I have been in the ER for 5 1/2 years, yet people still completely shock me with their stupid comments. So 3 vents for me....
1. "I don't have the money" when I asked WHY the child was 2 years behind on shots..Yet, the mother had a Blackberry, Coach purse, VERY nice nails and clothes. And tylenol and motrin (according to her) are the same thing and cost a lot of money. WHAT?!?!?! I just don't understand WHY these people even have the nerve to say "I don't have any money" when clearly they have money for things they WANT and not what the child NEEDS! She looked at me like I had 15 heads when I told her there are TONS of free clinics, etc.
2. "I'm allergic to Latex so that is why I have a ton of kids." OK--first of all, I'm just asking "are you allergic to latex" not if you have a ton of kids. So I bounced back with the comment "There are non-latex condoms." VERY quickly he said "They are too much money." PRETTY SURE KIDS COST MORE!!! But then again, I'm "paying for them"....
3. Patient comes in for a follow up..stating he didn't have a ride to the specialist follow up appointment...so HOW did you get to the ER???
Clearly these people need a wake up call, but no one wants to do that...We just baby them / spoon feed these people over and over. I work all of the time to pay for everything I have...and I still don't have half of what these people bring in with them that are saying "I don't have the money."
Craziness is all I can think of when I'm leaving work....
MWBoswell, I'm coming to work where you are. I don't know about "them", but you are definitely living better than me!:wink2: I have 2 cars (they are both 7 years old and neither paid for) there are times when I can't drive my car to work because I am out of gas and can't fill up and have to drive hubby's to work until pay day, I haven't been able to go anywhere on vacation in the last year because we can't afford it (yes, I have a small amt of paid time off saved), people who don't have insurance in this country can get free healthcare through medicare/medicaid, etc (I have insurance but it is VERY expensive although I work in the healthcare system), if I call in for a shift it is not covered and this makes my coworkers bitter (which means we often work sicker than some of the ED pt we are treating "I'll be back with your lortab after I vomit.") I too have a mortage (This means a home, yea!!! And and a mortage that is bleeding us dry, boo!!), I definitely can't afford to pay someone to cut our grass or cigarettes (good thing I don't smoke but I do have grass...dang it!), we get to eat out maybe 1 x every 2 weeks where as my pts seem to make it a daily thing (even if it is fast food) plus many of them get food stamps on which there is no restriction on what you buy as long as it's food (wish I had the same luxury at the grocery store) and it has been in excess of 2 years the last time I was on a plane and I am still paying for the flight on one of my credit cards (which I can't get paid down....dang vet bills!) I never get my nails done, I only get regular hair cuts every few months, and when there is a disaster in my area I don't qualify for any of the freebies FEMA hands out as I have a job. The only people do qualify don't really have any losses because technically everything they have is paid for by the government, but they benefit the most after they evacuate free, stay somewhere free, are provided with free health care and food.....I agree with OP...CRAZY!!!!
That said, really.....where do you work and are you hiring???:wink2:
Oh, and I left out I do have a computer (luxury) but no tivo (you lucky thing!) I don't want to even mention savings as this has been depressing enough!!
I don't know about them, but I definitely have less than half of what you listed. My luxuries are living without a roommate, and a car with AC/power everything, and saving enough/having decent credit to feel secure if a short term emergency cropped up. Yes, if there was something that I really had my heart set on I could have it, but mostly I make do so I can be sure to meet my personal responsibilities. High on the list of those responsibilities is making sure my family and I are healthy, and being ready for short term minor illnesses. Most people keep OTC meds at home like Tylenol, and have ginger ale, soup, and popsicles, or some substitute, and have educated themselves on what to do.
Exactly....I got your point.....and agree with you.
What this comes down to is......The Emergency Department is for emergencies.....we all know that, and we all know that there is abuse daily to the system. I'm tired of trying to bite my tongue when someone comes into the ED with minor ailments and excuses that they have no friends or family to come and get them after their (free) treatment is completed.
I'm tired of this entitlement mentality that the abusers wear proudly on their chests. I'm tired of people trying to make me feel guilty that I am sick of the moochers out there.
We have a gentlemen who comes to the ED at least 3 times a week. (He has no insurance, no job, and no-one or so he says that can come and pick him up) He is abusing the system plain and simple....He's a really nice guy and respectful to the staff but it (bothers) me that he does this.
In the end, the tax payers are paying for his visits. When my husband recently avulsed his elbow, severing artery,nerve,tendon,muscle, tissue and required emergency surgery......my insurance didn't pay for everything...I will be forced to pay the extra. My insurance rates are higher because of people like that kind gentelman who abuses the system. It stinks, it sucks....and I am sick of it!
We have a gentlemen who comes to the ED at least 3 times a week. (He has no insurance, no job, and no-one or so he says that can come and pick him up) He is abusing the system plain and simple....He's a really nice guy and respectful to the staff but it (bothers) me that he does this.
That's my biggest pet peeve, even more than the FF with insurance looking for narcs. I hae a few of these also, mostly they are lonely and looking for someone to talk to. Several are on disability for BS reasons (the "back pain" reason is common, but yet they have no prob sitting in the WR for several hours, but can't sit at a desk job???) and while most of them are nice and kind to the staff, they utilize EMS and our resources - resources we all know are better spent with potential-emergent or emergent pts. They are one reason I'd love to see adult day care programs in every community. It would ba a lot cheaper for the government (or us!) to pay for that than an EMS call and ED visit a few times a week.
What is your point? I am confused, or maybe just sleep-deprived.
I don't think it's fair to compare our healthcare in the U.S. to the case cited. That man's death may or may not have been due to lack of emergency care. Was there an autopsy? Who helped him get up to his weight of 990 lbs? Who enabled him to stay in his room (who fed, cleaned, toileted him?). There's more to this than what's in the article.
It was the fact that in 3rd world nations people are transported in the back of pickups.....just like the USA.
Quote from awsmom on previous page: "It was the fact that in 3rd world nations people are transported in the back of pickups.....just like the USA."
Do you not believe that this patient and his enablers had a responsibility to seek care months or years earlier, before his size made transport by any other means impossible?
Where is the dignity in failing to seek assistance for a modifiable condition before one becomes incapable of meeting one's own basic needs for mobility, toileting, food and hygiene? Is it the responsibility of the community to purchase and adapt (at great expense) such a vehicle that would not be needed or used by any other member of the community?
Guess the point here is that riding in the back of a pick up because you are too obese to ride in the inside is undignified/embarassing (aside from unsafe.) My issue with this is that surely the other aspects of this man's life are undignified. Having a BM where you lay, having someone have to wipe your behind, being given bath by your wife, having someone bring you food, wait on you hand and foot, etc, not because it's fun or they want to but because you can't, because you eat too much and don't move around, at all. Where's the dignity in the other parts of his day? I felt really bad for the nursing staff who had to deal with this. No matter what they did, it would have been considered wrong. I just don't know about admitting him until better arrangements could be made. We are always boarding admits in the ED. This just doesn't seem fair to anyone. What happened to being responsible for yourself? I would never sue someone else because I didn't want to assume responsibility for my own transportation around. Sometimes I just want to wheel the pt, stretcher and all out the front door and say "DEAL WITH IT!!" I think they some how would find a way home...
Specializes in ED, Tele, Med/surg, Psych, correctional.
I agree with many of the posts here. I recognize that I may have it better than some of my patients and it is true that having a cell phone or driving a fancy car doesn't always represent the big picture. However, this is what I have a problem with: it's a little thing called personal responsibility and prioritizing. I have been on both sides of this issue. As a single mother attending school at night and working full-time during the day at a minimum wage job I qualified for Medicaid and made full use of scholarship and government grants to get by. I have been in situations where I had to choose between filling the oiltank for heat and eating. I've lived a few days heating the house with the gas stove (since that's usually the last thing they cut off). I perservered and graduated from nursing school 10 yrs ago and have been much better off since. So, therefore, I have little tolerance for those who want to whine and complain about how they can't afford this and that but yet walk around with a new manicure and a cell phone. Don't come into my ER, having not taken your insulin for a week because "you don't have insurance and can't afford it" yet you have a beautiful mani/pedi and gold dripping off your neck and wrists. Since when is it acceptable to allow people to completely disregard their own healthcare and waste their money on things they don't need. If they had purchased their insulin and taken better care of themselves, they wouldn't need to be in the ER in the first place. Walmart and Target have programs now that cover most major medications for less than $5. Don't tell me they can't afford $5 when they walk in with a McDonald's bag of food that costs more than that. And if you have $5 in your pocket and have to choose between food and medication...buy a 75 cent can of tunafish and buy your medication. Water is free and a jar of peanut butter or can of tunafish will keep you alive until you can scrounge up a buck or two for something more substantial..If it's really THAT bad..go to the local food pantry and get food. DO NOT waste your money on BS you don't need before you have purchsed the essentials things: food, shelter, clothing and MEDICATION come before manicures, cell phones, and Burger King.
I think we are enabling the people on public aid!! They have the money for the nice clothes, their smokes, and food, but heaven forbid they have to buy their child tylenol!! They always want a script for it!! Oh, and please call it in or fax it because we just don't have the time to wait for the pharmacy to fill it!! If we as nurses try to educate the parents on the risks of smoking around the children, or that a bottle of generic tylenol is less than a pack of cigarettes they complain to administration about how rude we are!! And we are going to have a "national healthcare" plan, good luck with that!!
ThrowEdNurse, BSN, RN
298 Posts
MWBoswell, I'm coming to work where you are. I don't know about "them", but you are definitely living better than me!:wink2: I have 2 cars (they are both 7 years old and neither paid for) there are times when I can't drive my car to work because I am out of gas and can't fill up and have to drive hubby's to work until pay day, I haven't been able to go anywhere on vacation in the last year because we can't afford it (yes, I have a small amt of paid time off saved), people who don't have insurance in this country can get free healthcare through medicare/medicaid, etc (I have insurance but it is VERY expensive although I work in the healthcare system), if I call in for a shift it is not covered and this makes my coworkers bitter (which means we often work sicker than some of the ED pt we are treating "I'll be back with your lortab after I vomit.") I too have a mortage (This means a home, yea!!! And and a mortage that is bleeding us dry, boo!!), I definitely can't afford to pay someone to cut our grass or cigarettes (good thing I don't smoke but I do have grass...dang it!), we get to eat out maybe 1 x every 2 weeks where as my pts seem to make it a daily thing (even if it is fast food) plus many of them get food stamps on which there is no restriction on what you buy as long as it's food (wish I had the same luxury at the grocery store) and it has been in excess of 2 years the last time I was on a plane and I am still paying for the flight on one of my credit cards (which I can't get paid down....dang vet bills!) I never get my nails done, I only get regular hair cuts every few months, and when there is a disaster in my area I don't qualify for any of the freebies FEMA hands out as I have a job. The only people do qualify don't really have any losses because technically everything they have is paid for by the government, but they benefit the most after they evacuate free, stay somewhere free, are provided with free health care and food.....I agree with OP...CRAZY!!!!
That said, really.....where do you work and are you hiring???:wink2: