I feel like we are rapidly reaching jump ship level. My own sister (in her 40s with 4 kids and natural born Texas/US citizen) is actively migrating her family to Canada next year. Her daughter with a clef pallet cost her family 90K last year WITH insurance. Her husband makes $150K a year, so they managed...but Christ! My sister is so serious that she already submitted all her immigration papers and is waiting to hear back.
I work in a clinic. The ER at the hospital I work for has sent critical patients to our clinic because they 1) apparently have no staff that know how to evaluate for a emergency (I say this having 8 years ER experience under my belt). I had a patient go to the ER twice in 24 hours for urinary pain, bleeding 1 week post op. They sent him to the clinic pale AF, orthostatic blood pressure 80/40, bladder scan showed 330 after voiding (ended up being a giant number of clots that I got to try to hand irrigate in the OFFICE!). The ER did a UA at both visits and NOTHING ELSE.
You might want to say this is my institution in particular...however I haven't held a job at 1 institution for more than 3 years. I've traveled. So, yes, there are better and worse.....but they are ALL getting worse. Process improvement usually involve trying to make up care gaps with unlicensed, under educated, unqualified people OR have one qualified person do the work of 3-4 people (both of which create gross care gaps).
I wish I could go with my sister. This has only gotten worse in the 15 years I've been a nurse. I'm not proud of my field.
Here's your clarification: I knew what was wrong with me (dehydration) and how to fix it (fluids), so knowing that I skipped the unnecessary parts and if I saved anybody money it was for the insurance company. I know enough to direct my own care and can argue effectively to do so, and like I said nobody challenged my decisions. There are advantages to being on the inside but it still took hours to get that fluid in me.
Here's your clarification: I knew what was wrong with me (dehydration) and how to fix it (fluids), so knowing that I skipped the unnecessary parts and if I saved anybody money it was for the insurance company. I know enough to direct my own care and can argue effectively to do so, and like I said nobody challenged my decisions. There are advantages to being on the inside but it still took hours to get that fluid in me.
I would have taken IVbags home and done it myself:)
Pursuit of profit takes priority over patient needs in a broken system.
I have a friend in Toronto who had a heart attack a few weeks ago and she got her cath fairly quickly and signed up for the protocol. She said the only difference between US and Canada is that she had 2 roommates. When I was admitted to the cardiac unit here in MI. my room was a third if the size of my house . All the rooms were private on the unit. I had this enormous room but only saw the RN twice a shift. Fortunately I could fend for myself.
I would have taken IV bags home and done it myself:)
That was the original plan but with a HR of 150 Heather refused to start an IV, can't blame her, so I registered for treatment. Did I mention that it took over 3 liters before I peed? I intended to leave the access in and take a few bags home but Cheryl placed the IV unnecessarily deep and it went bad.
That was the original plan but with a HR of 150 Heather refused to start an IV, can't blame her, so I registered for treatment. Did I mention that it took over 3 liters before I peed? I intended to leave the access in and take a few bags home but Cheryl placed the IV unnecessarily deep and it went bad.
Ouch! I passed out at work when the air-conditioning was down in the OR. I got scooped up and taken to the anesthesia office's sofa, a 16 gadget catheter and 3 liters very quickly. I was on a 24 hour shift and my supervisor told me as soon as I peed and my speech wasn't slurred, I could go back to work. That was around 1990 and things were laxer. Never had I been colder! Actually, I wouldn't send anyone out of the hospital with HR of 150 even if you were young and could take a joke.
floydnightingale
65 Posts
Here's your clarification: I knew what was wrong with me (dehydration) and how to fix it (fluids), so knowing that I skipped the unnecessary parts and if I saved anybody money it was for the insurance company. I know enough to direct my own care and can argue effectively to do so, and like I said nobody challenged my decisions. There are advantages to being on the inside but it still took hours to get that fluid in me.