Getting burnt out with non urgent patients

IrishErin · Jul 15, 2013

Hello all I just want to throw out the question. What do you all do to remain sane with the ever increasing non urgent patients? I have been an ED nurse for 10 years and love my job level 2 trauma center. Lately I am becoming more short and basically irritated with the rude demanding patients that are presenting for nonsense care. I am probably one of the nicer nurses at work and I don't want to become one of the non caring type but I see myself heading down that road.

It's really hard not to show a little cynicism towards the people that come in for nothing as they ate usually the most rude and most demanding! I have yet to see someone who is seriously ill, treat the staff as badly as the man that comes in with "leg pain intermittently for two years" (saw that one today). They can have such a sense of self entitlement, and "need" to be seen right away!

Sassy5d · Jul 15, 2013

I'm with you. It is what it is. Never going to change. I think it's gonna get worse.

SweetMelissaRN · Jul 15, 2013

Hello all I just want to throw out the question. What do you all do to remain sane with the ever increasing non urgent patients? I have been an ED nurse for 10 years and love my job level 2 trauma center. Lately I am becoming more short and basically irritated with the rude demanding patients that are presenting for nonsense care. I am probably one of the nicer nurses at work and I don't want to become one of the non caring type but I see myself heading down that road.

I've only been in the ER a year, I absolutely love my job, but frequently I have to catch myself from openly laughing at patients complaints/requests. I don't hide my sarcasm/cynicism when they ask something barbaric like, "I need a warm blanket and some of those red socks NOW, oh and one of those sandwiches!" (while EMS is wheeling in an active CPR to my room).... I rolled my eyes and said "when I can bring that patient back from the dead then absolutely".... Well we never got him back so they'll be waiting awhile..

IrishErin · Jul 15, 2013

I've only been in the ER a year, I absolutely love my job, but frequently I have to catch myself from openly laughing at patients complaints/requests. I don't hide my sarcasm/cynicism when they ask something barbaric like, "I need a warm blanket and some of those red socks NOW, oh and one of those sandwiches!" (while EMS is wheeling in an active CPR to my room).... I rolled my eyes and said "when I can bring that patient back from the dead then absolutely".... Well we never got him back so they'll be waiting awhile..

I frequently direct people that are walking around, texting on their phones and playing on their tablets, to grab their own blankets and they look at me like I have two heads. One woman who was sitting in a chair beside the linen cart told me she couldn't grab her own, because that was MY job. Lol. Sometimes you just have to laugh :)

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2013

I'm with you. It is what it is. Never going to change. I think it's gonna get worse.

I agree because there will be more.....I have insurance and pay for it...I'm going to use it!!!!

Cohiba · Jul 15, 2013

.....I have insurance and don't have to pay for it...I'm going to use it!!!!

There, I fixed it for you....

Faralas · Jul 15, 2013

There, I fixed it for you....

This really sums it up!!

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jul 15, 2013

My own family doctor cautioned me years ago before I took a short but memorable job in the ED. "Every nurse I've ever know to go to emergency has come out the other side jaded and changed." And this thread is the EXACT reason for it, IMHO.

And that 'free insurance'? Yeah.....

rn_abbey · Jul 15, 2013

Ugh, I was very happy to be transferred out of the ER for this very reason. How many times have we all been screamed at by patients because of the length of wait, only to find that the problem being treated is minimal... sigh

Sassy5d · Jul 16, 2013

I just keep telling myself that everyone's interpretation of emergency is different.

I do get frustrated, especially towards the end of the month, when the food stamps run out. We get extra busy, with realllllllllly minor complaints. They bring in their entire family and raid the little kitchen area. They stuff their bags full of food.

Toothache, but they are hungry. Get them in the room, you tell them they are npo and the family member tells you, I'm not, I haven't eaten all day you need to feed me.

They ask for bus/cab vouchers. Many times, they don't actually need them, they just want them for free.

I work in an area where a large population of low to no income population was being served and they closed their hospital down. So we have a large service of minor complaints, hungry, need a phone and a ride home. Of course they can't afford their med u prescribe and I frequently get asked 'this is going to be a free visit right'?

mcnini77 · Jul 16, 2013

We have a separate area in our ER for these patients, and we rotate the nurses assigned to it. I actually enjoy working that area every now and then, it's nice to have a day "off," that is, a day where I don't have to worry about my patients coding on me!

I also get annoyed and frustrated with the BS people present with. We get all the toothaches, knee pain x 2 months, and cough/congestion...but we also see an incredible number of "abdominal pains," aka "needs a pregnancy test and is trying to manipulate an ultrasound." I am less annoyed with these than I could be, because of the high number of women who have a hard time getting in to the clinics for prenatal care (Planned Parenthoods, and the like, are far apart and overcrowded here in Texas).

If the doc orders pain medicine, I give it with a smile. I honestly feel better at the end of the day if I don't let this stuff get to me. Showing how I really feel won't change anything, and will just leave me feeling angry and bitter. So, I put it out of my mind! One thing I refuse to do, though, is provide food to them. I'll bring them a blanket, narcotic pain meds, water, or socks...but they are NOT getting a sandwich! The sandwiches are in limited supply, and we reserve them for patients who are being admitted and have to wait in the ER for a room assignment. "But I'm diabetic, you have to feed me." Fine, here are some crackers, peanut butter, and a juice =) And if they throw a fit, we have an excellent social worker, who is more than happy to explain that this is a hospital, not a soup kitchen, and that ER rooms aren't required to provide full meals.

The thing that gets me the most is when people complain about their co-pays, then complain about not being provided snacks. We cut all that stuff down to trim costs!!! I love when they say, "I should have gone to XYZ Hospital, they give me a lunch tray and all my visitors get one, too." I just laugh and tell them it's a free country and they are free to leave and go elsewhere.

Oh, and I can't stand when one of their friends/visitors asks for food! I tell them we have a cafeteria, especially for visitors. One lady, when I told her that, said, "What! I don't want to pay for it! I want some of your free food, I'm diabetic and you have to feed me!" I told her that if she wanted free food then she would need to go up to triage and register as a patient. Unbelievably, she did just that. They assigned her to another room, and when she demanded her free food, her new nurse brought her crackers and juice, lol. We didn't even have sandwiches that day...LOL.

Basically, I just treat everyone the way I would expect to be treated, were I a patient or a visitor. That leaves me feeling generally satisfied and not bitter at the end of the day. Also, our nurses station has a closeable door, and we frequently close it so we can laugh about a situation with each other!