We are sitting at the kitchen table. Ana is playing with her books, Chris is playing on his PC and I am doing bills. For some reason I say “Boot to the head!” and we both hear a little voice say “Ya, Ya!”
I apparently quote this line from Ti Kwan Leep quite often.
Proof that our little girl already hears and understands everything we say.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
So I was inspired to write this after reading Dear Abby. Yes, I admit it. I love her. Almost as much as I love People’s Court :-)
An ER nurse wrote in with rules for patients when visiting the ER. I can’t say I disagree with them…..but the last point made me laugh. Here are her "rules".
1. An "emergency" is defined as a life-threatening injury or illness. The average wait in an ER waiting room is 4 1/2 hours. After checking in, you will be seen by a triage nurse to determine the seriousness of your illness or injury. Patients who are considered "critical" will be treated first.
2. Please do not come to the ER with your entire family unless they, too, are sick or injured. People with communicable diseases may be sitting in the lobby, so you could be putting your loved ones at risk.
3. Once inside the examination room, the patient's blood will be taken and tests may be done. Getting test results can take time, especially if the ER is busy -- and no, you cannot eat or drink until those test results are back.
4. The ER discharges patients 24 hours a day, so plan accordingly. The hospital is not responsible for paying for your ride home, and you cannot stay in the exam room waiting for a ride to come for you. We must use the room for the next patient.
5. Above all, remember that our staff is here to help you feel better, not to inconvenience you. You are the patient -- so please be patient
I am not saying that 99% of ER staff isn’t there to make you feel better. I truly believe that they do care. But unfortunately there are those very few nurses and doctors out there that really don’t care at all.
I have been to emergency rooms a few times in my life. The visits have been either for myself or to take someone else. I can’t say any of the visits have been great but I also can’t say that any of them have been bad. Except for my last two experiences. They were enough to throw me off forever.
About 8 years ago I needed to visit the emergency room while we were on vacation. Now I know that ER’s are usually busy. My injury wasn’t that bad so I expected to wait behind those with injuries and illnesses that were more serious. We were pleasantly surprised to find the ER empty of patients.
I was immediately put on a stretcher and left in a hallway. I was never taken to a room and yes, there were empty rooms. I checked. As I laid there waiting, no nurse checked on me. I would love to say that maybe there were just understaffed but that wasn’t the case. I was right next to the nurse’s station. There were 4 of them there. All deciding on what they wanted on their flipping pizza! Never once did they offer me water or even just reassure me that the doctor would be there soon. They completely ignored me even though I was sitting right in front of them.
About an hour later a doctor showed up to look at my injury, told me all was well and sent me home. During that entire time those 4 nurses kept chatting. They never acknowledged my existence. So I am sure that there are many ER staffs out there that truly care about their patients but I can assure that the nursing staff at this particular ER couldn’t have cared less.
My last experience at an emergency room was due to a miscarriage. It was very early in my pregnancy and it was my first pregnancy so I was scared and didn’t know what to expect. Upon arriving at the ER, the nurses gave me a room right away due to the nature of my situation. Unlike my last ER visit, the nurses were very kind and attentive. I have only good things to say about the nurses I had that day.
However the doctor was a whole other story. After numerous blood tests and ultrasounds the doctor attending me told me in these exact words “I don’t know why you thought you were pregnant. You aren’t. You are just having a bad period.” I have never had a “bad” period in my life and the two positive pregnancy tests that I had taken two weeks earlier were a pretty clear indication that I was indeed pregnant. So I left the ER absolutely distraught. We had been so excited about having a baby and on top of losing that I had the new idea in my head that maybe I was crazy. Maybe I was never pregnant at all.
I followed up with my doctor a couple of weeks later. He looked at my chart which contained all the lab work from my ER visit. What did he find? I indeed was pregnant. The ultrasound clearly showed that I was experiencing a miscarriage. That was 2 ½ years ago and to this day I don’t know why that doctor was such a bitch. I wish I had complained to the hospital or let her have it while I was there. It boggles my mind that anyone would find it acceptable too have such a horrible bedside manner.
So that is my rant for the day. Glad I got it off my chest....until someone gets me going again - LOL!
An ER nurse wrote in with rules for patients when visiting the ER. I can’t say I disagree with them…..but the last point made me laugh. Here are her "rules".
1. An "emergency" is defined as a life-threatening injury or illness. The average wait in an ER waiting room is 4 1/2 hours. After checking in, you will be seen by a triage nurse to determine the seriousness of your illness or injury. Patients who are considered "critical" will be treated first.
2. Please do not come to the ER with your entire family unless they, too, are sick or injured. People with communicable diseases may be sitting in the lobby, so you could be putting your loved ones at risk.
3. Once inside the examination room, the patient's blood will be taken and tests may be done. Getting test results can take time, especially if the ER is busy -- and no, you cannot eat or drink until those test results are back.
4. The ER discharges patients 24 hours a day, so plan accordingly. The hospital is not responsible for paying for your ride home, and you cannot stay in the exam room waiting for a ride to come for you. We must use the room for the next patient.
5. Above all, remember that our staff is here to help you feel better, not to inconvenience you. You are the patient -- so please be patient
I am not saying that 99% of ER staff isn’t there to make you feel better. I truly believe that they do care. But unfortunately there are those very few nurses and doctors out there that really don’t care at all.
I have been to emergency rooms a few times in my life. The visits have been either for myself or to take someone else. I can’t say any of the visits have been great but I also can’t say that any of them have been bad. Except for my last two experiences. They were enough to throw me off forever.
About 8 years ago I needed to visit the emergency room while we were on vacation. Now I know that ER’s are usually busy. My injury wasn’t that bad so I expected to wait behind those with injuries and illnesses that were more serious. We were pleasantly surprised to find the ER empty of patients.
I was immediately put on a stretcher and left in a hallway. I was never taken to a room and yes, there were empty rooms. I checked. As I laid there waiting, no nurse checked on me. I would love to say that maybe there were just understaffed but that wasn’t the case. I was right next to the nurse’s station. There were 4 of them there. All deciding on what they wanted on their flipping pizza! Never once did they offer me water or even just reassure me that the doctor would be there soon. They completely ignored me even though I was sitting right in front of them.
About an hour later a doctor showed up to look at my injury, told me all was well and sent me home. During that entire time those 4 nurses kept chatting. They never acknowledged my existence. So I am sure that there are many ER staffs out there that truly care about their patients but I can assure that the nursing staff at this particular ER couldn’t have cared less.
My last experience at an emergency room was due to a miscarriage. It was very early in my pregnancy and it was my first pregnancy so I was scared and didn’t know what to expect. Upon arriving at the ER, the nurses gave me a room right away due to the nature of my situation. Unlike my last ER visit, the nurses were very kind and attentive. I have only good things to say about the nurses I had that day.
However the doctor was a whole other story. After numerous blood tests and ultrasounds the doctor attending me told me in these exact words “I don’t know why you thought you were pregnant. You aren’t. You are just having a bad period.” I have never had a “bad” period in my life and the two positive pregnancy tests that I had taken two weeks earlier were a pretty clear indication that I was indeed pregnant. So I left the ER absolutely distraught. We had been so excited about having a baby and on top of losing that I had the new idea in my head that maybe I was crazy. Maybe I was never pregnant at all.
I followed up with my doctor a couple of weeks later. He looked at my chart which contained all the lab work from my ER visit. What did he find? I indeed was pregnant. The ultrasound clearly showed that I was experiencing a miscarriage. That was 2 ½ years ago and to this day I don’t know why that doctor was such a bitch. I wish I had complained to the hospital or let her have it while I was there. It boggles my mind that anyone would find it acceptable too have such a horrible bedside manner.
So that is my rant for the day. Glad I got it off my chest....until someone gets me going again - LOL!
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