Things to Know Before Stepping into an ER
Вставка
- Опубліковано 7 кві 2022
- Calling the ER for Advice? Busiest day of the week? Here's a compilation of some things you should know BEFORE stepping into the ER. Who's been here awhile and remembers some of these throwback videos? 👀
Buy Blue MuFKR Hoodies: mufkr.com/
New Comedy Show Dates: linktr.ee/steveioe
Subscribe to my ER newsletter: mailchi.mp/mufkr/subscribe
Find me on
TikTok: / steveioe
Instagram: / steveioe
Facebook: / steveioe
P.O. Box:
532308
Los Angeles CA 90053
I will never forget walking into the ER at 3am with tachycardia. I woke up with a HR of 170 that wouldn't go down and a climbing fever, so I drove myself to the ER, actually relatively calm. Got to triage and the nurse took one look at my HR grabbed me and started walking back while radioing to the people in the back. I had never seen someone get taken back so fast. You always WANT to be the one waiting the longest in the ER, it means your not the one at most risk of dying. When they took me back within two minutes, I suddenly became a lot more scared. Something must be really wrong if your not having me wait at all. Yep. Turned out to be viral infection that started a crazy immune response that mimicked all the symtoms of sepsis. High fever, high HR, low BP, severe pain, and all the lab work to go with it. But no infection found. Came on like a truck, felt like death for two days and then I was fine and was discharged. It was so bizarre!
Wow!!
Wow! I never heard somebody recover so fast. Death was toying with you that day.
@@YarbroK Really, it was crazy! It made everyone scratch there heads. My faviorte saying over my years of medical close calls has become "I keep ducking the Guillotine" and that day was defiently one of those moments. Death hasn't caught me yet, and I plan to keep on evaiding it as long as I can! 😂
Bizarre. And yes, you're absolutely right about waiting times and the urgency of your issue.
I've had that experience too, I was so out of breath, I didn't know what was going on with my heart, but that something was wrong, had the instinct to take an aspirin and my ex took me to the ER super super early in the morning (along with our young daughter). I just felt like my heart was going fast and skipping beats. I was taken to triage and they had a second nurse look at my vitals because the first was in disbelief that my HR was around 200, I got wheeled to the trauma room so fast, I was in AFib and had no clue. They stopped my heart in the ER a couple of times and there were so many doctors and nurses around me. I know there were people waiting in the ER waiting area and glared at us going back but you did not want to be me at that point, I was scared I was going to die with the flurry of sudden activity.
my husband's urgent care doctor called ahead when his appendix burst... fastest I've ever seen an adult get into an er without an ambulance.
The call ahead prob didn’t make it happen much faster, the fact that it was a burst appendix would have immediately thrown him to the front of the line.
Triage is awesome. Come in with a little owie, you get to wait. Come in with a spurting jugular (or a burst appendix), you get the express ride to appropriate services.
My doctor called ahead when my toe was so infected it had to be amputated and I waited in the emergency department waiting room for 12 hours while the infection got worse.. clearly I should’ve told them my appendix burst instead, lol.
@@creativenamegoeshere2562 ehh, his symptoms weren't very consistent on first glance, and we didn't even get to that point of the discussion because of the call...
Your hubby probably also presented to the triage people with signs and symptoms that he needed to be seen ASAP, ahead of the people who called an ambulance for toe pain (yep, that happens!) Sounds like he’s OK though and I hope his recovery was swift.
I'd add abdominal pain to the list. When I had ab pain I called my primary care doc to see if I could get in that day, and they told me ab pain required an ER visit. I rolled my eyes a bit, but went -- and within hours was in surgery having both my appendix and gallbladder removed. (The fact that the ER doc initially wanted to send me home to take Tums without doing an exam or a scan is a story for another day.)
My neighbor went to the ER with bad stomach pain was there 12 hours after about 10 hours the doctor seen him. They sent him home without a scan. He was home for about 6 hours. Went into convulsions and died. His roommate gave him CPR until the ambulance came he was already dead. So tragic and so disappointed with the ER
THIS! At 7 years old I had terrible abdominal pain. I was staying with my grandmother as my parents were on vacation. 2 hours of waiting and not feeling better my grandparents drove me to the ER. Turns out my appendix was inflamed. I was rushed straight to surgery. As soon as they cut me open and removed the appendix and it exploded on the surgeon's hand. Some of the pus ended falling back inside me so I needed to have a drain put in for a bit. But it still gives me nightmares. Literally a second too late and I could have possibly been dead.
Actually that's quite normal here
I tried to go to urgent care for abdominal pain yesterday, but they said I needed to go to the ER. I spent 5 hours at the ER and they didn't even end up doing anything, but they also didn't give me any food even though it was dinnertime when they called me back, which means I didn't get to eat dinner until I got home, which fucked me over for like the entirety of last night and today, because one of my medications has to be taken with a meal, and delaying a dose of it for as long as ended up happening last night basically always fucks me up for the next 24 hours or so. I'm still mad about it. they didn't even do any scans, they just did some blood tests and urine tests and sent me home
@lmnopqrs9797 that sounds very normal. although if requested sometimes to come up with like a small snack thing of like applesauce so you can take your medications
03:52 My doc called ahead, I was seen immediately. You do *not* want to be the person who is seen immediately. The longer you're waiting, the less you're dying.
I never thought about it like that
Touché
Not always true. Sometimes they are lazy and don't even bother to come see you. There have been cases of people who died while waiting for a day and a half on a chair to be evaluated. Or people who were sent home because the doctors didn't want to do further tests and then people later died at home. The second case happens quite often actually. It was even on the news here. I myself have always had bad experience in the ER. Once i had inflamed appendix and couldnt go to the bathroom for days so i was in so much pain. I waited in the ER the whole night and the day after until noon to be seriously visited and given medication and something to poop and then they gave me a bed in this room with six other people. The bathroom was horrible. At the reception they were mad that i even came. Second time i had pain again and a nurse trated me horribly, left me with permanent nerve damafe from iv. The er was empty that day so they werent full like the first time,yet they were so rude. They sent me home and told me to ask my family doctor for further tests instead of doing them.
I disagree but that's because I have a chronic condition that could be fatal if untreated but the bigger issue is that it is AGONY, characterised as being worse than labour, I think its more accurate to say you want to not need to be seen immediately
@Evey K. where was this because this did not happen in the United States I am almost certuan or else you must have made billions off the malpractice suit
Urgent care = my back is killing me in any position. ER = back pain so bad I can’t breath without without crying. Both were kidney infections. One got me meds and sent home within 45 minutes. The other I got a CT scan & was there long enough to make the staff afraid of my friend’s mom. Do urgent care before it gets to an ER visit.
Wise advice my friend, but unfortunately few will follow it. I work in an ER and a large amount of people we see could have been seen at urgent care.
Most insurance no longer cover walk in/urgent care. They know we don't want 4 hours in ER and 2 -3 weeks to see a doctor. Hopefully you'll get better or croak.
I went to Urgent Care for kidney pain and they told me to go to the ER. I have a stone in my right kidney and an infection somewhere in my urinary tract. I believe it's both kidneys cause both hurt.
at my hospital, urgent care is the adjacent building to the ER. they send patients forth and back.
@@Medicgal When I went to Urgent Care for kidney stones, they sent me to the ER because they couldn't do anything. So I didn't have a choice.
As the mother of a nurse who worked ER through the pandemic, listen to this man. If you don’t have signs of a life-threatening problem, go to Urgent Care first. If you are a real emergency, they will send you where you belong.
Yup and urgent care is way less expensive.
Unless it's a kid with a head injury that probably needs stitches. Urgent care won't see you
Hahahahaha (Canada)..... just get the next flight to Mexico....
I've been to urgent care for a sprained ankle and a sprained wrist. Definitely not ER worthy, but important enough that I needed to be seen the same day. But that's what urgent care is for.
Honestly I wish urgent care was more available for people on HMOs. I live in the SF Bay Area, on Kaiser Permanente. My Options for Urgent care is an $80 uber to SF, or around a $100 uber to San Jose. One way. Which is more expensive than my ER Co-pay. It's kind of fucked up. I hate to add to the wait list and crowding, but I've been lucky so far. Last time I went to the ER was because i developed visual and auditory hallucinations resultant of not sleeping at all for a month and a half (And yes my doctor told me explicitly to go to the ER immediately). Completely empty waiting room. In GD Oakland. On a Friday Night. It probably also helped that my EKG scared the shit out of the nurses and they immediately tossed me into the Cardiac room. Not sleeping for a month + does horrendous things to ones heart, apparently.
As a patient my daughter is a champ. She has had so many crappy procedures in the past year. We took her to ER late one night as she was having an allergic reaction and the steroids and antihistamines we had been given in urgent care hadn't helped and was getting worse, so needed more, 1am on a Saturday, we were surrounded by drunks in hand cuffs ect. The Dr called someone in and my daughter shouts... "really, they're calling HIM in before Me. I'm 8 with a full body reaction" I've never been more mortified and simultaneously proud... the lad actually said to send her in. I suppose he was putting off the inevitable of a cell. Hahahaha.
That girl is amazing! Give her an extra hug today!
Give her a hug? Give the girl a medal and some ice cream!
And SHE WAS CORRECT!!!! I can not believe that they would not take her in immeaditely when she has a full body allergic reaction. Because they are unpredictable and she is a CHILD!!!
She is AWESOME!!!
I think that even in an adult case, the people in emergency room in here would not have left the person to the waiting room, but taken him into a space where they are under medical observation. It is only in matters of minutes that closing windpipe becomes deadly. And they really do not want to risk that! So it is very strange that you were sitting in the waiting room at all.
🤔🤔🤔 I guess it depends on the symptoms he was claiming- which must’ve been pretty bad (many prisoners- the lucky ones here in the USA who actually get to go to hospitals unlike many other countries where they don’t, claim fake emergency symptoms bc it’s easier to escape at the hospital than in prison- most of the escapees here do it from the hospital) - roids and antihistamines can take a bit to kick in- if she wasn’t going into anaphylaxis (which her comments def indicate she wasn’t), she could wait (and would actually probably improve slightly while waiting a bit)... children are given priority over adults in the ER (the younger you are, the higher priority you are)- so while you both were scared, her reaction probably wasn’t as bad as you thought 🤷🏼♀️ fear can amplify things ... if her reaction was really bad, she would’ve been rushed back and hit with epinephrine ASAP- that’s when a reaction is severe enough to constitute medical priority 🤷🏼♀️ I have allergies and they can be scary, but I also have the knowledge of what to do for the varying levels of reaction- eg take more meds, jab in some epinephrine, or go in to get medical assistance (beyond a medical opinion after some epi) - the first time, esp for those without medical knowledge is scarier and more built up than the problem... just like epipen jabs- they seem scarier than they are to those same ppl 🤷🏼♀️
She sounds like a future Bridezilla. Let's hope she doesn't go full Karen.
The grandma thing hit sooo close to home. She spent all her life very well off and comfortable to all of it gone after a few hospital stays because the price of medical going up.
How awful. Dreadful healthcare system in the US.
So sorry to hear that! Lost my dad (Australia) last December. He had heart failure and was in and out of hospital for weeks. Fortunately for dad here, no medical bills at all. The health care system in the US really is a disgrace. It seems so wrong that your grandma had to spend her life savings to be treated in hospital. Issues like that prevents people from seeking medical treatment. And what happen if you are the victim of violence or a car accident? If you have no insurance who pays the bills when it is not your fault? Here, it doesn’t matter why, no bill for going to Emergency, hospital admissions or in many cases, drs visits, and in my case, my prescriptions are free for the last half of2023.
I absolutely love these! I have to be the sickest I've ever been in my life and/or in a (potentially) life-threatening situation to even step foot in an ER. I've always been like this, even before COVID.
Hell, I had COVID 19 and refused to go to the ER. My argument was why go, they don’t have ventilators, there is a 95% chance that someone there was sicker than me and would make me sicker…if I was gonna pass, I’d rather do it at home with my doggie.
Me too
Same here. I've only gone when I was either in incredible pain or very sick.
I've had to go in more than 50 times, but I have a chronic condition that causes more pain than child birth (according to people who have had both and my drs/nurses/coworkers/medic textbook) but yeah it is sometimes like I know this hospital i know imma be waiting for at least 5 hours to a day and a half if I go right now so I can stay here and smoke pot (I wasn't working at the time) and listen to things on my phone or i can go there spend hours in public and suffer the whole pain the whole time
Not going wasn't an option but I knew it wouldn't do me any good to go at that time
@@tagordon6678, RT here, we definitely set up ventilators in the ER, even in the most podunk tiny facilities I've worked in.
When it comes to someone sicker than you, it doesn't work that way.
I'm glad you're okay though.
Full moon effects is apparent in several industries, too. I'm a teacher, and I've also been a corrections officer in a juvenile prison. I worked night shift at the prison, and it never failed that when I came in, if the question was "is it a full moon tonight?" it meant something was going done that day. And 99% of the time, yes there was a full moon.
The "full moon effect" is baloney. A bunch of studies have shown this.
As a teacher we instinctively know when its a full moon. Especially in an elementary school. Those little turds are practically feral.
The full moon the week before Christmas was indescribable....
Even in customer service, whenever You get a batshit crazy day for no reason ( no Christmas or Black Friday sales or anything like that), usually it's the damn full moon again.
I technically have religious exemption to working full or new moons but like I'm always going to show up and probably take an extra shift if it is coming cuz I'm not that guy
I work night shift in the hospitality industry. Same shit. Crazies, drunks, fights, spewing. And that's just the young women!
Try working a full moon on Friday the 13th on a night shift in emergency services when someone, somewhere, has said the 'Q' word. Repeatedly.
Exactly. Or work an ambulance under the same conditions. The SOB who says the Q word deserves to die or at least get severe food poisoning.
Try working a new moon Monday after the Superbowl, your management has called out sick, and oh you're still down several FT positions despite it being a month since they promised to bring in floaters for backup...yeah.
Oh man!
The Q word I liked you added "multiple times ". Only ever thought about the one poor soul who uttered it.
Wow. Talk about clueless. Surprised no one objected vehemently.
One time, it was Christmas eve night at like 11:30 pm & we were waiting until midnight. We already knew I was very ill, but I wasn't crazy truthful with my mom since I just wanted to be with everyone else & enjoy the holiday. It wasn't until that night that I told my mom I had red bumps all over me the past 3 days and they were getting worse, and she was like "YOU SHOULDVE TOLD ME" which worried me since I was just a 10 yo and my mom used to be a nurse. She suspected I had scarlet fever, which is highly deadly. Since everywhere but the ER was closed, we had to go to the ER and I literally didn't even have to wait at all, they immediately took me to a room and the nurse said "Aww, merry Christmas, sweetheart" and gave me her light-up necklace that I kept till this day 💗 btw, I was negative, thank God
I also had a false-run-in with “scarlet fever” as a kid. I went to the ER for strep throat (because it was past midnight and I was Big Miserable and also a kid), and they prescribed me an antibiotic. The next night I went to my mom’s room and told her, “mom… I have red dots all over me, and they itch.” She told me to put some lotion on it and take some Benadryl. (She’s notorious for being useless when she’s just woken up). The next morning I walked in and said “yeah uh the lotion didn’t help I still have spots, even on the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet.”
She freaked out. “OH MY GOD. ARE YOU OKAY? WHAT’S HAPPENING?!?”
I wasn’t very stressed at the time since they weren’t even raised spots. I was worried, sure, but I don’t remember any panic. I do however remember the look on my mom’s face when she learned that a common reaction to the antibiotic I was on is a mild full-body rash. All of the wind went out of her sails. She’d been, same as your mom, terrified that I’d had scarlet fever.
I finished the course of antibiotics, of course, but I did get the reaction marked down to avoid it in the future.
Urgent care rocks. I had to forcibly remove someone from the premises and jacked up my finger. Got an appointment(yes, seriously) with Urgent Care. Came in on time, didn't even wait 5 minutes after check-in. Quick exam, walk over to X-ray, a wait for the results, tore a tendon or ligament. They gave me a splint, some instructions and I was on my way back to work to deal with other idiots. All this in less than an hour! Oh, and finger healed nicely. 6 weeks in the splint was all it needed. All that for a $25 co-pay.
On Urgent Care: please go there when symptoms are mild. Do not wait days/weeks before you go and they say “um yeah we can’t do anything about this” and you end up in the ER anyway… happened to my husband a year and a half ago. A scab turned into a bone infection turned into an eight week hospital stay. And then a second (shorter) stay a year later for amputation ….
I’m sorry
It’s difficult because we don’t want to waste other people’s time or resources, but then, we can minimize also.
I think those who mimimize like your husband and myself yes, end up doing more damage
That’s quite a price to pay for “toughing it out.”
Also: There's another two options for medical care quickly. One is the nurse advice line which is really great for giving you an idea on which level of care you should seek. Another is telemedicine, which gives you the option to see a general practitioner over video or phone call if needed. Obviously don't rely on telemedicine for anything but simple issues, but it's kind of perfect for mild symptoms.
I learned first hand (pun unintended) that multiple cat bites that made my thumb 10x it's size got me taken back immediately when the waiting room was packed. Ended up in ER surgery to cut out infection & the cat missed my flexor tendon by a whisker.
Mine severed the extensor tendon major surgery 14 days hospitalized open wound for almost a year
Did u get apologies from that mean cat?
She wasn’t mean she was scared
@@mickikindley7821 how do you know what my cat was feeling?!
@@freethinkeralways No, but she sorta became even more feral after that. I wouldn't try to touch her. When she got a mouth tumor I had to get her in a carrier (I wore work gloves) but at the vet before she passed she let me pet her, so I guess maybe she did apologize. It was years after the bite.
Full moon stuff has been studied: it correlates very strongly with outside light level. Seems more people do more stuff, particularly more *stupid* stuff outside at night when they can see, and since the full moon is the peak of it you're more likely to notice it around and associate it with the full moon.If you tracked the specific day of the full moon and you compared it to days before and after that were pretty full moons that also had clear cloudless nights you would see very similar rates of crazy on average
As an epileptic, I honestly prefer the urgent care. I know seizures are on the ER list at the end, but for ppl w/epilepsy it can be a chronic condition. Though, I can see it being an emergency only if a seizure is particularly bad, like w/falling or head trauma, or if someone doesn't have a history of seizures...
ERs I've been to are quick to medicate & have given me morphine after a seizure, even though I'm severely allergic to it. Urgent Cares often take the time to test med levels and offer pain alternatives. The hospital may also do those things but usually after admittance after leaving the ER. At least, that has been my experience.
Most urgent cares don't have access to stat bloodwork and these visits get sent to ER anyway. So always check with your local urgent cares and have an emergency plan about where you want to go in case a seizure happens if you have a history of them. If it's your first one or due to an unknown cause, go to the ER.
I'm sorry you were treated this way you should have sued for malpractice or simply refused the meds, in general it's mych better to go to the ER since the actual hospital is there whether or not you are epileptic it is dangerous jot to go to the appropriate facility
Ha! Mine have told me to go away, even though they're not freaking psudoseizures. They're frontal lobe seizures.
I know that if I have two seizures (grand mal specifically) in a day that I am cycling and that ativan wont stop it. But urgent care cant give me a bolis of dilantin or monitor me in case i go status epilepticus, so I have to go to the ER either way.
Yeah, if you have a chronic condition it can change which symptoms mean ":ER Now!" vs just get it looked at soonish. Seizures are most dangerous if you don't know why you're having a seizure, because some of the causes are die-within-hours stuff.
I love when they call to ask the wait time... if you think are having an emergency come in. If the wait time makes you stay at home, you probably don't need to be in the ER. We don't give out wait times over the phone. We never know what's going to happen in the next 10 mins.
I went to the ER and asked how long the wait time is 'cuz I was in so much pain I wanted to at least know how much pain I'll be in before I can get seen. It's not that I wasn't sick enough to be there. Why do people in the ED have to be so rude all the time?!!?
@@aiko3423 did you even actually read the comment? Try again before getting pissy. This is why people in the ER are rude.
Sometimes we’re sick enough we’re willing to go to the ER that isn’t the system our pcp is if it’s going to be much faster, and therefore would need to know wait times to determine which ER to go to
If you have to ask, you aren't sick enough to be more than fast track. I guarantee whoever answers the phone to that call is rolling their eyes. If time is your biggest issue, Urgent Care? We tend to take referrals from Urgent Care more seriously. The wait time can change dramatically in 10 minutes especially if a Priority One arrives. Or a Priority 2 (stemi). Then Everything in that section grinds to a halt for an hour at least. We will answer questions what insurance we take however. Also if you go to an out of network hospital, you are covered regardless. Two laws called EMTALA and No Surprise Billing. If you are in need of emergency services or in active labor, you will be seen. You have no control over who sees you or if you are transferred to an out of network hospital hence No surprise Billing. Ambulances are a whole other story.
@@aiko3423 We're not trying to be rude. We just can't predict wait times. I worked one night--traumas left and right, ambulances non-stop until we had to go on divert (overloaded with emergencies). You just never know what's going to happen any given night.
Yes I agree on Urgent care. Those places are a God send. Heck I got seen so much quicker at urgent care then I usually do at my regular doctor when I have a normal patient visit. Only had to wait 30 minutes, got seen, had my medicine and was on my way to a nice nap that afternoon. And was well enough for work the next day. I recommend 10/10 stars. Also only ended up paying 50 dollars when it was all said and done after insurance. 25.00 up front for co pay and 25.00 for what was left over after insurance.
I've had good and bad experiences with urgent care, but I vastly prefer that option, if possible.
Yep. The general rule is if you can stop and consider which one you would rather, you very likely do not need an ER and can go to urgent care.
I do urgent care for damn near everything. Or after hours at my doc’s office and I usually see a physician’s assistant.
So glad I live in Canada, where ER or Urgent Care is free.
Took my daughter to urgent care after falling off monkey bars. My training for ER is loss of life, limb or eyesight. They're like, her arm is broken. Bye. Had to fight with insurance and PCM 5 days to get her in and get a cast, all the while she's in constant pain, then later an appt with a specialist to do another cast. There's a line you gotta draw somewhere for what one service can provide vs the other one. I still waited in line an hour with a crying kid for the people coming in for drug tests and colds.
Mondays being the busiest is no joke. A coworker and myself got injured during a code with a violent patient on a Monday and, even as employees of the hospital we still were waiting in the waiting room for 8 hours. Ended with a nice 16 hour shift that day, with more than half that time being a patient, and not actually on the floor working.
Our ER will talk with you on the phone and help guide you in the decision to come on in or not. Years ago, my son was 3 years old and hit his head on our island in the kitchen chasing a ball his sister threw and passed out. I actually didn’t see him hit his temple. I only saw him take a few steps and fall over. He was completely limp and eyes rolled back in his head. After what seemed like forever he stiffened up and woke up. Since I hadn’t seen what happened I was thinking he had a silent seizure or something so I called the ER after he woke up and they walked me through questions to ask him and asked me a few and if I felt I still needed to bring him in I could but they didn’t push for me to come in nor did they not speak with me. They assessed that he would be fine. Thank God they helped calm this momma.
Extreme abdominal pain (ended up being an infected kidney stone that went septic) and a wound that continues to get worse after going to urgent care multiple times can also be reasons to go to the ER. But with the infected kidney stone that went septic at first they were thinking it was just bad food poisoning and it took around 5 hours for them to figure out what was going on when they finally did a CT because I ended up shivering uncontrollably for probably half an hour it felt like. I was on a bed in the hallway with no call button.
Sounds like a crappy ER doc.
@@wholeNwon it wasn't the Dr, but nurses and other staff that didn't help when I needed it.
@@musicalatv Then it's a crappy ER.
@@wholeNwon but better than others in the area...
Actually this is what happens when the ERs are full. Which happens a lot in the US
I called my PCP for an appt because I had lots of blood in my urine. He told me that it wasn’t blood and it was enzymes. Two months later I finally felt better after a ER visit Surgery and a lot of pain and having a stent installed. I don’t see that doctor anymore.
Clearly not. Good for you! Glad you're better!
I'm dealing with that right now. Hopefully we didn't have the same doctor. He finally referred me to an infectious disease doctor because the uti's keep coming back and now seem to be antibiotic resistant.
@@jodil1209 oh no! I’m so sorry! The only time I’ve ever had a uti was when I had kidney stones that turned into a kidney/ut infection. Oh and the first time I had a c section I got one from being catheterized for 48hrs bc they messed up my epidural and I had to lay flat for two days. Being a new mom trying to function laying down sucked
In all the years doing patients care, I ve never seen or learned about any "enzymes" that turn urine red... There must b something new recently discovered...
@@jodil1209 what happened to me was he refused to see me and when I went to ER I saw a kidney doctor. He did a ctscan and said I had a stone that wasn’t going to come out. I had 3 surgeries to get this done and after the last surgery said there was no stone after all. Just a bad infection. This cost me $1000 in co-pays that I’m still paying off. Yep, they are getting $20.00/month from me. I’m 71 so I’ll be dead before it’s paid. I’m alone in this world so no one will have to finish paying for it. Bwahahaha.
Actually, a lot of ERs now have nurse advice line attached to them, so people can get medical advice. It's basically what I've been doing after i left working ER
Yeah but their advice usually consists of "come see us"
Yeah and they follow a script for each problem and it usually ends in "go to the ER" 99% of the time. Clogs up the ER, thanks for making the ER busier phone nurse!
@@Amm1ttai Raleigh just started one because their pilot showed they could save money by saying, “Don’t see us, go urgent care.” Which… if no one is paying for that means they aren’t going to be seeing anyone but it saved money. 🥴
We have one here called the "Telehealth" line. It is handy for "do I really need the ER or urgent care" especially when it comes to childcare.
@@spoonierv1543 slightly more useful, but still will tell you to go somewhere to be seen even if you don't need to be.
I can guarantee that when you show up in the ER on Christmas day, the staff knows there's something seriously wrong.
🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️ Many ppl don’t celebrate Christmas in the states, so Christmas is just another day (or some celebrate it superficially to fit in)... plus being a national holiday, most things are shut down so ppl have time to come in as they aren’t working (albeit some chains have started being open on Christmas Day).. I would actually expect a lot of visits on Christmas if you live in a diverse city 🤷🏼♀️ On top of that all the Christmas accidents 🤦♀️
Truth
@@candicecart9786 actually it doesn't matter if you celebrate Christmas or not, people tend to avoid the ER on any day off from weekends to other types of holidays. The point is if you have something wrong but you don't have to work You put it off for as long as possible but once work looms then going to the ER is more palatable. Most cases, its at subconscious level, people don't want to give up their free time especially when it is scarce.
Even in the middle of covid the week before and after Christmas is so dead, you only have the people in there that have been there for weeks already.
Or any holiday for that matter.
@@candicecart9786 'many ppl dont celebrate christmas in the states' WDYM??? it would be strange if i walked into someones house and i'd be like "hey wheres.... the decorations??" and they're like "we dont celebrate christmas."
Please make urgent care open 24 hours instead of closing at 8:00 P.M. and you'll have a lot less people going to the ERs!
My horse stepped on my ankle and I went to urgent care the next day . Told them I’m a cardiac patient and they sent me to the ER. Oh my ankle was broken too. I hate crutches! Love your vlogs
I ended up in the ER three weeks ago and your videos kept playing on loop in my head. 🤣😂
(I am miraculously okay! I got kicked in the ribs by a horse and somehow walked away with some nasty contusions and a bump to the head. Never presented with a concussion despite blacking out for a few seconds. The worst bruising wasn't even my ribs, it was the arm I landed on. I apparently managed to bring it up as I fell so it took the brunt of the impact. Mostly healed now, and back to work feeding the horse that kicked me. 🤣🤣)
Note: I'm glad you're okay! And doing work that u absolutely love. 😊
Clearly just, the dangers of the job..& horses, they're such big strong animals..the animal probably didn't mean it anyway.
P S. - I too ❤ horses...
@@TheNegZero Oh, he definitely didn't mean to! He was being a doofus and spooked at the wheelbarrow and I happened to be walking by. 100% wrong place, wrong time. He's a very nervous boy, but a giant softie!
Re: raining
I would think certain emergencies occur less often when it is raining, because more people stay at home to begin with. They're not out screwing up tendons and vertebrae with sports they haven't played in ten years, or wiping out trying to show their teen son they can still do gnarly bike or skateboard tricks,
And they're a lot less likely to be in the yard working on a project until they get heat stroke or angina or their back goes out.
Rain also affects many of those with genuine chronic pain so badly that they will only leave their living space if they **absolutely*** need to, and may ignore other situations, even those that should be seen,to prioritize minimizing pain....partly because the barometric pressure and humidity make some people's pain a lot worse, and partly because they may not want to risk a fall.
I have seen people who should have at least gone to an urgent care...choose lying in the position and situation that helps them be least in agony instead.
Im sure a good percentage of people who use ERs in place of a PCP (or those who to try to get pain meds they don't medically need)
are acting like house cats and just don't want to get wet, but I also think there are other obvious causative reasons why the numbers go down.
Steve from the ER: Hydrate before coming to the ER!
ER: Makes you wait hours to be seen if your emergency isn't severe enough; says you're not allowed to have water during that time
Omg!! So true!!
You can tell someone at the front desk and they can probably get you the container.
If you are giving something to drink, it will interfere with the lab results
And that is why you eat and drink before coming to the hospital.
A few years ago, I had a terrible gastro upset which lasted for days and I felt wretched. I also have Systemic Lupus, Sjögren Syndrome and peripheral neuropathy. It was so bad that after 9 days of sleeping on towels because of sudden accidents we finally went to our local hospital. I’m Australian so there is no charge for going to the hospital, I just felt silly going with something that was a stomach problem. Well, I was seen so quickly once they found out how long it has been going on for and finding out about the Lupus. Every level in my body was so low from losing liquid for 10 days, and my immune response was so poor that I was put into a special room and everyone had to gown up before coming in (this was before Covid). It took 5 days to get my levels back near normal when they let me come home. But a HUGE warning: POTASSIUM in your drip burns your veins going in and the pain is excruciating!!! I threatened to take my drip out myself if they didn’t stop the potassium which they did. Never again!!!!
Tip I learned at Urgent care is a 10 inch cut or longer isn't considered a knick especially if you used a medical staple gun to keep it closed to drive there. Apparently it's a gash and they want to get your pants off quickly to see what the hell you did.
😂🤣😂
I have so much respect for ER nurses! (and all staff in ER, but i specifically have good experiences with the nurses). I used to get violently sick with stomach aches as a teen, and I remember the nurses on the shift right after i got out of school knew my name I was there so much from dehydration. They could be completely swamped running around like crazy, and still make sure I had puke bags (the pain made my puke a lot), lots of fluids, and check in on me to check if my pain levels changed (they almost always stayed 10). Anyway, I have so much respect for you in this field!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you, and you are welcome❤
Throwing up blood is also an ER visit. Ask me how I know.
How do you know
That was one of the only reasons I went to the ER. I have only gone to the ER twice that I can think of. Once in middle school when I hit my head and passed out later. And in my early twenties after a tonsillectomy when I woke up in the middle of the night vomiting blood because at the surgery site a blood vessel had broken open and leaked all night filling my stomach full of blood. That was a bit chaotic. And lots of blood I lost on that one. Stayed in a bed in a room for a full 24 hrs. to make sure I was not anemic and stable enough to go home after that. Everything else in my life I either waited to see my primary care of urgent care.
i get this, i work urgent care, which is in the SAME building just down the hall from our ER, anything NON-emergent comes down to me. It's a fact! but if you think coming to urgent care for your chest pain is gonna be a shorter wait, YOU ARE WRONG, straight to the ER you go sir... good luck and gods speed.
Meanwhile I had urgent care dismiss my chest pain as a pulled muscle despite the pecs being an extremely hard muscle to even sprain. What I actually had was a hole in my lung leaking air into my chest cavity causing 10/10 pain. NEVER even asked for pain meds either. I just wanted the issue fixed.
Had to start crying before the doctor even considered doing an xray and then proceeded to go on about how healthy my lungs were.... radiology called back panicked about the hole and is the only reason I was able to find out the problem. Had I gone to school the next day in pain, I could have had a full collapsed lung on the stairs with no one around to help. (I got there during 1st period about half way through since I didn't have a class)
I send all chest painers to the the ER from urgent care. You cannot rule out a cardiac origin without cardiac enzymes which you need stat labs to run. And patients argue with me all the time that they don't want to go, but I've saved enough lives at this point that I know they need to go. Urgent Care does everything we can to keep people out of the ER, but when you gotta go, you gotta go.
Never ever say the word quiet if the ER has been slow all day
4:54 I have to note Urgent Care being cheaper depends on your state and insurance. Because apparently in my state and with my type of insurance it's charged the exact same amount as an ER visit (it literally listed as an ER visit 🙄). Probably explains why most people just go to the ER in my state.
Sure it wasn't a stand alone emergency room? We have those in my state and they get confused for urgent care centers a lot... it makes a big difference in how they charge you.
Also, it's not like they're open 24/7 like the ER. I probably had an issue that was more urgent care worthy than the ER, but it still wasn't going to wait 10 hours.
Nah you went to a free standing emergency room which sort of look like an urgent care but they bill like an ER. They are scams and states like Texas tolerate them for some dumb reason. Everyone hates them.
@@solemnbum sorry for the late response but I highly doubt it considering it has Immediate care in it’s name.
“I don’t want to be waiting too long”
…
MA’AM YOU HAVE A PAPER CUT ON YOUR HAND-
Since learning about it and having to use it a few times, I've encouraged folks a number of times to go to urgent care. Worth note... in those cases, it's usually not an attempt to convince them *not* to go to the ER, but rather to convince them to get in to a doctor ASAP when they don't think it's a big enough deal for the ER and would rather pretend nothing's wrong or wait a few days to see if it'll go away before calling to schedule an appointment a month or two out for something that seems like it should be dealt with a bit more quickly.
I was even kinda grumpy about a time a call-line nurse insisted I go to the ER instead of Urgent Care or something a couple years ago, partly because I had to get a friend to give me a ride out to the nearest ER I could count on my insurance to cover (when I easily could have just taken a bus or even walked to the nearest Urgent Care), and partly because it hardly seemed like an emergency. Sure, apparently I had managed to dislocate my jaw on both sides, but it had only been an annoyance over the prior couple days, and the little gash under my lips had already scabbed over and just needed a stitch or two (because it went... all the way through and I had realized I was drooling through it...). Uh... if you're wondering wtf... it was determined I most likely had a seizure (not the first time, but it's extremely rare), and I was barely even awake for those 2 days before I finally called the nurse line, nevermind thinking very clearly.
Overall, I know that people who misuse the ER exist, I just... don't seem to know any of them. Even though I've been living in a major city for years now, I still have a much easier time understanding the moment in one of Dr. Glaucomflecken's Rural Medicine videos then the patient's answer to how bad something is is "I'm here, ain't I?"
Fun fact none of the urgent cares are open at 3am around me
I have had a doctor call ahead and tell the hospital to expect me. Three months after my oldest was born my Gallbladder decided to go play on a farm and wanted to take me with it. In 24 hours I went from looking fine to having highlighter yellow eyes and green skin, I looked like a plant according to my mother. Went in, got put in a room, did paperwork IN room while being prepped for an emergency ERCP to unblock things and maybe hold off until the surgeon could get around to remove it. Was... fun... Was the quickest I've gotten rushed back and that includes the time my poor son (at 3 years old) caught a nasty stomach bug and had it coming out both ends, and we couldn't get his fever down with 'The Meds'. Once it hit 102.9 I took him in. Still had to wait about 15 minutes to be taken back, spent my birthday in the hospital with him that year. Now he's a happy, healthy(And sassy AF) 9 year old.
I have stage 4 cancer. When the chemo causes an infection, making me septic, my doctor calls ahead, and I'm either first or second in line as soon as I walk in. It's super fast if you're in a life-threatening situation. Also, during Covid, I was seen as soon as possible bc infection or illness to me equals possible death.
so sorry to hear of your diagnosis. prayed for you.
@Barb Thank You. ❤️
Unfortunately, I very frequently get turned away from urgent care clinics because of my cardiac history and connective tissue disorder. I also was told by a doctor to not waste time at an urgent care clinic for severe abdominal pain because chances are that you’ll need an ultrasound or CT scan and they usually can’t do that at urgent care. Unfortunately, this does mean that I’m well-known by the ER staff at my local hospital and I absolutely hate bothering them. I just feel like I am the absolute worst person in the world when I see a familiar face and I can tell that trying their hardest not to roll their eyes at me. There’s just no way of knowing when a stomachache and vomiting is just a case of plain old food poisoning or a bowel obstruction with me!
If you're polite and apologetic, we're not rolling our eyes at you. A polite frequent flyer with a legitimate, pain in the ass to manage issue? We're cursing the gods for being a jackass to you.
This is true. Also, if a person comes into Urgent Care with mild breathing problems, they very well might recommend an ER visit. I went to Urgent Care thinking I might’ve had bronchitis or walking pneumonia a few years back and they told me to go to the ER immediately because they didn’t have the equipment to properly diagnose me (a CT scan). Good call because I didn’t have bronchitis or pneumonia, I had a pulmonary embolism (2 huge blood clots in my lungs). I’m fine now but that could’ve easily turned fatal quickly.
Ask for a patient rep to be called down. If it was their family the attitude would be different No Rep? Call for Nursing Supervisor. Then the attitudes change. Also make a report to the Insurance Co. I worked as an employee at a hospital with an attitude.
I find your comments about over the phone medical advice fascinating. In Australia we have a phone service called “Health Direct” which is specifically designed to reduce ED visits
Yeah but the whole point of Health Care Direct is to give advice over the phone. Call a hospital and we will say “nope, call Health Care Direct, come in if you’re worried, call 000 in an emergency”.
Usually Health Care Direct sends you to us anyway, and says “you need to see a doctor within 4hrs” anyway and freaks people out. I would really like to know if Health Care Direct has actually reduced ED presentations…
There are tons of 24/7 medical advice lines to call. I've used the one provided by my insurance company.
You cannot be diagnosed over the phone. But they will answer questions and list options.
I've only ever used nurse on call. They give great advice and if it needs it, they will call a telehealth doctor and set up the appt for uou within an hour or so
My insurance has what they call the healthcare advisors. You call the line and a licensed RN will ask you pertinent questions and tell ypu if you can wait to see your PCP, if you should go to urgent care, or if your symptoms merit an ER visit
🤦♀️ Here we have a 24/7 nurse line at our hospitals where I live in the states (my insurance also has a 24/7 nurse hotline)- I’ve gotten a basic prescription (they’ve tightened prescription rules here so no longer can you prescribe yourself basic 💩 or have a friend do it- all is computerized now and has to be done during working clocked in hours for a recorded patient), had my records pulled, and set up an urgent care visit bc I had a potential vaccine need for an accident that involved some rusty metal 🤷🏼♀️ I wouldn’t have gone to the ER for any of those... but many without medical knowledge can find the nurse line very helpful and be sent to the urgent care vs ER 🤷🏼♀️
I refuse to go to the ER. An ambulance is the only way you're going to get me there after everything I've been through
Honestly there needs to be more information to the general public about whether or not you should be going to the ER or just visiting your general care physician my parents both worked ambulance service out of a volunteer fire department often at the same time so I lived in the fire department with them and the most people fall under one of two categories the first panics calls an ambulance or rushes to the ER because they hung there toenail and the second has been bed bound with chest pains for 4 days blurred vision and numbness in all limbs but doesn't want to be a bother
Exactly! ER staff will complain about people coming in unnecessarily because it's the problem they see. But lots more people DON'T seek medical care when they desperately need it, and of course doctors/nurses rarely hear about those cases. And unfortunately, the insistence that "it probably isn't a real emergency; stop bothering us" can make that problem worse 😢
Google
The rain one reminds me working at a restaurant. If the weather is just sucky no one wants to leave home so slow. But if it’s a blizzard with weather storm warning or anything else they are told to stay home they will show up in droves ‘cause “can’t tell me what to do” 🙄
If your restaurant happens to be near an interstate exit you can expect heavy traffic for any bad weather with people pulling off the interstate till weather calms down. If you got to sit it out might as well do it with a cup of coffee or a snack.
When I was first married my newlywed husband was an X-Ray tech working call on weekends. It was the closest ER to a popular, mountainous, back road motorcyclists would frequently ride…and crash. I was hanging out with my husband in the X-Ray dept. (I would even develop X-Rays for him) when a patient came in for a leg X-Ray. One sight of his leg and I could see his bones with my bare eyes, the skin and muscle had been scraped off. I refuse to get on a motorcycle ever since. I like having skin & muscle on my leg thank you very much. Another guy came in by life flight, he wasn’t wearing a helmet and instead of scraping his leg muscle off on the highway this guy landed on his skull and well, you get the picture. That’s why they called motorcycles “donor cycles” in the ER.
1:00 i showed up during HEAVYYYY snow and the front desk looked at me like O_O SOMEONE CAMEEE
I guess when it rains they don't pour in. Lol
One other tip. For the staff, learned this from Dr Glaucomflecken. If an older farmer, construction worker, or other similar person brings themselves to the ER for a major medical issue, get them back ASAP!! They may be about to die and just not be saying so!!
I live in Canada and where I reside the "urgent care" closes at 7 pm during the week and 5 pm on weekends and holidays. We have had to sit in the hospital for hours for a tetanus because the accident it happened at 6 pm on a weekend. Need a couple of stitches, 8 hour wait for the hospital. Some times there isn't even an urgent care dr on and the clinic's just close. There is NOT one place that is open until 11 pm.
The urgent Care closest to me actually has longer wait times than the ER does. Last time I had to go there, I had had to leave work because my son was screaming of pain in his side. So I picked him up and we went to urgent Care thinking he might get seen a little quicker than the ER and they had to wait 3 hours and still not be seen. By then whatever pain he was feeling had subsided so we ended up just leaving. In the meantime they took in instantly a kid who came in with his mom and I heard the mom say he had already been seeing in that same place that morning but that the treatment they gave him for a double ear infection wasn't working quickly enough so she demanded to be seen again, and a gentleman about in his thirties or forties if I had to guess, saying he had intermittent back pain but was not having any at that current moment and had not had any for the past 2 hours...
my latest visit to the ER was on a thursday. weather was cold, very windy and moderate snow fall and I do not give a shit about the weather. I go to the ER when I need help. this time was it because I was in agonising pain from a surgery the same day. less than an hour from getting to the waiting room until I got a bed. nothing dangerous it turned out so I was in and out in less than 4 hours even tho the doctor who delt with surgery complications that night were very busy.
the visit to the ER before my latest one wasn't much more than a month earlier. also on a thursday. windy, cold, snow fall and the ER was crowded from a mass car crash that happened half an hour before my comparatively small accident where I luckily did not pinch off 2 of my fingers and they only needed stitches. ended up waiting 7 hours in the waiting room, then another half an hour in a room and finally 30 more minutes later to get the wounds cleaned and stitched together. not fun in the slightest but I heard something hillarious. a man walked up to a very stressed nurse and said "what the hell are all of you doing? I have been waiting with my son for over an hour to get help and nothing happens" and the nurse responded with "average wait time this night is roughly 7.5 hours and the next person in line did come here over 7 hours ago". I had been there for 7 hours and 20 ish minutes by that point so I knew that I was next in line.
thank you to all the ER workers who help people with their emergencies and their not so emergencies alike. you have helped me out a bunch of times already and i'm eternally greatful. and as an added bonus do I have near enough free healthcare where I live so I have gotten my fingers stitched together and more for a lower price than the cheapest doctors visit in the US.
That nurse is amazing. Truly
Unfortunately, with my insurance the MINIMUM co-pay, just to walk in the door, at an Urgent Care clinic is $150. At the ER/ED dept The MINIMUM copay is $175. The problem with going to Urgent Care (at least in my state) is that they can't or maybe won't start an IV, even for fluids to treat dehydration. They also can't, don't won't take x-rays. My dogs Veterinarian takes x-rays but not at Urgent Care!
After hours waiting at Urgent Care they often CALL AN AMBULANCE with PARAMEDICS to drive you to the EMERGENCY ROOM!!! It happens all the time. Double the wait time and the expense, with the ambulance, is off the charts!
As an ER Tech... these videos are fucking GOLD
My grandmother was a nurse. She said full moon nights at the hospital were always busy. One you missed, lots of mamas pop out babies more so during full moons.
Got to love the Netherlands, we've got two ways into the the medical system. ER and GP, if you're not brought in by ambulance or have extreme physical trauma, here's the GP office build next to the ER, unless they tell you to come to us, you're not getting in.
Tracey we’re on to you! 🤣
My 1&2 year old were so sick this past fall. Because of Covid their pediatrician wouldn’t see them. I made an appointment at urgent care per the pediatricians suggestion and got there and they said it was still a 4-6 hour wait even though I made an appointment. I didn’t pack to prepare to wait that long. My kids needed lunch, naps, etc. I finally lost it and called the pediatrician back demanding they see my kids. That’s why they are there. To see sick kids and help them. They told me they could Covid test them in the parking lot then take them in if it was negative. WELL WHY WASN’T I GIVEN THAT OPTION IN THE FIRST PLACE?!
By the way they didn’t even have Covid, but they both had pretty bad RSV. But if they still refused to see my kids my next stop was the ER. What am I supposed to do for them otherwise? I am not a doctor, but I have 2 sick babies and need them to be seen to get help and no one wanted to help them. So yeah my non emergent ass would have gone to the ER. Sue me. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Covid screwed all systems up
one time my mom called the ER to see hat to do and they said I would be fine. a few days later she took me to the ER after being instructed to do so by my doctor and as soon as she said I was there bc of my eating disorder, they sent me home. I didn't even have a chance to walk through the doors. a few days later I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and my parents were told that i would probably die in a few hours. i lived, but barely. today i still face consequences of delayed medical treatment. i think i should sue, but everyone has been telling me it was my fault and i was the irresponsible one. i was 12, severely underweight, and had a resting heart rate of 22. any advice?
You could call a malpractice law firm. If they think you may have a case they will conduct a thorough record review. Usually they work on contigency.
Who exactly told you it was your own fault knowing you were 12 and in critical condition? That's not normal
Broke my foot and went to a place set up for orthopedics, got x-rays, got a walking boot and crutches from a charity, about $200 and took about an hour no appointment. I knew the break wasn't life threatening (no protruding bones, no spreading bruising), so I wasn't going to bog down an ER. Similarly my sister went to an urgent care for a bladder infection that wasn't responding to the first round of antibiotics she got from her primary. They are such an important resource.
Man, ER is a crazy place. Please stay healthy.
I actually did get medical advice once when I called the nurse line! It is a hospital system, but my primary care doctor is there. I burst a blood vessel in my eye coughing and was really freaked out to see blood in my eye. The nice person on the phone said it happens sometimes and I would be okay. I went back to urgent care when they opened and was glad I didn't have to go to the ER. Urgent care gave me some good meds and I finally got better. She also told me allergy medicine is no longer optional for me-whoops!
The two times I went to the ER I was admitted to the hospital, the 2nd time I was actually wheeled into surgery within an hour and a half. I never had to wait either, I checked in and told of my reason why I was there and I was taken back immediately! I was pushed to the front of the line, saw the ER doctor asap!
The first words out of my primary care doctors mouth when my blood work comes back messed up or my blood pressure readings at home are way too high...go to the ER...me..back to her...NO.
Back in day! A person could call and ask a ER nurse question
Back in the day people weren't grabbing lawyers to sue the pants off people all the time.
I always loved it when they told me "IF I go in the ambulance I get seen faster". It was always my goal to make sure that didn't happen. Triage candidate!!!
The only thing I'd like to point out is that some Urgent Cares are so freaking lazy, they tell all their patients (non-emergent) to go to our ER.
My first time going to ER. They sat me down asked me why I'm here. Few mins after they took my heart rate, the monitor immediately panic beep cuz my heart rate was 165. Plus my 103F fever.
The front desk nurse pinged her colleagues, took my info god's speed, walked me into an ER room, got on the bed, several nurses simultaneously working on my body. Imaging, blood draw, etc.
I couldn't be more thankful they didn't make me wait. But also well aware I was in very bad shape.
You can also make a appointment at urgent care.
I only go to ER instead of urgent care if 1) it's late, urgent care is closed, and it can't wait until morning, or 2) it's something our urgent care won't touch, like a broken bone or possible need for surgery.
Yeah, I took my kid to urgent care for a fever (ended up being 105) & he was getting pretty lethargic. They immediately sent us home to get him in the bath. Then called us and told us they had called children's and to take him there. By the time we got there, I had already gotten the fever to break and they just gave him the dose of Motrin it was time for and sent him home with a prescription for Tami flu.
I felt bad wasting the time of the ER docs, but the urgent care doc was pretty insistent that I should take him in.
As an EMT, most of are calls are old people who have fallen, rarely are they actually trauma scenarios
I remember having to go to the ER in a blizzard because I was coughing up blood after a tonsillectomy.
I was at the ER recently and one of the other guys in the waiting room waiting for treatment started announcing to everyone "I'm not gonna wait in here for this shi*" then went out into the parking lot for a cigarette. Of course the nurses came out to call him back as soon as he stepped out. Obviously he was having an emergency. LOL. felt so bad for the staff I apologized to them they had to deal with that kind of nonsense. I feel y'alls pain. I was in the ER out of precaution as recommended by my primary, thankfully it was not an emergency, I was perfectly content with my wait time considering I knew they were dealing with other critical patients.
My doctor called ahead because I was hemorrhaging. 7 hours later an administrator came out calling people's names. Hum, is that to make sure we are still alive? Yes 🤯 During that same visit, I said out loud, jeez, do we need to have a bullet for you guys to finally admit us? Guy sitting next to me, holding his hand up. 🤚🔫uh, I have one in my hand and I am still waiting. 😳 I was admitted and had emergency surgery 9 hours later.
That place has the struggles. No good. I hope they got things figured out and are better now
@A Dedow it's rated a top celebrity hospital in LA. I was an EMPLOYEE at the time. On the flip side, several nurses were our patients and I knew the OBGYNs because I worked at that department, ER is a whole different world 😳. Luckily I had iron infusions 2 weeks prior so my numbers were a normal 10.2 down to a 8.00 within 48hrs. Hence, the emergency myomectomy and partial removal of an ovary.
@@PincheBecky0Effsgiven They must have been drowning in there then. Aside from you being an employee, leaving anyone with a bleeding waiting for 7 hours would not just be a medical disaster but a legal one as well.
This really is good and useful information, and we get the laugh at your delivery, all of which makes it more palatable. Thanks!
Once I was in the ER via ambulance for over sixteen hours of intractable vomiting, they couldn’t make it stop and the asshat PA (that is always an asshat unless I have a simple problem) told me that I shouldn’t have come in after he tried for three hours to get my vomiting under control. Asked me how I got there so he could discharge me. After spitting up some blood from the throat tear I looked at him and said he was literally the one that signed the ambulances forms and my husband is on his way now he was working all day. Asshat PA then amended his words and after my husband told him we would just be back later if he discharged me with a bleeding throat and still puking. Luckily it was about shift change and the NP that took over finally helped some.
Living in the Pacific NW I can say that urgent cares have been thriving. So convenient. Low co-pay. Can get in same day
They even have some "super"-urgent cares which have a lot more imaging equipment like mri's and ultrasound machines that most urgent cares don't have. Used to only be xray. I've been to urgent care for a torn mcl, broken foot, and large ovarian cyst (which ruptured on its own without surgery) with same day appointments without stepping foot in an ER.
In my area no Urgent Care has an X-ray. So if you have an potential broken bone the hospital is the only option. Although you can avoid the ER by getting a STAT order from an Urgent Care, it's just a different waiting room, they machines are still shared with ER so wait times can be just as long. Especially when the people checking patients in forgets to flip the switch and light the light so the techs know they have someone needed an X-ray to come out and get. *sigh* People were waiting for hours before the X-ray techs got curious why there were no patients and came out to check.
This is so real, it hurts 😢
I live in a small town we have a hospital, it is small, but it serves our communities very nicely. I’ve never had to wait more than an hour…. Usually.
I have gone to the ER… and admittedly embarrassed. I am old…. Over 3/4 of a century old. There are places I cannot reach, nor can I see. In the summer we have a lot of ticks. I am outside a lot working. I’ve gone to the ER for a tick check. They will not send a nurse
until I’ve gone to triage. Usually triage is enough. The nurse on duty that does triage will look at my back and other embarrassing places, and remove a tick or two. They’ve always been very polite and nice assuring me that it’s OK to come in for a tick check. I have always made it clear that anyone that has more of an emergency than I did go before me. I’m more than willing to wait for this inconvenience. Since it’s at the end of the day, the clinic, and the little town that I live in is closed, and I live in a small rural town. I’m lucky to live in a town that has a small Hospital.
Steveio… I’ve been binge watching your stuff and I love it! But I really can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone into the urgent care with problems that were appropriate, waited, just for them to say “This is far more complicated,” and before I can say “honest! I’m not pregnant!” they call an ambulance to ship me off to the main hospital, where, I have to wait all freaking over again. Maybe it’s just this one urgent care with chicken little doctors who are in cahoots with the toe pain people but it really chaps my hide…
Honest! I’m still not pregnant! 😂😂😂😂😂😂
yeah urgent cares pawn patients off to the ER all the time
Lol…reminds of me of before my hysterectomy they had to a pregnancy test. I was bleeding so much there was no way I was pregnant (besides other reasons). When they came back to draw blood for a second test (pee test didn’t work because…) I tried to say several times there is no way I was pregnant! Lol
@@Medicgal Absolutely! I just learned the hard way... 😂
@@Starsview72 ER will still do pregnancy test, even after hysterectomy. Doctors r taught not to believe anyone 😀
@@Starsview72 You wouldn't take a strangers word either if them being wrong could ruin your entire life.
Doctors don't even take their own word. They might be 100% certain their patient didn't break a bone but they'll still take an xray to prove it.
I watch in memories of my dad!! I miss him SO SO much, he worked in the ED (er) in WHOLE life. EVERYTHING said in these little skits are 100% absolutely true! Especially the full moon one, every full moon my dad would come home wrecked! It's also true what they say about saying, "oh it's quiet in here," or "hey, you guy's aren't so bust tonight" that's an absolute jinx, and NEVER say that or anything close it in an ED!! (unless you WANT nurses and doctors to be SUPER pissed at ya)
As a tech in an ER these ring so true to home
The one about it being a full moon is the TRUTH! People really do act stranger during a full moon!
I was a telephone operator who worked the graveyard shift, and we dreaded full moon nights! 😂
Blessings to all!
Just spent 12 hours in the ER on this past Tuesday.
Thanks for an honest, raw, informative video
Same here in Australia. People use the er like it's a drs visit. Only and only do I go thru er is if im in an ambulance (I have some major issues that do require hospital visits and im 1 of those people that wait till its an actual emergency. Yep so sue me lol as I know the hellava long wait is going to happen if I present early.) I've been ramped for 6 hours in an ambulance from an head injury due to one of my conditions making me pass out and hit the floor. And that was around 12am. Eventually I got sick of waiting in the ambulance and asked to get an uber to my dr. mri done and fractured skull later i was then sent to a private hospital because i have ultra care super dooper medical insurance due to my many conditions and was admitted straight away. Yippee
If you have insurance most have a nurse line to get advice. You might not even need urgent care. If you don’t, there are health clinics that are free or sliding scale depending on your income. In the US 211 is a number in Calif maybe nationally that can refer you to low or free services, not just medical. God bless & take care everyone ❤️
Have you ever had a patient wait for 10-12 hours or more to wait in the E.R to be seen?
I think about 4hours. After that, pt usually leaves to another hospital or we feel bad and squeeze you in. But I work in a very peaceful local hospital
5 hours was the longest I've seen someone wait. About 4 hours max for actual emergencies but only when we were extremely overwhelmed and understaffed.
4 days seems to be record patient was waiting in the ER he already passed by the time it was his turn.
@@timothyrocky50 when I was 10 years old with a broken left wrist. This guy came in been shot, the ER nurse told him to go sit down after the guy check in. 5 minutes later the guy was dead
@@iz2333 well my local ER is famous for letting people wait long.
really grateful for you explaining urgent care... i grew up in rural town where everything medical was either er visit or stuff you scheduled for weeks out
I went from last to first when I had back to back seizures in the waiting room. This nurse had an attitude that I was in her hallway while she was working on a patient. I had just come out of an episode. I didn't know what was happening or why she was mad at me. Then I had a grand mal and the next thing I know I'm being wheeled back (again), this time they're stripping me and everyone's seeing everything. I have no clue where my mom is, there's a bunch of doctors and nurses working on me, and I'm cursing mentally that I didn't get that pedicure I desperately needed because I've been behind on grading students.
I was trying to keep everyone in the waiting room calm because they were so upset that we had been there for hours. I was exhausted because at that point I'd had about 4 seizures that day. My medications weren't enough. I didn't want to leave work that day, either. It's been really hard, but I'm glad I went. I know a lot of people were mad at me, but he's right. They treat by emergency. My blood sugar had dropped and by that time I hadn't eaten and needed to take my next dose of medicine.
I hope everyone remembers Urgent Care exists
Can you make a video on access centers for mental health?
Minor injuries is the place to go unless you're really bad. Saved me going to the A&E when doctor phone call missed a kidney infection when they didn't do in person calls. In the evening those places are dead quiet and fast to be seen
Crisis intervention was real busy on the full moon.
Snow storms will also help decide if you are really sick or not. You drive to the ED in a white out you're probably sick.
As a triage nurse nothing annoyed me more than people who didn't want to answer my questions because their doctor already called ahead.
Broke my foot and had to trudge to the ER at like 10pm during a blizzard. Not fun at all!