It's FRUSTRATING that....

[ernoc333]

:banghead:It's frustrating when during Triage, a 23 year old will arrive with his mommy, and she won't let him answer questions. For example, Me to the patient: "Can you rate your Sore Throat Pain on a zero to ten scale?" Mommy: "Oh it's more than ten". Me to the patient, "Can I ask YOU to tell me what number YOU think it is?" Mommy: "I said it's more than a ten!" Patient: "No it's not that much, it's more like a 2."

:banghead:It's also frustrating when the ER is extremely busy with many critical patients, many very sick arrivals, it never fails, nightly someone will drive up to the waiting area ramp, run out of their car, screaming for a Nurse to extricate their very sick friend or family member by gurney. I'm forced to temporarily abandon my Triage post to go to the car, where I find the "BLEEDING!" patient to actually be Chief Complaint: Stubbed Toe with very superficial abrasion, very slight oozing, requesting wheelchair or gurney extrication service. Then 12 people jump on me, shouting their history stories all at once. Then when I have them wait in the waiting room, as my Cardiac Chest Pain waiting patiently for me to finish the Extrication in Triage, needs the ONE available bed...these people become terribly irate and demand that their friend/family member is far sicker and should go back first. It's more frustrating when the Cardiac Chest Pain patient, who was there first and needs to go in first, feels bad for these people and says, "it's ok, I can wait, let them go first," and the Toe patient and their concerned significant others hear this. UGH.

:banghead:It's frustrating that there's a HUGE Disparity in the Community about what Entails Sick versus Not Sick. Ie: Dire Medical Emergency versus Nothing Wrong. Some people will arrive to the ER with their Dire Medical Emergency as Rectal Bleeding for 2 days, unable to stand up without losing consciousness, and that IS a Dire Emergency. Some other people will arrive to the ER with their Dire Medical Emergency as Fever 98.9 and Itchy Throat for 1/2 hour prior to arrival, and that is NOT a Dire Medical Emergency. The frustrating part is that Not Sick people who consider their problem to be a Dire Medical Emergency expect the same Attention and Treatment as people who are Truly Sick with Dire Medical Emergencies. How did our Society ever get this Entitled and Selfish where someone who is totally WELL, YOUNG and HEALTHY expects to come before someone who is Criticaially Ill and Fighting for their Lives?

I:banghead:t's frustrating that NOT SICK people misuse the ER so much, are the ones who complain the most, are more likely to Sue Healthcare Providers, and hence, we have to cater so much to the Not Sick patients, much to the Detriment of Truly Sick Patients. This all goes back to Selfishness and Entitlement.

:banghead:It's frustrating to know that the patient who comes 1-3 times weekly to the ER with Chief Complaint Abdominal Pain, has had 60+ NEGATIVE Full Workups, all of which included IV, Labs, Urnialyses, Pan Cultures, Acute Abdominal X Rays with Chest X Ray, Abdominal CT with Contrast, Pelvic Exam, Pelvic Ultrasound, IV Pain Medications, etc...at our Hospital ER ALONE (not to mention the same patient is a regular at other surrounding hospitals, receiving Diagnostic Studies there too)....has been exposed to SO MUCH Radiation, that one of these days he or she WILL have a Positive Scan showing a new Malignancy from all of the Radiation Exposure (a CT scan has what, 1000 times the radiation as an Abdominal X Ray?). It's more frustrating when trying to advocate for the patient by asking for a Care Plan to minimize Teratogenic Exposure, only to be shot down.

[squeakykitty]

This should be in the letters to the editor section in every newspaper in the country.

[Zookeeper3]

It's frustrating that every taxpayer doesn't spend their friday night in the local ER and then cease to wonder about the need for medicade / insurance reform.

[squeakykitty]

The only reform I'm with is smacking "selfish entitled" people upside the head. I personally think it would be cheaper in the long run than what the government is trying to come up with. (I have never understood why people go to the doctor for a cold or the sniffles.)

[Miss Chybil RN, BSN, RN]

ernoc333, I notice in the other two posts you've started you seem to be very frustrated by patients in the ED. Now, that I've read this post it's quite clear. You even state so in the title. Maybe, you should take a little break? Perhaps you could move into a part of the hospital where most of the patients have been verified sick. Post-op might be perfect for you, as surely nobody can fake a surgery and having one's chest flayed, or parts removed is clearly painful and you would never have to wonder if you're giving pain meds to someone who isn't hurting enough. Of course, you'd always have those patients who think having their uterus removed is much more painful than a lobectomy, or something, you'd have to watch out for them, but on the whole, you may find it a much more satisfying experience.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

ernoc333, I notice in the other two posts you've started you seem to be very frustrated by patients in the ED. Now, that I've read this post it's quite clear. You even state so in the title. Maybe, you should take a little break? Perhaps you could move into a part of the hospital where most of the patients have been verified sick. Post-op might be perfect for you, as surely nobody can fake a surgery and having one's chest flayed, or parts removed is clearly painful and you would never have to wonder if you're giving pain meds to someone who isn't hurting enough. Of course, you'd always have those patients who think having their uterus removed is much more painful than a lobectomy, or something, you'd have to watch out for them, but on the whole, you may find it a much more satisfying experience.

please check what sub forum you are posting to.....

[Miss Chybil RN, BSN, RN]

please check what sub forum you are posting to.....

You're right. I didn't notice. Just noticed the theme of ernoc333's posts. It's all tongue in cheek anyway.

[sasha2lady]

Hmmm.....man this brings me to something I observed just this past week....one of our aides...who mind you works part time and has 6 kids....lives on the system for everything..the only thing that we dont pay for ..is her car insurance and gas on her new escalade....ok......she got stung by a bee...and we all know what NORMAL bee stings do...they hurt...they swell a lil bit and then they go away.....she worked our shift then went to the ER....they told her to take benadryl and motrin....that didnt satisfy her..she came to work the next night and said she was going back to the ER because "they didnt do nothing for this arm....I need a shot"...a shot of what????????????????????????? I didnt even see any swelling anymore...nothing except a tiny place where the stinger was. I told her to go to a regular doctor and skip the ER because people who are actually in need of it should be there.....and unless her bee sting caused inability to breathe or swollen lips etc......a shot wont fix ya! ....makes me so mad...she does this kind of thing all the time!

[ernoc333]

please check what sub forum you are posting to.....

Thanks Morte.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Thanks Morte.

most welcome.....i have done it myself .....not on the humor ones.......lol but i have sort of put my foot in it...

[dansamy]

Of course, you'd always have those patients who think having their uterus removed is much more painful than a lobectomy, or something, you'd have to watch out for them, but on the whole, you may find it a much more satisfying experience.

Ummmm.....they both involve quite a bit of injury and insult to the surrounding musculature. Both surgeries are painful. I certainly hope you are not diminishing or belittling a woman's pain from a hyst. And uterine embolizations hurt a lot worse (usually) than the hyst patients and OMG we didn't even remove any of their parts!!

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Ummmm.....they both involve quite a bit of injury and insult to the surrounding musculature. Both surgeries are painful. I certainly hope you are not diminishing or belittling a woman's pain from a hyst. And uterine embolizations hurt a lot worse (usually) than the hyst patients and OMG we didn't even remove any of their parts!!

she/he was being sarcastic, please read their next post.....