I didn't know this actually happened

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

Had a patient who called 911 for her water breaking at full term.

I mentioned it to another nurse who was like "and why are you surprised by that?"

i didn't know people actually did that. Not an emergency!!

maybe she didnt have a car, that i get. but, how did the rest of her family arrive shortly after?

Specializes in Med-Surg.

i have to pay for my insurance, and the co-pays, and the deductables, and 20% of what's left, and for the prescriptions..... all the while my tax dollars go to those who don't pay a dime. the least they could do is not abuse the gift!

it must be nice not to have to worry about how much health care costs.

i can guarantee you there are people who have used the "gift" of taxpayer funded healthcare who have worked their entire lives and paid into the taxpayer system until they got sick!

it seems weird to me so many people are worried somebody might get a free ride to the hospital on their taxpayer dime, but nobody cares about how many of our taxpayer dimes go to blow other people up.

you don't know how a particular person's healthcare bill is being paid. if i saw you roll into the hospital in an ambulance, i might not know you had private insurance, but if i did, i'm sure i'd think you were a better person for it. (/sarcasm)

that's my vent.

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i can guarantee you there are people who have used the "gift" of taxpayer funded healthcare who have worked their entire lives and paid into the taxpayer system until they got sick!

it seems weird to me so many people are worried somebody might get a free ride to the hospital on their taxpayer dime, but nobody cares about how many of our taxpayer dimes go to blow other people up.

you don't know how a particular person's healthcare bill is being paid. if i saw you roll into the hospital in an ambulance, i might not know you had private insurance, but if i did, i'm sure i'd think you were a better person for it. (/sarcasm)

that's my vent.

it's not about being better than anyone. it's about the attitude that some people on public assistance have and how they abuse the system.

i treat all my patients well, regardless of insurance coverage. but that doesn't mean i have no right to feel mad when they give me attitude and blatantly abuse the system.

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It seems weird to me so many people are worried somebody might get a free ride to the hospital on their taxpayer dime, but nobody cares about how many of our taxpayer dimes go to blow other people up.

Because that's not what this thread is about. There is a forum for that too.

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because that's not what this thread is about. there is a forum for that too.

right. how does that relate anyway. lol

i should add, since i was so outspoken before, that i have no problem with people using public assistance the way it was intended to be used.

i even qualified for wic for a while when i was staying home, and we were really struggling to make ends meet. i did it mostly to get the free loaner breast pump to pump milk for my twin who couldn't nurse well. i pumped 4 or 5 times a day for 5 months so he could get breastmilk. i couldn't have afforded to rent a medical grade pump for that long. (a cheap, grocery store pump would not have been adequate for that type of pumping situation)

the point is, though, that when the time came that i didn't need their services anymore, i returned the pump and didn't go back to requalify.

a person who has 'worked all their life' and now is infirm, or the truly disabled, etc.etc... and needs public assitance to get by is not the type of person i am venting about.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
right. how does that relate anyway. lol

i should add, since i was so outspoken before, that i have no problem with people using public assistance the way it was intended to be used.

i even qualified for wic for a while when i was staying home, and we were really struggling to make ends meet. i did it mostly to get the free loaner breast pump to pump milk for my twin who couldn't nurse well. i pumped 4 or 5 times a day for 5 months so he could get breastmilk. i couldn't have afforded to rent a medical grade pump for that long. (a cheap, grocery store pump would not have been adequate for that type of pumping situation)

the point is, though, that when the time came that i didn't need their services anymore, i returned the pump and didn't go back to requalify.

a person who has 'worked all their life' and now is infirm, or the truly disabled, etc.etc... and needs public assitance to get by is not the type of person i am venting about.

and how do you know the people who come to the hospital aren't in the same boat you were in when you had to use wic? unless you're their social worker, or live inside their house, i doubt you have the insight or resources to judge whether the person is trying to "get by," or is milking the system.

i had to use wic, too and afdc and food stamps and ahcccs (az form of medicaid.) i had to use all of this after i'd spent 9 years serving my country and found it a bit hard to get a job while i was pregnant. i stayed home 3 months after my son was born in order to be his mother. i didn't have very nice clothes, or a very nice car, nor a luxury condo. i bet a lot of folks thought i was abusing the system without knowing i was going back to work in a few months. after i went back to work, i had to use the state's assistance in paying for my childcare for a year because i wasn't making enough money to pay for childcare. that year gave me the boost i needed to get back on my feet and i have worked my butt off ever since. six years after my son was born, i bought my own home. i pay taxes just like i did before i needed help. thank you, arizona and america for helping me out!

i'm sure, though, while i was on "the dole," (i had to live on $256.00 per month in afdc and another $200.00 in food stamps - boy, those were the days!), some nurse begrudged me for taking something from her taxpayer wallet everytime i went in for prenatal care, or when i went to deliver. thank god, i didn't need to take the ambulance to the hospital.

judge not, lest ye be judged.

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wow... this thread has really gotten off course. how did we go from the mom who comes by ambulance for losing her mucous plug (no contractions) to this?!

we're just venting. please, get over it.

besides, the scenario you described is not the type i'm venting about. that is what the system was designed for, and i'm very happy to have people use my tax dollars in that way. belive it or not, i am actually a very generous person when someone is in need.

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Specializes in NICU.
And how do you know the people who come to the hospital aren't in the same boat you were in when you had to use WIC?

When they ARE ungrateful! Some patients do and say things and act in a way that is very ungrateful. I think that's what people are venting about. Like the woman that comes in, having her 9th baby, is on full public assistance, and expects you to wait on her hand and foot and is rude. She's not grateful, she thinks this is owed to her.

That's what people are venting about ..... not the people that are grateful.

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when they are ungrateful! some patients do and say things and act in a way that is very ungrateful. i think that's what people are venting about. like the woman that comes in, having her 9th baby, is on full public assistance, and expects you to wait on her hand and foot and is rude. she's not grateful, she thinks this is owed to her.

that's what people are venting about ..... not the people that are grateful.

thank you. nicely put.

i think chybil is either not a nurse, or does not deal with many folks on public assitance where she works. if she was or did, she'd understand the need to vent and not take it so personally. perhaps some of these threads need to be restricted to nurses only.

it's not the fact that people are simply on public assistance that bugs me. i know that there are those who need it and don't abuse it. it's the one's who never bother to get prenatal care, who call 911 when there is clearly no emergency, who loot the crib bare every chance they get, who rudely treat me like their personal servant and not the skilled nurse i am, who gripe when they don't get a private room like it's something to which they are entitled, and who have the attitude that they are owed a free ride instead of being grateful for the care and free services available to them. those are the ones i'm venting about.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
When they ARE ungrateful! Some patients do and say things and act in a way that is very ungrateful. I think that's what people are venting about. Like the woman that comes in, having her 9th baby, is on full public assistance, and expects you to wait on her hand and foot and is rude. She's not grateful, she thinks this is owed to her.

That's what people are venting about ..... not the people that are grateful.

One question... If the lady above was having her ninth baby and had a ton of money in the bank and acted like a "B" would you need to vent about her because of her financial situation? Think about the answer, because I've seen plenty of threads on here with people venting about rich patients wanting people to wait on them hand and foot. You think they'd be grateful for having so much. Maybe, it's not the insurance policy, or lack thereof, that's the problem.

Some people are rude. Some rich people are rude. Some poor people are rude. Some people just get defensive when they feel they're being judged. And maybe, some people get a little too distracted from their jobs by their patients' personal lives.

I'll be done with this thread now.

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i'll be done with this thread now.

that's probably for the best, because you are taking this way too personally. it was meant as a venue from which to vent, not as a personal attack.

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Specializes in NICU.
One question... If the lady above was having her ninth baby and had a ton of money in the bank and acted like a "B" would you need to vent about her because of her financial situation? Think about the answer, because I've seen plenty of threads on here with people venting about rich patients wanting people to wait on them hand and foot. You think they'd be grateful for having so much. Maybe, it's not the insurance policy, or lack thereof, that's the problem.

Some people are rude. Some rich people are rude. Some poor people are rude. Some people just get defensive when they feel they're being judged. And maybe, some people get a little too distracted from their jobs by their patients' personal lives.

I'll be done with this thread now.

I haven't vented about anyone's financial situation. I'd vent because she's an ungrateful witch, lol.

Ungrateful rich patients? Can't stand 'em, that's why I worked at the county hospital. Most of those patients were VERY grateful and I loved that patient population.

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i've taken care of people who were poor & rich. i've taken care of rich people who treated their baby like a fashion accessory and the nurses like waitresses & maids. i've taken care of people who had another baby just for the checks that come with it, and couldn't have cared less about the child. either way, its about their attitude. i don't care about their wallets, but i do care how they treat their babies and, to an extent, how they treat the staff.

it's attitude and abuse of care we're venting about in this thread, not money. it just happens that abuse of care (such as uneccessary ambulance rides - which is where this thread started anyway) is more common within the medicaid crowd - probably because they aren't held responsible for the bill.

maybe the reason this topic is so irritating to me is that we were forced to file bankruptcy last year over medical expenses. i have dovoted the better part of the last 16 years to serving the public as a nurse. forgive me if abuse of medical care is a hot button for me.

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