I have been an ER nurse for exactly one week....

Specialties Emergency

Published

And:

1) I now understand why I lose 1/3 of my pay to taxes

2) I have no idea how my hospital can afford to stay open with the amount of self-pay and government-funded insurance

:eek:

I really don't understand why any nurse would care if someone was paying for there health care. How is it any of your business? Your job is to take care of them, not judge them. And if you have that attitude, you probably aren't giving them the best care possible. This is what businesses do, turn the poor and middle class against each other. You think if the hospital receives more money this year your getting any for all your worrying about their finances? They probably fire you because then they could save even more money for a important conference on a tropical island. Those poor people who come into the ER, their lives suck. They live in crappy housing ridden with crime and hopelessness. They are usually miserable and don't know how to get out because their parents and grandparents grew up in the same situation. If the only good thing in their life is a smart phone, so what. You didn't do anything special besides fall out of the right uterus in the right county in the right neighborhood and now have oppurtunities that others don't.

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Specializes in future OB/L&D nurse(I hope) or hospice.
I wish all emergency departments could and would turn away people that can't pay? Harsh? Oh well...

Wow, you are entitled to your opinion, but really....what about mom with a sick child? What about the man who suddenly lost his entire family in a car accident caused by a drunk driver-which caused him to have a mental breakdown and such severe depression he end up losing his job, house-everything?? What about the lady who is about 55 years old and was a house wife her whole life who is now suffering from cancer-and can't get insurance? What about the man who has had his own business, and helping the economy as well as providing some jobs for others, that now finds himself with heart problems (this is my brother)and unable to obtain insurance because nobody will insure him??? I get that so many people are really crooked, but there are so many who are not and find themselves needing to be seen in the ER for an MI or something.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I really don't understand why any nurse would care if someone was paying for there health care. How is it any of your business?

First of all, we're not talking about any particular individual. We're talking about system-wide issues that affect all of us. A few months ago I worked for 2 months with half my usual pay because my state was simply SOL - noooo money. It most certainly is connected to waste and fraud in the system. So yeah, I'd say it was my business. How do I know? I only work with patients who are on public assistance. My paperwork is geared to that reality.

Further, I'm in home health/private duty so I see their homes with my own eyes your somewhat romanticized stereotype about their misery is a fiction. Lots of non-soul-sucking misery abounding. Is there some misery? Of course! It's called the human condition.

If I couldn't pay the rent as a result of the half-pay and get evicted do I qualify for having fallen out of the wrong uterus at that point and you won't snidely accuse me and others of "not giving the best care" to low-income people? I guess you have everyone all neatly packaged up there! It's nice to feel all warm and glowy.

They are usually miserable and don't know how to get out because their parents and grandparents grew up in the same situation. If the only good thing in their life is a smart phone, so what.

That's really insulting to the people you are rhapsodizing. Poor dears. For God's sake, let them have an iphone. It will help to pass the time they would otherwise spend sitting there in the crummy projects they don't know how to get out of.

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We're talking about system-wide issues that affect all of us. A few months ago I worked for 2 months with half my usual pay because my state was simply SOL - noooo money. It most certainly is connected to waste and fraud in the system. So yeah, I'd say it was my business. How do I know? I only work with patients who are on public assistance. My paperwork is geared to that reality.

Your state isn't broke because of welfare. It's broke because they invested their money with businesses that tried to get rich off crappy prepacked housing loans and when the whole system collapsed, so did your states money. The part that doesn't make any sense though is that you don't want people on public assistance to access health care yet you only work with that population? Wouldn't that cause you to have no job? You worked on half your usual pay cause they knew you would do it and instead of being mad at them, your mad at your own clients. That's the trick to this whole thing, screw everyone over and then get them to blame themselves instead of the people who are really at fault. But if you think we are in a recession because of people on public assistance, and your educated, we are really screwed. Your probably a republican too.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

When you do not have to pay for ER services. Emergency rooms become 24/7 urgent care centers. The Healthcare system is broken. But no one can agree how to fix it.

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Specializes in Peds Medical Floor.

Your state isn't broke because of welfare. It's broke because they invested their money with businesses that tried to get rich off crappy prepacked housing loans and when the whole system collapsed, so did your states money. The part that doesn't make any sense though is that you don't want people on public assistance to access health care yet you only work with that population? Wouldn't that cause you to have no job? You worked on half your usual pay cause they knew you would do it and instead of being mad at them, your mad at your own clients. That's the trick to this whole thing, screw everyone over and then get them to blame themselves instead of the people who are really at fault. But if you think we are in a recession because of people on public assistance, and your educated, we are really screwed. Your probably a republican too.[/quote]

Was that really necessary???

I have no problem providing health care, food stamps, etc to people who are down on their luck temporarily. An example of what I have a problem with:

10 years ago I was going to school to be a teacher. My parents made enough money (I came from a divorced household where the mother was a high school drop out who became an LPN and father who only had a high school degree. They worked very hard to better their lives. My dad used to work 2-3 jobs and still found time for us.) that I got $100 a semester at a school that was $5000 a semester. I worked one job while in college and 2 jobs during my breaks. I worked full time in a day care and part time at a convenience store. 60 hours a week during my summer vacation. Most of the kids at the day care had their care paid for with tax dollars. I'm good with that. The problem I had was when a woman with 3 different kids who got free day care for all 3 came into the convenience store wearing high end clothing, nails professionally done, hair done, jewelry....she had come to the store in a brand spanking new pick up truck with a horse trailer on the back that she informed me held her two horses. Then she paid for the food with food stamps. Working the system, yeah. Teaching the kids intentionally or not.

In college I had a roommate who got free college because her mother had 4 kids and didn't make any money. Too bad her mom's bf who made over $100,000 a year lived with them. She told me they were waiting to get married until all 4 kids went to college. My roommate also drove a brand spanking new truck. I actually received a wedding invitation after she graduated.

THAT'S what I have a problem with. Why can't they learn to deal with less? I came from a family that would have qualified for welfare when I was young but instead my parents' worked very hard to improve their lives. We literally did not have a television the first 8 years of my life because we couldn't afford it. I didn't die. I learned to entertain myself. Then as an adult I worked full time while going to nursing school because that's the only way I could do it.

Drives me nuts.:uhoh3::uhoh3::uhoh3:

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Knock off the personal comments, or this thread will be closed. Thanks.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, ER.
Knock off the personal comments, or this thread will be closed. Thanks.

Lunah, can you just close it? It went from being a benign discussion to being completely inflammatory, which was not my intent when I started it. I don't see it going anywhere good from here. Thanks.

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Specializes in NICU, Peds.
I wish all emergency departments could and would turn away people that can't pay? Harsh? Oh well...

yes, because sick people shouldn't be treated because they have no money. Only those with money deserve to recieve healthcare.

Revolting attitude.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Closing thread. Thanks.

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