Had To Tell Ya This One!

kaycee · Jul 9, 2001

We had a patient and her husband come in one time because the husband was concerned because his wife's knee cap moved. Both the doc and I had to show them our knees so they would understand that this was normal anatomy. It was hard to keep a straight face in the room but once they left we couldn't contain ourselves. :D

denicke · Jul 9, 2001

I had a woman come in one Sat. night (people hanging from the ceiling as usual) who indicated a desire to have a cyst removed from her forehead right about the hairline. She was wearing a knitted cap and said that her "clients" were distressed by the sight of it during the course of their "business transaction" when the cap came off as her head hit the headboard of the bed.

CEN35 · Jul 10, 2001

yeah there certainly are quite a few brainless individuals out there.

i had an 18 yr old girl call 911 and bring her in for a cramp in her calf!

another, who called 911 because she hadn't had a bm in two days. she stated, "i always have one everyday, i knew something was not right".

patient c/o "i have a headache"

i say, on a 1/10 scale, if 10 is the worst pain of your life.........how bad is it?

patient: "it's a 10"

i asked, when did the headache start mam?

patient: "last year and it hasn't stopped hurting"

go figure? lol :)

WHEDRN · Jul 22, 2001

:rolleyes:

How about taking an ambulance ride in for a "Positive PPD" test

turned out to be a bruise! No other complaints--had to tell her that while we are happy to help--that it was indeed inappropriate to call 911 for this! OH of course she was discharged 5 minutes after her arrival --and.....she didn't have a ride--wanted a cab --courtesy of the Hospital!

Oh Well

debbyed · Jul 25, 2001

I had a woman the other night that came in complaining the when she let har hands dangle at her sides the veins on the back of her hands "jumped out":eek:

pjsleepy, BSN · Sep 4, 2001

We had a patient come in the other night with a chief complaint of abdominal pain. He was placed in a room and assessed by a nurse. While waiting for the physician exam he decided he was not being seen fast enough. Instead of using the call light, like most people would, he decides to dial 911 from the phone in his room! I'm not sure what EMS could have done for him that we weren't.....besides transfer him to another hospital!!!

prmenrs, RN · Sep 4, 2001

This is an interesting thread because some of the people you are talking about are genuinely "intellectually challenged", and to some of them, cramps in the legs, headaches, etc, are interpreted as genuine emergencies.

Because of my son's situation, I tend to hang out w/moms who are in similar boats--one mom said that her son would call 911 @ the drop of a hat, and if someone on TV said "call this number", he'd do it!! Needless to say lots of supervision is necessary, but most of have jobs, are trying to facilitate as much independence as possible, and things happen!

So far, I've been lucky, but it's really scary, as he jockeys for more independence, and I have to bring him down to earth.

Those of you who are patient and professional are really qppreciated, believe me!

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Sep 4, 2001

A few years ago there was an article in the newspaper about a 4yo boy who called 911. He was making cookies with his Mom and the gingerbread man got burned. Police and fire responded to explain the difference between a living and a gingerbread "man". Of course they took the cookie with them as a momento. Mom was mortified.