What do you hate seeing the MOST in the ER!?

Specialties Emergency

Published

What is the thing that you hate seeing in the Emergency Room? Is it kids, traumas, lost causes, frequent flyers or........... What gives you heebeejeebies, Creeps, Chills, gags. Tears, bad taste in your mouth and Pulls your heart strings.

Specializes in Emergency Department.

Vomit. Any kind. I know, it's ridiculous to be an ER nurse and hate vomit, but...I hate it even more than the mean drunks. The days I hear multiple patients retching from the nurses station are the days I wish I had gone to pharmacy school instead. :)

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Specializes in Emergency, Haematology/Oncology.

Vocal vomiting. I will usually say "It does not require your vocal cords to vomit, so stop it". Kind of like calling someone on a fake seizure, "you can stop doing that, we are not interested". Some people seem to think that loud vomiting will get them through the doors quicker. Pseudo seizures are fun though, you just need a bucket of popcorn and some lollies like you are at the movies. I have recently researched some interesting research articles about genuine VS psychogenic seizures. Almost 100% specificity with video EEG, if your eyes are fully closed but not rolled back (and you are not in status or purple in colour) you are not having a seizure. I've discovered that ice cold water works very well when splashed all over the face, seems to cure pseudo seizures, and any drunk who refuses to open their eyes- GCS 10-15 straight away without inflicting pain. My typical Friday night. "just stop doing THAT!".

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Specializes in Med Surg/Tele/ER.

Wimps

Stupid parents

Overdoses

Vomit and sputum....(makes me weak to even type it!)

People with those long dirty thick nails....hands or feet.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

I can cope with a great many things, just get tired of some of it.

But what I hate, upsets me? Abused babies. I just want to beat the bewhatsis out of anyone who can do this to a child.

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The guy(s) that come in wanting a clean syringe at 3am in the morning! I have actually had some even ask for a tourniquet, of course with a clean syringe- and even if it's against policy I do it- I'm an advocate. But, I do always tell them where they can go at a decent hour, a rehab hotline number, and paper on addiction (provided by AA with times of meetings, and call numbers for help. But I had to vent. I AM A HYPOCRITE I KNOW!:banghead:

*I really wish active addicts had a dependable resource to get clean syringes, and if my wife, mom, cousin, friend, etc. was on dope, I would want them to have a clean syringe (and 90 days inpatient tx), but we are not a shooting gallery!

Likelikelikelike. I don't care if it's against policy or not, I'll always hand them out. It's annoying when they roll in and want them, but I know I'm not going to stop that person from shooting up. At least I can help them with harm reduction and hey, you never know, you might have just saved that person from acquiring Hep C or HIV that night by re-using or sharing a needle. Unfortunately, there's no needle exchange program or anything close in my area and we have a TON of IV drug users here, so I always ask my IV drug users if they are using new needles/syringes every time and if not, I'll give them a few, along with some education about quitting (usually it involves personal stories about me or my friends from my days as a drug user to give them something to relate to and show that it's never too late to quit).

Honestly, I think it's every nurse's duty to do this for active IV drug users. It's providing preventive care. I know not everyone will agree with that though.

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
Vocal vomiting. I will usually say "It does not require your vocal cords to vomit, so stop it".

I totally get what you're saying, and I agree with you about the over-dramatizers.

But I'm one of the lucky ones who is physiologically doomed to be a "power-retcher". I have an esophageal disease that results in my lower esophageal sphincter not opening, which means that the stomach has to REALLY push to power on through the LES and up the esophagus. In the past 25+ years, I've never had a bout of vomiting that didn't result in burst blood vessels in my face and eyes. So if I'm ever in your ER and I'm gasping for breath and have tears streaming down my face, please take pity!

Oh yeah, and bring me a garbage can -- I'll projectile right up and over the edge of a wash basin, and don't even think about a standard emesis basin. When I say I need a bigger bucket, I really mean it!!! At home I use a 16-quart stockpot, and sometimes I hit the end of that so hard that it splatters back on my face. If I were a super-hero, my super-power would be POWER-PUKING! Hey, at least I could use my super-hero cape to wipe the vomitus off my face! LOL

We now return you to your regular programming.... ;)

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Specializes in GICU, PICU, CSICU, SICU.
Or when they run out to the nurses station every time their loved one sniffles. AAAAAHHHHHH. That drives me CRAZIER :)

Yours still run? Mine generally just hit the call sign and complain it took a while to get there.

The other day I was sitting at the nursing desk when a MD came up to me to give me some info on what to watch out for on this freaky intox we had (something about delayed reactions) when this woman comes marching up to the desk and intterrupts in a very unfriendly tone "uhm you where is my sister can you tell me?!". I have to add in order to reach the nursing desk you have to speak to someone already because our ER is locked down.

So I answer her "no I will not, and you may take a step back, not listen in on this conversation, practice some patience and politeness and I will be with you when I have time. I'm in the middle of something here". I've never seen someone turn as many shades of red and purple as this woman... I just can't stand people interrupting me anymore when they see you're busy.

I'm just glad that we live in a city where it is common to be very direct to people (patients included) it helps keep the stress low if you can actually tell someone they are a pain in the a**.

The worst cases are crushed eyeballs. Maybe it's just me but there is something wrong when the goo is leaking from your eyes. I'll take the sickest kid any day over a crushed eyeball or having to assist on draining an eyeball.

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Specializes in Emergency, Haematology/Oncology.
I totally get what you're saying, and I agree with you about the over-dramatizers.

But I'm one of the lucky ones who is physiologically doomed to be a "power-retcher". I have an esophageal disease that results in my lower esophageal sphincter not opening, which means that the stomach has to REALLY push to power on through the LES and up the esophagus. In the past 25+ years, I've never had a bout of vomiting that didn't result in burst blood vessels in my face and eyes. So if I'm ever in your ER and I'm gasping for breath and have tears streaming down my face, please take pity!

Oh yeah, and bring me a garbage can -- I'll projectile right up and over the edge of a wash basin, and don't even think about a standard emesis basin. When I say I need a bigger bucket, I really mean it!!! At home I use a 16-quart stockpot, and sometimes I hit the end of that so hard that it splatters back on my face. If I were a super-hero, my super-power would be POWER-PUKING! Hey, at least I could use my super-hero cape to wipe the vomitus off my face! LOL

We now return you to your regular programming.... ;)

Dude.....

I'd be the first one putting in a line and getting you some ondansetron, you would only have to wait for me to put on an apron and some goggles if you are that bad!

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
Dude.....

I'd be the first one putting in a line and getting you some ondansetron, you would only have to wait for me to put on an apron and some goggles if you are that bad!

Might want to go for the full haz-mat suit... when I say I'm a power-puker, I mean it! I can make the scene from The Exorcist look like child's play! :barf01: Never a dull moment when I'm around! ;) (and thanks for the Zofran!)

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Specializes in ER, Outpatient,.

LAZY NURSES!!!!!! That is what I hate to see the most in the ER. It is sooo agrivating when you have a person on your team that does everything in their power to avoid working and taking patients and then only does the bare minimum when they do work. Or nurses who are aging and just trying to salvage a few remaining years to increase their retirement. If you no longer have the ability to work hard and keep the pace of the ER that is fine BUT CHANGE SPECIALITIES UUUUGGGhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! If you can't tell it is a frustrating day at work.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I work non-trauma so what I despise are

ppl coming in just for pregnancy tests and

children with low fevers less than 24 hours of 101 or below and never received tylenol or motrin

oh and the lazy nurses thing is a good one too

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Specializes in Rural Health.

Psych patients! They scare the crap outta me. I know they need help and I'm not hating on them for coming to the ER, I just don't wanna be the nurse that has to deal with them.

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