdiagnosis.

However, I still stand by my opinion.

I really couldn't tell from the wording in your post, but I think you may have been trying to convey that I may have not had compassion for my 86 year old vet. Although your illness is unfortunate, I doubt it gives you any special ability or insight to judge each and every one of us that works in the ER.

Make no mistake.

I LOVE my patients that truly need me and the ER. I have and will continue to give them my blood, sweat, and tears. I have and I will continue to go above and beyond for those that need me.

Do I still get aggravated by the overwhelming sense of entitlement and whining of those that abuse the ER? You betcha.

I get really amused that those (and I venture to say.... non-ER nurses) that say "well, they are there anyway and they need you, so suck it up and do your job...yadayada...."

If you worked at a grocery store and saw blatent abuse and misuse of food stamps, would you still think that way? They are there anyway, so just suck it up and do your job.

I know that analogy may be a bit off, but the idea is the same.

Abuse is abuse.

And abuse is really what we are talking about here. "Whiners" are people with NON emergent conditions that tend to be the loudest of all the patients.

Again, I'm sorry for your misdiagnosis and health problems. Maybe someone reading here will be helped by this.

If you are not happy with what you perceive as an "ER doc with an attitude"'s diagnosis and treatment, follow up with your family MD. He/she can truly follow you and give contining care.

LilgirlRN, ADN, RN · Feb 27, 2008

Seeing lots of "A" Rxing Tamiflu, cough syrup or lortab just for the body aches. We've also been seeing the "stomach flu" which I was unlucky enough to have two weeks ago. Ended up in my own ER, 2 liters of NS before I could even pee!

sharona97, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2008

I'm sorry for your health problems and misdiagnosis.
However, I still stand by my opinion.
I really couldn't tell from the wording in your post, but I think you may have been trying to convey that I may have not had compassion for my 86 year old vet. Although your illness is unfortunate, I doubt it gives you any special ability or insight to judge each and every one of us that works in the ER.
Make no mistake.
I LOVE my patients that truly need me and the ER. I have and will continue to give them my blood, sweat, and tears. I have and I will continue to go above and beyond for those that need me.
Do I still get aggravated by the overwhelming sense of entitlement and whining of those that abuse the ER? You betcha.
I get really amused that those (and I venture to say.... non-ER nurses) that say "well, they are there anyway and they need you, so suck it up and do your job...yadayada...."
If you worked at a grocery store and saw blatent abuse and misuse of food stamps, would you still think that way? They are there anyway, so just suck it up and do your job.
I know that analogy may be a bit off, but the idea is the same.
Abuse is abuse.
And abuse is really what we are talking about here. "Whiners" are people with NON emergent conditions that tend to be the loudest of all the patients.
Again, I'm sorry for your misdiagnosis and health problems. Maybe someone reading here will be helped by this.
If you are not happy with what you perceive as an "ER doc with an attitude"'s diagnosis and treatment, follow up with your family MD. He/she can truly follow you and give contining care.

I totally was giving you kudos for your 86y/0 patient. And I appreciate your kind words about my misdiagnosis, which was not by an ER Doc. (Had been to the ER before Correct DX at lesat 25 times in respiratory distress), brick-like atelectisis on CXR and still sent home. It as a change of provider that thought outside the box and swabbed me apprpriatley ater hearing my cough.

I'm not out to make this a ER vs non ER nurse issue. My background is midlde of the night call for the cath lab, ICU hours, shuffling patints, I get it. My point was that the "nonwhiner" 86y/o was given good point as I believe all patients should, and I get just as sick of the same ole things too, but that does not alter how I care for purported "whiners". A good example of this is the post boasting that the swabs were back ordered, "yeah". That type of attitude to me is lethal in missing a potential very sick patient who may present during"fluseason" with similiar symptoms and be negative for the flu.

I adressed my post with IMO and I respect yours, so to stay on topic people who swarm the ER with flu-like symptoms gets old, but they still deserve your high energy skill and attention with respect. IMO

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 29, 2008

We just do a flu swab, strep screen, CBC, CMP and chest on everyone right now to rule out all uglies because it just seems like the right thing to do.

Interesting enough - they pretty much all get the same follow up care. Rest until you are better, Motrin or Tylenol for aches and fever, clear liquids with orders to advance as tolerated and work note for 2-3 days if they desire.

It is getting frustrating though because are swamped with these flu like s/s patients.

scattycarrot, BSN, RN · Feb 29, 2008

I'm not out to make this a ER vs non ER nurse issue. My background is midlde of the night call for the cath lab, ICU hours, shuffling patints, I get it.
I adressed my post with IMO and I respect yours, so to stay on topic people who swarm the ER with flu-like symptoms gets old, but they still deserve your high energy skill and attention with respect. IMO

But this is an ER issue as this is an ER forum where ER nurses have every right to come and vent about probelms and concerns that affect thier working enviroment and should be able to do so, without being pretty much accused of not giving patients their 'skill and attention'.

I think we are all aware that we can't pick and choose our patients and what comes throught the door is what comes through the doors and at this time of year, that happens to include many non-urgent patients with flu who have no co-morbidities, who should be at home in bed and not blocking the ER. This is a fact (as most nurses here will testify!)and we can try and be all nicey nicey about it, and say they have a right to be there, they are still sick....blah blah blah but it doesn't change the fact, that your average joe, who is previousy fit and well, does not need to come to the ER for flu. However, when they do, they get cared for in a respectful and professional manner. Do I feel compassion for them? No, I don't, does this make me a bad nurse? I don't think so. It doesn't affect my care for them and I will save my compassion for those who really need it.

And, then after my shift, its nice to come on here and vent about the frustrating day I have had and about the patients I have had to look after, to fellow ER nurses who understand the pressures of the ER department during flu season.

So, vent away ER nurses, I empathise and will vent with you!

sharona97, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2008

But this is an ER issue as this is an ER forum where ER nurses have every right to come and vent about probelms and concerns that affect thier working enviroment and should be able to do so, without being pretty much accused of not giving patients their 'skill and attention'.
I think we are all aware that we can't pick and choose our patients and what comes throught the door is what comes through the doors and at this time of year, that happens to include many non-urgent patients with flu who have no co-morbidities, who should be at home in bed and not blocking the ER. This is a fact (as most nurses here will testify!)and we can try and be all nicey nicey about it, and say they have a right to be there, they are still sick....blah blah blah but it doesn't change the fact, that your average joe, who is previousy fit and well, does not need to come to the ER for flu. However, when they do, they get cared for in a respectful and professional manner. Do I feel compassion for them? No, I don't, does this make me a bad nurse? I don't think so. It doesn't affect my care for them and I will save my compassion for those who really need it.
And, then after my shift, its nice to come on here and vent about the frustrating day I have had and about the patients I have had to look after, to fellow ER nurses who understand the pressures of the ER department during flu season.
So, vent away ER nurses, I empathise and will vent with you!

Excuse me for posting on a topic listed on the home page. If the OP's "vent" went to the ER forum, so be it. I agree with you. AGAIN my point is that because it is flu symptom season and there are an overwhelming number of "whiners" in your department, one of those whiners might be ill with something else. And to reply with an answer that we need more WWII Vets,"cause they are tough", is what? A better patient? We had plenty of these tough old birds in Cardiology too, Holiday hearts,from Thanksgiving to Easter eating away the ham and all the goodies. When I went as a "whiner" to the ER with respiratory distress I'm sure I fit right in with all your other patients who "should have gone to the Dr." Which I did, I just couln't happen to breathe at 3:00am. So I apologize for having a bit of wonderment about a nurse who states yeah we are out of swabs until......

I realize 10 ten-fold this is a great place to vent for ALL AREAS of nursing, IMO if the bird flu ever develops as purportedly presumed, you will have lots to "whine about" concerning the dying whiners".

I apologize to all the ER nurses who feel attacked with their compassion and skill with my concerns over all flu patients you deal with. :bow: