1. Ambulances for clearly non-emergent conditions (my personal most notables are of dental pain and a "possible UTI" but I know they're used for far more silly complaints than that. Just the two I've seen myself).
2. Chief complaint of fever, yet they have not so much as taken a temp at home, and if so, even taken tylenol or ibuprofen
3. Mom who brings in all 3 kids because they all have colds at the same time.
4. I'm allergic to tylenol, ibuprofen, codeine, aspirin, hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, and zofran. All of them have caused anaphylaxis.
5. The patient that claims their police report PROVES their medications were stolen.
Anytime an EMS patient arrives and they are ambulatory to the room. If you weren't even in bad enough shape to come in on the cot, you should go to triage.
After I get all the equipment hooked up; cardiac monitor, b/p cuff, pulse ox, blankets... Then "I have to go to the bathroom" Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!
Another one: I have started to use the adhesive pulse ox on everyone regardless of age/ acuity....why? Because I am tired of these patients having to take the thing off all the time and when I am managing 3 Fragile ER patients I need the convenience of triggering the VS from the Nurse Station monitor and they don't need to take the sh$t off all the time!!!! They are Sooo Sick, but they can't stop messing with their cell phone and taking the equipment off...Ahhhhhh!!!!!!
When the CEO walks through the department and attempts to say "hi." Like he gives a rip about anything but his wallet?! Gag me!!!!!
At least your CEO will speak. Ours just walk through with a group of people while he points out how dirty the floors are while there are two traumas going on. Forget saving a life, those floors better be spotless! I can't stand him!
I hate when female pts w/ discharge won't keep their legs open for the exam and squeals and groans like it's the WORST thing in the world. You kept them open to get the gonorrhea, please keep them open to fix the gonorrhea.
Ambulances for clearly non-emergent conditions (my personal most notables are of dental pain and a "possible UTI" but I know they're used for far more silly complaints than that. Just the two I've seen myself).
The EMS in our area will call for a physician to allow them to deny a ride. LOVE when they don't bring us those patients.
When parents claim that their child has a fever because they "felt hot." when you ask them what their temperature was at home, they don't know because they didn't it at home. ugh.
and speaking of fevers, there needs to be more education regarding WHEN a child should come to the ER for a fever. it seems like parents freak out at the slightest fever and decides that their child needs to be seen emergently.
patients and family members who state no one has been in the room to see the patient yet you have already went in and did your nursing assessment, line & labs, got warm blankets and pillows, brought the family some fresh hot coffee, etc...
patients who beg for you to use the smallest possible needle. if you have garden hoses for veins, you better believe I'm NOT going to put in a 24 gauge.
"you know, it's this little white pill..." no, I don't.
patients who come in with abdominal pain and are upset on why they cannot eat.
diabetics who demand they need to eat something RIGHT. NOW. because they're diabetic but their BG is >200.
"I need to be out of here by x hours, do you think you'll be done by then?"
patient decides to leave AMA but asks, "am I still going to get my prescriptions? and can I get a note for work?"
Old people drop-offs. Especially non-English speaking, demented old people drop-offs. This is when family decides they need a break from Mom or Dad, so they bring them in with some fabricated complaint I.e. Chest pain (really? So your mom is non-verbal at baseline, how exactly did she express this complaint to you?) or some vague complaint like "she's not herself" and then they turn around and leave. Now we have no way of obtaining more info, the poor confused patient gets poked and prodded on a hunt for some non-existent source of the symptom, and if nothing is found we have to try to track down family so we can discharge the patient. Family has no car, will not be home Til tomorrow, etc. Poor demented Mom gets stuck in the ER hallway to await discharge getting progressively more confused and agitated,... I get that it's very challenging to be a caregiver to an elderly family member (my parents took in 2 of my grandparents, not easy at all) but this is just cruel.
Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN
1 Article; 2,816 Posts
A pain score greater than 10 on the 0-10 scale.
Three minutes explaining why they're here when "my stomach hurts" would suffice.
Food requests for people with abdominal pain whose workup isn't even done yet.
"I'm diabetic, I need to eat NOW", with a CBG >200.
When the whole family comes in and acts like the patient is on their death bed over a sprained ankle.
"How long is this going to take, I have to pick up my kid in X hours?"
"My doctor told me to come in and get XYZ" at 5pm on a Friday.