ER Nurses, What's A WILD Story That's Way Too Common?
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Speaker 1: Nurses, doctors, or the ER, what are some crazy behaviors
patients do that are more common than we realize? A
common misconception is that yelling at or being snarky with
the healthcare team will improve your loved one's care. It won't.
We will still take care of them, but no one
wants to go the extra mile if a family member
is recording or belittling them. Here are a few more.
Not disclosing contagious illnesses. Do not fail to tell the
RN and triage that you have a contagious illness and
only casually mention it later. I cannot tell you the
number of people who come to the ER for an
unrelated complaint and after being taken to a room will say,
I had been sick two days ago, or yeah, I'm
being treated for shingles now, etc., If you have a
contagious disease, even if it is unrelated to your current complaint,
we need to know so we can protect you and others.
Expecting a dentist, being upset that we don't have an
on-call dentist to remove your tooth at 3am. I understand
that infected or cracked teeth can be extremely painful, but
dentists do not work in the ER. There are oral
and maxillofacial doctors for facial trauma, but no one is
extracting your impacted wisdom teeth. Lying about chest pain? Lying
that you have chest pain because you think you'll get
a room faster?
Speaker 2: You won't.
Speaker 1: You'll get vitals and an EKG. But unless either it
is concerning, you'll continue to wait, like everyone else. Not
using a flared base. Alright, if you think yelling at
the healthcare team works, you probably also believe the check
engine light on your car is just a friendly suggestion.
Story two, I went into diabetic ketoacidosis last year and
I was so confused. I was fighting and aggressively whizzing
on myself. I came to blind from the high sugar
and in restraints. My husband told me what I had
been doing and I desperately apologized to the nurses. I
was met with empathy and one said, don't apologize. It
was exciting. So if I got that nice reaction from
my thrashing rage, I can't imagine how bad it can get.
I spent eight months on the transplant floor and it
was very quiet compared to the ICU and ER. Story three,
yelling at staff, patients or family members yelling at staff,
presenting with self-treatable issues, patients coming into the ER for
things that are easily self-treatable, like throat pain, but they're
eating Takis and triage, calling for trivial issues, calling EMS
for very minor things like a stubbed toe or tooth pain,
denial of substance use, refusing to believe that substances are
the root of their issue, like hyperemesis caused by grass use,
chest pain caused by incessant vaping, or cardiac problems from substances.
refusing to take responsibility for treatment, not picking up their
antibiotics for a diagnosis we made a few days ago,
then storming into the ER and demanding to know why
they didn't get better. They never picked up the antibiotics
for their UTI and now it's our fault that it
has worsened into a kidney infection? Story 4. I used
to work in inpatient psychiatric care and now work in
the ER. I started noticing paranoid or delusional behavioral problems
that are shockingly common, but people are walking around in
normal society with these subclinical issues undiagnosed. Most diagnoses and
involuntary holds only happen if they show these behaviors in
front of the right people at the right time. Another
issue is people who are completely ignorant of their bodies
and what changes are normal versus abnormal. For example, no,
the tip of your toe turning black a month ago
is not normal and yes, that is why we are
now consulting with surgery to see if we can save
the rest of the foot. Story 5. Assuming the answer
will change, a common assumption is that my answer to
your question will change if you ask it again, usually
louder and more aggressively to the point of being belligerent.
For example, can I feed my mom? No, sorry, your
mom is currently NPO for a procedure which means nothing
by mouth. She's receiving IV fluids for hydration. But she'll
pass away without food, so can I feed her? No,
not right now. Can I feed her though? My sister
and my lord, I've said no three times. I've explained myself.
Please stop wasting my time and yelling at me for
doing my job. Thank you. Prevalence of hoarding. Another observation
is the number of people living in hoarder homes. The
number of patients we have come in from these homes
is insane. And I know it's not just my area
since I worked all over the province. I didn't actually
know it was that common until I started nursing. Story 6.
As an ER doctor who is board-certified and practices full-time
in California, I can tell you something that will get
you downvoted on Reddit's r slash trees faster than you
can blink. Grass actually does have a lot of side effects.
One particular complication we have begun to see far more
frequently since legalization, which I support for the record, is
something called CHS. To put it simply, chronic users, especially
heavier and or daily users, are at an increased risk
of developing a syndrome characterized by shockingly severe abdominal pain
and retching that is very resistant to IV nausea and
pain medications. You can pump these people full of multiple
nausea medications in numerous doses and they'll still be retching
and miserable. Over the years, we've found that the best
treatment for it is actually an intramuscular shot of an
antipsychotic medicine called haloperidol. Another effective treatment is to use
clinically formulated capsaicin cream, the active ingredient in peppers that
brings the heat all over the abdomen. Neither of these
works well for any other kind of abdominal pain, but
they are virtually the only things that work for CHS. Unfortunately,
the only real way to prevent future episodes is by
stopping the grass use. That, as you can imagine, is
a tough pill to swallow for people who are daily
users and, in particular, those who have projected their grass
use as their entire personality. Story 7. I used to
work the front desk triage at an ER and couldn't
believe half the things people came in there for. One
woman said she was looking for a primary care doctor.
At midnight, my thought was, this is an ER, not
a primary care doctor's office. The number of grown men
who had a cold or the flu and acted like
they were dying was always funny to me. It would
then become my rate at how long they were sitting
in the waiting room since it wasn't an actual life
or death emergency. Alright, so nothing says I'm a grown
man quite like needing an ER triage nurse for a
mild case of the sniffles, am I right? Story 8.
Refusing to be self-sufficient. Able-bodied adults of sound mind who
soil themselves and then expect to be cleaned up to
punish staff for not running to them instantly when their
call light goes off. We saw you walk in here. No,
we will not wipe the mess off of you. Do
you whiz on yourself at home? No? Here's a pack
of wipes, a fresh gown, and fresh sheets. If you'd
like a shower, I can walk you down the hall.
Waiting impatiently, people, usually family members or visitors, who stand
in the doorway or hallway glaring at staff because they've
been waiting for a while, Yes, you are waiting. Yes,
this is an inefficient system and there are plenty of
things I wish were different. Every year there are staff
cuts and funding cuts and we're expected to handle more
patients than ever with less. Standing with your arms crossed
and pouting at staff does not make the hospital run faster.
Threatening to leave. Threatening to leave as if it will
get you better service. There are 20 people waiting for
your bed if you don't want it. Sign this form
and there's a door. Have a good day. Leaving against
medical advice and coming back to the hospital and throwing
a temper tantrum when you have to start over again
in the ER. No, we didn't save your bed for you.
You wanted to leave. If you've changed your mind, please
get back in line. Story 9. Well, I don't work
in an ER, but I've been there a ton. I'm
good at getting injured. No, I don't misuse the system.
It's just always a last resort. This one time, I
saw something insane that might fit the theme. I was
in the waiting area, and it had already been over
30 minutes, which was fine. I had injured my hand
and wrist quite badly and needed to rule out a break,
but I was able to wait just fine. There were
other people in the waiting room, including one guy. I
don't know what was wrong with him, but he didn't
look sick or injured. But you know, what do I know?
No judgment. Then in comes a mom, I assumed, with
a boy no older than 10 with his entire lower
leg wrapped in messy towels. He had a cut on
the front of his lower leg, obviously something that might
need stitches and at the very least needed to be
cleaned to avoid infection. It was also something more pressing
for a doctor to assess than my injured wrist. But
this guy, who looked and sounded pretty fine and who
had been there for a shorter time than me, started yelling.
He claimed he had been there first and had waited
at least an hour. I'd been there a little over
30 minutes and had arrived before him. He was irate
that they had taken the boy in before him. He
kept insisting he needed to talk to a doctor and
that there was a line. He still sulked after being
told how an ER works and I was called back
to get my hand and wrist looked at. My teacher,
who had brought me to the ER being a minor
and away at school, told me he even sent us
dirty looks, but I mean, by his standards, at least
I was there first. Story 10. Please research the hospitals
in your area. Not all hospitals are the same. Know
what services they do or don't have and consider this
information when you decide where to go. This is particularly
important for pediatrics. If you're a parent, please locate the
children's hospitals in your area and have a plan to
go there if needed. Many hospitals do not have inpatient
pediatric units or a pediatric ICU. Look this information up
before you are in a stressful situation with a sick child.
If you have just had surgery at a specific hospital
and you have a complication, please go back to the
original hospital. A different hospital won't necessarily be able to
view your records and your surgeon likely doesn't have privileges there.
In all these cases, if you cannot be treated, you
will be transferred, which can take multiple hours to days
depending on transportation, weather, and bed availability. Obviously, this is
all location and situation specific. If someone is not breathing,
go to the nearest ER. If you're rural, you might
not have many options, but please do some research and
be thoughtful about where you go. Story 11. I was
probably one of the people described in these stories. I
was very sick with my eating disorder and was made
to go to the ER. I sat and I waited.
When I was called in after my blood test results
came in, they wanted to run multiple IV bags straight away.
As soon as I heard the word glucose, I panicked.
I tried to leave and refused treatment because I was quote,
I was fine. The doctors and nurses tried to explain
that I was unwell, but I refused to listen and
was generally a pain in the ass. I was put
on a treatment order and was treated anyway and wasn't
allowed to go home for a while. Now that I'm
doing better, I realize I wasn't able to think clearly.
I wish I had acted better and made the hospital
staff's job a little easier. Story 12. 26 years later,
I still feel horrible for telling off a nurse, but
I kind of had a reason. I'd given birth to
three babies, and I am one of the rare women
whose labors were less than an hour. Of course, the
doctor was not at the hospital yet when I started
to crown. The nurse told me I had to hold
her in and wait for the doctor. Like woman, my
baby's head was literally coming out. I screamed, F you.
I still feel really bad about it, but how did
she expect me to hold her in? The doctor ran
in two minutes later, barely having a chance to get
in front of me. My daughter shot out of me
so fast, he had a catcher like football and yes
i once had a doctor tell me that the way
my body is made i was born to have babies
Story 13. I worked in retail pharmacy so it was
a little different but people would leave the ER and
10-15 minutes later they would pull up yelling about why
their prescription wasn't ready. I'd take a look at the
paperwork they would throw at me and either it was
for a narcotic which was going to take a little
time or it was for an OTC medication like Omeprazole
and they would tell me I was wrong. Thankfully we
didn't put up with that. If it got bad we
would call the hospital and then send them elsewhere or
tell them to come inside and figure it out. I
have zero sympathy for people who are mean to medical
or retail staff. Story 14. I'm not a doctor, but
I just got out of the hospital after five days.
The nurses and techs were lovely and helpful, but the
other patients and their families on my side of the
floor were atrocious. The woman across the hall kept pushing
the call button for trivial things like a straw or
a new pair of socks because the ones she had
were too slouchy. She also called for someone to find
the next episode of Duck Dynasty for her on the TV.
The person in the room next to me literally called
in his entire family to visit so they could take
turns trying to get free meals from the food staff.
At one point on my last day, a very nice
tech came into my room, shut the door, and I
asked her what was up. She simply said, I just
need a few minutes away from those people and you're
the only nice one. That's awful. It's awful that people
treat medical staff this way. They're just trying to do
their jobs. I'm not sure we'll have medical staff in
10 years if this keeps up. Story 15, ER radiographer,
waiting time complaints. How long do I need to wait
to see a doctor? I am so sorry, I don't know.
Then go ask him. One patient, after waiting for an hour,
left the ambulance to go feed his cat. He came
back three hours later and was then ready to see
a doctor. Unnecessary visits, paper cuts you can't even see,
people who are unable to move like an old man
who got scared when you transferred him to the CT
table and, because of that, grabbed your butt and chest.
Disrespectful behavior. Intoxicated men on a trolley sitting up and
urinating on the floor or all over the CT scanner
and table. Complaints about pain. I had to wait two
hours for my x-ray. I'm in pain. This is a disaster.
And in the room next to this, a young mother
of two children who got hit by a car. I
always offer to show them what a real emergency looks like.
Be thankful that I am doing your freaking ankle x-ray
five minutes after seeing someone who lost their life with
a husband crying next to her. If you can walk
in normally, it's not broken. Story 16. My younger half-sibling
who is autistic ended up in the ER with a
bad flu and seizure. My mom couldn't leave his side
for days because of ADA issues. They had to sedate
my sibling for an x-ray. Unfortunately, the x-ray tech woke
him up while trying to get him into the proper position.
And that was it. We couldn't get my sibling to
cooperate once he was awake. This is a typical experience
for families with disabled members. My mother and my sibling
eventually moved to Europe and were amazed by how accommodating
the local medical community was in their approach to disabled patients.
For example, they had a dedicated nurse who lined up
all the appointments in one exam room for a single day.
All the medical personnel came in and out and my
sibling was able to stay put. Story 17. The number
of people who don't understand basic anatomy or wellness is surprising.
If you are constipated, go to CVS, look for the
laxative aisle, grab just about every product including the enemas,
and go home to take care of it in your
own bathroom. It's more private than having two nurses do
it while you're on a bedside commode. Also, if you
have a fever, a headache, or something hurts, try Tylenol
or Ibuprofen. Drink some water and wait. Paying $ 500 for
some Tylenol or an enema in the hospital is just
not worth it. Story 18. As a vet, not a
human doctor, I've seen some extreme examples of people trying
to self-treat things that really should not be self-treated. I
don't know if this is an American thing due to
healthcare costs, but it happens. I'm not talking about minor
issues like debating whether to go to urgent care for
a fever. I'm talking about a client who, during a
vet appointment, showed me a photo of his Fournier's gangrene
on his phone and asked if he should see a
doctor because Neosporin wasn't helping. When I told him, dude,
go to a human doctor, he then asked if I
could prescribe him something for it. Story 19. I'm late
to this post as usual, but I have family that
have seriously irritated me in the ER. Not long ago,
I took my uncle to the ER. He was complaining
of chest pain, already had a pacemaker, and had previous
open heart surgery, so I took it very seriously. Once
we were there, he turned into a total schmuck. He
complained about everything constantly, he got upset every time staff
walked back out and closed the door behind them, and
this wasn't them trying to annoy you, unk, that's respect.
He also complained because he wasn't rushed a warm blanket
when he said, I'm cold. It took a few minutes,
but that was not acceptable. In his mind, he was
the top priority of the whole damn hospital and the
moment he walked in. He even got mad because of
the IV placed in his wrist. I enjoyed that part though.
It took everything in me not to giggle while watching
his face.
Speaker 2: Well, this place is just terrible. They don't give a
damn about letting someone lay here and suffer. They're not
fast enough. They've forgotten me. I should just walk out
of here and go home. I've got to use the bathroom.
How the heck am I supposed to use it when
they have me hooked up to all this crap? Go
out there and tell them I need them to come
help me. I'm about to cuss them out and tell
them what's what.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Unc, this is not a five-star hotel or a
fancy restaurant where people serve you. It's an ER. They're
here to save your life. Testing takes time. You're not
going to show them or put them in their place
by being a douche canoe. As a matter of fact,
these people have spent a great portion of their lives
to be able to save yours, and you don't treat
me that way, so why do it to them? I'm
not qualified to save your life, and you don't treat
me like dirt. They are qualified, and that's their job.
Why do it to them? You're supposed to have one
foot in the grave with how you were acting earlier,
which is why we are here, and now your biggest
complaint is how long it's taking or that they don't
cater to you? Story 20. I'm not a medical professional,
but I was a patient in the ICU for an
extended period when my family told me about some of
my actions while I was delirious. I was so embarrassed.
Besides removing IVs, my feeding tube, and trying to remove
my central line, I told the nurses and doctors treating
me that the only one qualified to help me was
the custodian who I just walked in to change the trash.
They told me later they thought it was funny, but
I still feel terrible. I try to visit once or
twice a year to bring cookies or baked goods. You
nurses and doctors in the ERs and ICUs are truly
something special. Story 21. I've had a patient's parents say
they stopped the Miralax and now their child is having
huge stools again. My conversation with them went like this.
Why did you stop it? Because her stools were normal
size and didn't hurt. How long have her stools appeared
normal to you? About a month. Before you started the Miralax,
how long was she having huge painful stools? Almost three years.
When the problem started again, why didn't you resume what
had been previously working? I don't know. How long do
you think she has to be on Miralax for this
not to come back? I don't know. Or the more
common answer, well, she can't be on this forever. The
child should be on it for about as long as
she had the problem, so about three years. A pediatrician
can then help slowly decrease the dose over a couple
of months near the end of the three years, but yes,
she can absolutely be on it forever if she needs it. Sheesh,
poor kid. Story 22. Throwing a tantrum will not get
you better care. I had a patient once who assaulted
me when I told him he was NPO because he
had a GI procedure the next morning. I actually scolded
him like I would a toddler because that behavior is
not appropriate. I had another patient refuse treatment because they
felt they weren't getting good care. They expected to be
catered to as if they were at a hotel, rather
than being cared for on a hospital floor. I simply
told them that that was their right as a patient,
and after a while, they stopped. If you want to
leave against medical advice, that is your right, but you'll
most likely be back within a week for the same
worsening issue. And if you're enjoying the video, don't forget
to hit that subscribe and like button for more videos
just like this. Story 23. Yes, it's called the emergency room,
but if staff feel that the only people not wasting
time at the ER are those with minutes or hours
to live, that attitude is unethical and frankly disgusting. Patients
who wait until they are sick enough to be taken seriously,
such as those with psychiatric conditions, who are often labeled
as attention-seeking unless they are dangerously ill, may have higher
in-hospital mortality rates due to that delay. They could have
lived if they had been taken seriously when they were
unwell but not yet in critical condition. However, by the
time these patients are close to passing, the ER has
likely transferred them to a specialist service, which allows the
ER to take zero accountability for its dangerous attitudes. Story 24,
calling 911 for an ambulance to go to a different ER.
This behavior is not as uncommon as you might think.
Patients will call for an ambulance to take them to
a different ER if they don't like the wait time.
Storming into non-patient areas, patients or family members often try
to get into restricted areas either out of frustration with
the wait or to try and get faster service. Threatening violence,
legal action, or making accusations of cruelty, these are common
intimidation tactics. Threatening to leave without being treated, the implied
threat is that something bad will happen and it will
be the hospital's fault. The people who actually leave have
no backup plan and often come back later, sicker than before.
The reasons for these behaviors are not that diverse. It's
almost always the kind of person you're picturing, white baby boomers,
and the most common reason is having to wait. If
you ever go to the ER, be prepared to wait.
If you don't want to wait, die. You'll go straight
to the front of the line. But a caveat, as
soon as you're no longer actively suffering, you could go
back down the list. Story 25. Even though I only
did a brief rotation in the emergency department, it was
a very memorable experience. From my short-term experience, continuing substance
use while in the hospital is shockingly common. I understand dependency,
but the number of people who were admitted for coding
and then coding again in the hospital bathroom a few
days later is staggering. The same goes for the loved
ones of those who were admitted for an overdose. I
worked with one patient who broke into a church for
shelter and coded. The patient was revived and admitted to
the hospital, and that night, their husband coded in the
hospital bathroom. A visitor of the husband also went unconscious
during a visit due to a coding. The original patient
was transferred to behavioral health and coded again less than
a week later. They all survived. I thought this was crazy,
but it turns out it was not all that unusual.
Story 26. This is something that happens far more often
than the general public understands. Some people will come into
the ER and suddenly lose the ability to perform basic self-care.
We often see otherwise independent people who walk in and
suddenly expect us to literally wipe their behind or who
strangely lose the ability to control their bladder and bowels.
I'm not talking about people with arm injuries or illnesses
that prevent them from doing so, but rather individuals who
live at home independently with no assistive services. Story 27.
Don't show up early for appointments. If you have an
appointment for 1pm, don't come to the ER at 11am
because you can't wait, especially when the issue has been
going on for two weeks. You can't just rest here.
Admitting someone to the hospital is very complicated and the
hospital is normally full. I know you're having surgery tomorrow,
but it's 8pm and you need to go home and
come back. The ER isn't a diagnostic clinic. If you've
been to three GI specialists and they can't figure out
what's causing your symptoms, I won't be able to solve
your problem in the ER. I can't reduce your symptoms
and try to rule out one or two more obscure
things that are probably not the issue, but you need
to go back to those doctors to continue the process
of figuring this out. Story 28. I'm here to complain
from the opposite perspective. I was struggling to breathe even
after using my rescue inhaler. The person helping me asked
how many times I use it per month. I said
I always run out before the refill. They then asked
how many times per day that was. I replied I
get 220 doses a month. If I'm running out before
the month is over, how many per day am I using?
She said, look, I don't want to do any math.
She wrote me an incorrect prescription for the wrong maintenance inhaler.
They only caught the mistake because I responded to a
survey about my list. I stated that she was unable
to do basic math, told me she had no interest
in doing so, and that because of this, I did
not trust the prescription she wrote for me. Story 29.
It is a common misconception that waking up to the
nurse's station is more effective than using the call light.
It's not. Here's why the call light is the best
way to get help. It prevents the spread of germs.
Approaching the nurse's station can spread germs, which is especially
risky in a hospital environment. It ensures confidentiality. When you
talk to a nurse at the desk, you could be
sharing a patient's confidential information with strangers, as not everyone
at the station is part of your specific care team.
It ensures you get the right help. Using the call
light directs the appropriate person to you, whether it's a nurse,
a tech, or another member of the team. Your nurse
may be busy with a critical task and another team
member can assist you with your needs. Hitting the call
light helps the entire team. Secretaries or health unit coordinators
can see how long the light has been on. A
call light will alarm at the desk every five minutes
until a nurse responds. If you press that button multiple
times in a row, it creates an ongoing alarm that
is disruptive for everyone. Remember that staff members prioritize calls
based on urgency. A request for crackers will have to
wait while a nurse is giving someone life-saving medication. If
no one responds within 15 minutes, a supervisor will come
to assist you and address the delay with the nurse. Please,
just press the call light once. Story 30. The number
of times a patient or more often their family members
get physical with staff, especially nurses, is a huge problem.
You can do everything possible and ensure good treatment, but
at the end of the day, we aren't gods and
people pass away. It's inevitable. Some family members react with
anger and rage, screaming, you've ended my dad, mom, sister,
it's your fault, you'll go to prison, while violently starting fights,
throwing glass bottles, and name-calling. I hate when it happens.
You have to watch out for yourself while also trying
to treat and support the other 59 patients. It's so
upsetting that people behave this way, and that's what hurts
me the most at work. Story 31. I'm not a
doctor or a nurse, but I work in a hospital
and have experience working with staff who were previously in
the ER. The hospital where I work is the primary
destination for mental health crises, so we often see people
undergoing various forms of crises. Additionally, there are a large
number of frequent flyers who come to the ER with
the sole purpose of obtaining substance medications. Yes, the staff
does keep a list of known aliases to either turn
them away or to keep a closer eye on them.
In fact, I was just at the ER tonight for
a sudden rash thought to be from a recently prescribed inhaler,
and there were at least 7 people there trying to
score substances. One of them wasn't too far from me
and kept asking the nurse for the good stuff, but
she wasn't giving him anything. Story 32. It is common
for hospitals to have regulars. I often see people repeatedly
coming in with manageable chronic conditions because they are not
compliant or neglectful. I'm looking at you, diabetes, congestive heart failure, CHF, hypertension,
and atrial fibrillation, AFib. Some of these patients get used
to being fully cared for when they are super symptomatic
and then refuse, and sometimes blatantly, to care for themselves.
They can become nasty and entitled too. No amount of
treatment or education changes the outcome, and we eventually see
them pass away from the disease. It's very sad and
in many cases, very preventable. Story 33. I have one,
but it's from the other side about the emergency staff.
I called because I couldn't eat or drink anything. I
was retching everything back up, even water. The emergency staff
on the phone asked, did you try to take paracetamol?
I replied, I'm retching everything up. I can't even drink
water anymore. I have a high fever and a constant
headache that's getting worse. I need an ambulance because I'm
by myself and I'm scared I'll pass out. The staff
member said, okay, we'll get someone to you soon. When
the paramedics arrived, they said to me, oh, is that
you who needs an ambulance? I replied, yes. The paramedic
then said, but you opened the door by yourself. I said, yes,
I'm by myself. So who else was supposed to open
the door? The paramedic then threatened me, if it turns
out at the hospital that there's nothing wrong, you'll have
to pay a £ 500 fine for calling an ambulance unnecessarily.
At the hospital, I waited the whole afternoon and the
whole night for a doctor. The nurses were ignoring and
avoiding me. The next day, after they ran tests, it
turned out I had salmonella poisoning and a kidney infection.
I spent over two weeks in the hospital. My face
was so swollen I could barely open my eyes. Story 34.
You can get a non-emergency procedure right away. We often
see people who come to the ER expecting us to
perform non-emergent diagnostic tests, procedures, or even surgery because their
appointment with a specialist is too far out. I can't
do your shoulder arthroscopic surgery right here, right now. Online
diagnoses and advice from friends are correct if people come
in thinking they have a certain condition because they read
about it online or their first-year medical student nephew told
them they needed a specific test or procedure. When we
tell them they actually don't need it, they get flustered
and say things like, well, I guess you're the doctor,
with a look of disgust. My response is always, yeah,
I am. An ambulance gets you seen faster. People take
ambulances for things like retching or stomach pain, but you
will not get seen any faster. They will simply drop
you off in the waiting room and send you a $ 5, 000 bill.
Story 35. As an ER frequent flyer, not a medical professional,
what comes to mind is how incredibly insane and aggressive
people can be to the staff. It feels like almost
every time I'm there, there's some sort of disruption where
security has to be called because someone is screaming, having
problems with authority, or making insane accusations. It's absolutely wild.
People are entitled and pig-headed about the most ridiculous things.
If they don't get their way, they will go full
crazy person and start screaming. I'm not just talking about
the elderly with dementia or homeless people with serious mental illnesses.
I'm talking about middle-aged Karens and Kevins who you'd think
are normal people until they start making threats against nurses
and acting out. Story 36. Reading all these stories about
the ridiculous things people go to the ER for, I'm
over here on day 2 of excruciating abdominal pain that
ebbs and flows after having laparoscopic surgery 3 weeks ago.
I did the same thing during the lockdown when I
unknowingly had appendicitis. The pain wasn't that bad and my
ER copay was $ 900 so naturally I waited 4 days
until I could get in with my PCP. She ordered
a stat CT and I was sent to the ER immediately.
This time I've hesitated to go because maybe I just
accidentally did more bowel prep than needed. I'm afebrile and
my lower abdomen is super taut with positive bowel sounds
so it's got to be fine, right? It can't be
an ileus or a small bowel obstruction and I've already
had my appendix out. What else is left? The pain
is anywhere from a 6 out of 10 to a
10 out of 10, screaming into the pillow level, but
every time I convince myself to go, I think about
how mortified I'll be if they say, ma'am, this is
just gas pain, grow up and go home. But there
are really people out there going to the ER to
get a test for a mild flu or because their
sneeze felt weird today. Maybe I'll go tomorrow morning? I
think working in healthcare for over 20 years has made
me the worst patient ever. Story 37. You should never
apologize for asking questions. When I'm giving you a medication,
I give you the highlights, the name, its intended effect,
and common side effects. For example, this is Reglan. We
use it for headaches, retching, and all kinds of stuff.
Some people feel anxious or restless after they get it.
I'll push it slowly to try to avoid that effect,
but if you experience that, you'll know what's going on.
And then you ask me questions like, what kind of
medication is it? Any other side effects? Are you sure
it will help? Sorry for asking so many questions. No,
please ask me the questions. This is your body and
your health. Ask me all the questions you need to
understand what's going on so you can make an informed decision.
If a question is above my pay grade, I can
send a message to the doctor or the pharmacist through Epic.
It's the same thing when I discharge you. I will
tell you the highlights and the papers will have more information.
The number of people who apologize for asking questions when
I specifically ask for them is astounding. And that said,
I have also heard a lot of co-workers complain about
people who do that. So I understand why you don't.
It drives me up the wall when they complain about that.
You should treat your patients like they're people. Story 38.
Faking pain in the ER. While I understand that everyone
has a different pain tolerance and ways of handling pain,
it is easy to pick out someone who is faking it.
If you're acting fine while waiting in the triage line
but then start crying as if you've been shot while
in the waiting area, I'll have a harder time believing you.
The same goes for if you complain about a long
wait but went to a coffee shop 20 minutes away
for a drink first. Story 39. I've had a very
bad cut on my thigh that wouldn't stop for two
and a half hours before I was able to get
to the ER. The woman at the desk asked what
I was there for. I told her I had a
bad cut that needed stitches. I had wrapped an ace
bandage and a towel around my leg before putting black
jeans back on to get in the car and they
were all soaked through. After waiting for about 20 minutes,
I watched a young boy with a cough who arrived
after me get seen before I did. The place wasn't
packed but there were enough people there. A nurse came
out to take vitals while people waited. He came over
to me, put a pressure cuff on my arm and
asked what I was there for. I said, I have
a bad cut on my leg that needs stitches. He
looked down at my soaked jeans and asked, is that
red liquid? I said yes, that it needed stitches because
it wouldn't stop. He said, what's wrong with you? Why
didn't you say something? Suddenly, everyone was bustling. He started
cutting my jeans off in the waiting room and I
was hurried back to get stitches. I told him, don't
cut my jeans and he looked at me like I
was insane and proceeded to cut up my favorite jeans.
Story 40. Honestly, posts like this made me feel a
lot better about the time I lost my mind at
the ER doctor and nurses at 2 a.m., I had
come in after taking Bactrim and started having anaphylaxis symptoms.
If your vision blurs, that's an emergency. I don't want
to go blind. They wanted to put Benadryl into an
IV to help the reaction. However, I'm a hard stick
in the best of situations, and allergic reactions tank your
pressure and make it hard to hit a vein. I
had needles wiggling around in my arms about five times
in the middle of the night while I was actively
suffering from anaphylactic shock. I just had enough, lost my mind,
started sobbing, and refused to let them touch me again
for about 20 minutes. Mid-attack, I said, I'm sorry, I'm
usually much calmer, I'm just scared, and thanked them for
helping me when they did finally find a nurse who
hit a vein and started the IV. Threads like this
let me know that because I was genuinely having a
medical emergency, wasn't screaming or swearing, I did eventually calm
down and let them do it. I was not nearly
the worst those people had ever seen. It makes me
feel a little better about it. Story 41. This was
not while I worked in the ER. It was when
I was pregnant and I had to go in for
a gestational diabetes test. I had the initial test and
while I was waiting for the sugary drink, I saw
a girl hiding from the nurse, eating toast and drinking
a bottle of Leucosane. I was shocked. Then I went
downstairs with my mom where my mom ate a full
English breakfast. While I was sitting there, nail by mouth,
this same girl sat down near me and started eating
a full English breakfast. I thought to myself, seriously, do
you not care about that child? Story 42. We often
see patients in the ER who demand tests or diagnostics
for chronic illnesses, even though they've already seen every specialist
in town. For example, a patient might insist on more
procedures even after a gastroenterologist has scoped and biopsied without
finding a definitive answer. The ER is not going to
be able to cure you today. The medical specialty of
the ER is emergency medicine. It's even written on the
side of the building. We're here for emergencies, not chronic conditions.
Story 43. I'm not a doctor, but I gave this
advice to one of my sisters who's a nurse. I
simply told her that if a parent refuses a child's immunization,
she should ask if they would be willing to subject
the child to an allergy test. The idea behind this
is to see if the parents are willing to prove
the justification for their objection. She gave it a try
and discovered that a couple of parents were clueless about
their beliefs regarding their child's health. She only had a
few cases where the refusal of an immunization was medically justified.
I later learned that it is a common psychological tactic
for doctors to determine if they are dealing with a
competent parent. Story 44. Putting very much departed relatives in
a car instead of calling for an ambulance creates a
dangerous situation for everyone. Paramedics and firefighters are much stronger
than ER staff. In these situations, I have to go
find a gurney and call for help and by that point,
we're starting CPR in the backseat. It is far from ideal.
About six months ago, I remember a family member telling
me that I needed to get a gurney ready for
his father because he hadn't been feeling well on a
trip to Las Vegas. My hospital is in Los Angeles.
They drove for more than four hours to get him
back and he just got worse and worse. It took
three of us to haul the father out of the
car and onto a gurney. My tech was almost hit
by another car in the parking lot while we were
dealing with this. I understand that people don't want to
deal with a huge ambulance bill, but that situation was
so dangerous for my staff and ultimately the patient. He
was oxygen deprived for too long and had a bad outcome.
Story 45. I'm not a doctor or a nurse, but
I work in a hospital. I try to give people
the benefit of the doubt because after all, it is
their emergency, not mine. However, people seem to overlook basic decency.
If you cough, at least attempt to cover your mouth.
It's not a good idea to walk around barefoot in
the emergency department. I promise we will give you socks.
If you have pink eye, maybe don't walk around touching
absolutely everything and please stop rubbing your eyes. Story 46.
The number of people who take the path of least
resistance and pass away from it is disheartening. We often
see patients who are fully capable of doing things for themselves,
such as a person ringing their call light to ask
a nurse to hand them a glass of water from
their bedside table. This behavior, when done consistently, worsens the
effects of long-term immobility. Patients who come into the hospital
mobile leave needing a lift assist device, ruining their lives
and skyrocketing the resources needed to deal with their care.
Keep moving, everyone. Move as much as you can. Story 47.
As a former lab tech, I have a tip for
anyone with an elderly relative. If they start acting paranoid, insane,
or forgetful and turning off their internet for a few
days doesn't help, please take them to urgent care and
demand a urinalysis. Quote-unquote weird behaviors are often the hallmark
of a urinary tract infection, UTI, in an older person.
They may not be able to feel the burning sensation
or bladder, kidney, and flank pain because of other ailments
or pain medication. More often than not, erratic behavior is
the only sign of a UTI in its early stages.
And if any of these stories got to you, here's
more for you. YouTube thinks you're going to love this.
I'll catch you in that video.