I have read many different postings on various boards here where nurses seem to think it is OK for patients to wait for hours for pain and nausea medication. Well, it is NOT OK. Just because some other patient has a "life-threatening" ailment does not in the least justify having someone in agonizing pain and/or nausea lying in misery for hours. Many of these so-called "emergencies" that get triaged to the top are lifestyle-induced from obesity, smoking, drinking, drug abuse, and reckless driving. On the other hand, certain other illnesses in which the patient suffers severe pain are NOT due to lifestyle factors; they are random misfortunes that the patient did not create.
Nurses and other health care workers (excluding those who are solely private pay) are obligated to serve the public, and that means patients and their families and visitors.
I have read that one of the jobs of nurses is to "educate" patients about their disease and to provide emotional support and counseling about managing their illness. Funny thing, but when my loved one was in the hospital they received zero support or information from the nurses. All of the information was from the DOCTORS and the Internet.
