I never realized we are all in the same boat!

Specialties Emergency

Published

I was just browsing these boards and I read posts from all over the country and things are pretty much the same everywhere!

I see these things all the time and I think they are universal throught our ED's..these are my observations please tell me if you disagree or if you have had similar experiences.

1. Everyone wants a meal when they come to the ED usually after 9 pm.

2. Ever notice how many people have cell phones and use them in the department with signs posted everywhere in five different languages not to use them?

3. Have you gone through a shift without using the bathroom?

4. Isn't the onset and reaction from the blue looking herion OD to IVP Narcan the coolest thing in the world!

5. Do you get broken hearted when patients tell you "If that doctor doesnt get in here in five minutes. I AM LEAVING!"

6. How many patients have you seen with the chief complaint of Nausea and abd pain that were drinking soda and eating frito's.

7. How many times a day are you asked "How long is it until the doctor see's me?"

8. On busy days when the strechers are lining the hallways and the patients reach out to you and grab you as you walk by. Do you feel like Richard Dreyfus entering the space ship in Close Encounters of the Third Kind?

9. How many times a day do you hear a Doc say "Where is the chart for room 8?" and it is either in front of him or in his hand.

10. Isnt it amazing that people will go through a complete Abd workup and all they wanted was a HCG Quant?

11. Ever woke a patient up from a snoring deep sleep to have them tell you their pain is a 10/10 (pain is truly subjective!)

12. Ever treat a child with a fever of 103 and vomiting who's parents tried homopathy and gave the child baths in rosehips and tried every natural remedy under the sun, and you promptly shove tylenol up their butt?

13. Would you drop dead of an MI if someone covered their mouth while coughing instead of coughing directly into your face.

There are just some thoughts and observations. I am sure their are many more universal ED facts that will come out. These are the ones on the top of my head.

Had a lady come in to our ED with c/o abd pain. Brought an empty oreo cookie bag with her. Said her husband ate a couple, and she ate the rest of the bag. Wanted to test the crumbs because they must have made her sick. You mean if you eat the whole bag of oreos you might have abd pain?

Did you ever ask a patient what their medical conditions were and they answered,"None. I don't have anything wrong with me."?

Then you ask what if any medications they are on and they give you a 2 page list. When trying to make sense of it all, you ask why they think they are taking all these pills and they retort, "BECAUSE MY DOCTOR TELLS ME TO ,OF COURSE"

I have a question. Why is the first thing some pts ask is, " how long is the wait?" If it was bad enough to bring you to the ED, isn't it bad enough to wait a few minutes? And how did the public get the idea that ED care is fast? we are open 24/7 - 365. we promise the best possible care we can provide. It says nothing about all of this taking place in one hour!! We spend so much time apologizing for the wait ( an attempt to improve pt satisfaction levels). Does anyone else get impatient with impatient patients?

Originally posted by TexNurse

Had a lady come in to our ED with c/o abd pain. Brought an empty oreo cookie bag with her. Said her husband ate a couple, and she ate the rest of the bag. Wanted to test the crumbs because they must have made her sick. You mean if you eat the whole bag of oreos you might have abd pain?

:chuckle you guys are NOT making me look forward to returning to work tonite.....been off 4 wks post-op, this will be my first shift back and spent in triage due to wgt lifting restriction:o ....l hate triage.....sometimes l feel l am catagorizing by level of stupidity rather that level of emergency:( ....well, l'm off.....LR

I REALLY hate these questions from ESD pnts, "How long will it be for lab results to come back?" "How long till the xray results come back?" "How long till the doctor sees me?" "Can't I have something for pain before the doctor sees me?". "Can I have those slipper socks, toothbrush?"!!!! "I've been waiting for 2 hours, when do I get something to eat?" Unbelievable. I do my best to answer questions and do what I can for pnts, but when it constantly interferes with the work of an ESD RN it gives me a bad attitude, which gives the pnts a bad attitude, that's the tough part of the ER, I think. Not sure of viable solution..*sigh*

just ONCE l'd like to look them in the eye and say "l don't know and l don't care."...Maybe when l win the lottery......LR

Originally posted by l.rae

just ONCE l'd like to look them in the eye and say "l don't know and l don't care."...Maybe when l win the lottery......LR

Woot! Spoken like true ED nurse!

Or as "Wayne" says, "Yeah, and maybe monkeys will fly out my butt..."

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

Howdy yall

from deep in the heart of texas

Well I.rae your right

I do find myself humming

I dont know

I dont care

just please, please

have on clean underwear

keep it in the short grass yall

How bout the pregnant -20 weeks- frequent flyer who calls the ambulance (doesn't have a car) at 0200 with UTI!!! This happened twice with the same couple - both times they had just had sex and flared up UTI symptoms. After treatment they ask for a ride home!

Specializes in Emergency Room/corrections.

hahaha... this is all so true.. Did I miss it or have we forgot to mention the patients that have come in by EMS and immediately have to pee??

Or the ones who have had the ever emergent sore throat for 3 weeks and NOW it is an emergency at 0300???

At 6 o'clock one morning a woman arrives by ambulance to our ED. Her only complaint is that she can't remember whether or not she has taken her antianxiety pill. "I'm supposed to take them every 8 hours. I woke up and can't remember if I took one last night!" Seeing that she was absolutely convinced that a doctor needed to intervene in this case, I questioned her re: her concerns. How anxious was she feeling? "I'm not anxious at all." Why did she feel that she had to call an ambulance? "I needed a ride to the hospital!" Could she have called someone to bring her?" No one is up that early. "Could she have called a taxi? "No! They cost MONEY!" Of course, how did I miss that point? Fortunate for all of us, ambulance rides in our part of the country must be free. And we wonder why our county is going bankrupt!

Now you know why our E.D.'s triage is known as "THE PENALTY BOX."

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