An actual patient rant

I bitch about work. A LOT. In case any of you out there think I'm exaggerating, here's a little chat I had with an actual patient, not an actor, about her experience in the ED of a prominent tertiary care institution.

This particular patient is a highly educated young woman under the care of a fertility specialist, hence, the follistim references.

Here we go:

Actual patient, not an actor: I came in to the ER at 2.
Explained to the triage:
follistim
numb painful arm
fear of blood clot, known side effect of follistim
my Dr. who is at COLUMBIA(this was a Columbia ER)
SENT ME
please help us rule out blood clot
does that seem clear to you?
me: rather.
APNAA: no
really
please
tell me
I may be expecting too much
seven hours later
SEVEN
I come up
and that's when the nurse says
oh so
what did you inject into your arm?
me: you should have been like... antifreeze.Is that bad?
APNAA: it was just like unbelievable!!
i have no words for that experience
apparently
the THREE triage nurses I spoke to in the triage and two pre-triages, NONE of them wrote down what I said
wrote “arm injection”
me: wait, how did you end up in the ER?
APNAA: I had bruises and my left arm was all painful and numb.So I stupidly called my doctor
And they freaked out: you MUST go to the ER immediately!
I guess follistim causes blood clots, so they got worried
me: oh jesus
me: don't you know? never tell doctors anything?! esp if you're a lawyer?
APNAA: I was like, NOOOOOOOOOO
i'm fine!
APNAA: But I went to the ER
and I tell you, if I didn't HATE nurses before (which i did), i can't f-n stand them now
SEVEN hours
SEVEN
you know why?
because
THREE
triage nurses
did not manage to write down exactly what was wrong!
at 8 o'clock, I was like
uhm, people?
hello?
and a nurse goes
soooooooo
what did you accidentally inject into your arm?
I'm like
are you kidding me?
APNAA: Not to mention
the arguing!
right in front of the patients, for gods sakes
about who's MORE overdue for a break
you know who is the MOST overdue for a break?
US!!!
get us new nurses, bitches!
god
I know underpaid, overworked, blah blah blah
me: I’m underpaid and overworked…
APNAA: but come on!
Shaniqua, soooooo, this patient needs an EKG
but the EKG nurse refuses to do it, cause she says
me: let the doctor do it?
APNAA: she's going on the break
me: dude you're preaching to the choir....
APNAA: dude!!
APNAA: I’m like STFU
STFU
STFU
APNAA: oh what's wrong with that guy? Oh, who knows
(this is post-triage inside the ER, in front of me. Also a PATIENT)
APNAA: the nurse who was supposed to be leading me into a room, right?
yea.
she lost me
as in
she told me
stand here
in the way of stretchers
and EMT’s
and incoming people
who mind you, are coding and whatnot and walks off!
and I'm just like
uhm
hello?
this other guy-nurse comes over,
me: a murse
APNAA: touches my shoulder (which, ew, don't touch me)
and says,
don't you worry (very loud and slow),
your caretaker is by the registration window
making sure that your insurance pays for everything,
so don't worry, okay?
I'm like, what?
what are you talking about?
1. I speak english
2. I am not deaf
3. NO! shut up!!
I couldn't even form a sentence at that point
APNAA: so thenthe fat nurse who told me to “stand there” comes back. (that's Shaniqua, btw)
she's all, whatcha doin just standin heeeh?
I'm like, what? you told me to stand here
she says, no, I didn't, you should listen to me better
I was just like, okay.
I'm going to kill you now
APNAA: so, she takes me into ANOTHER make-shift waiting roomon her way ANOTHER nurse asks her, soooooo, where you takin her to?
she says, to D - to Wilson
this other nurse says, What? Wilson is about to leave
and she says, Oh whatever. I'm sure someone else will come in to replace him
At that point, I said, you know what? I'm going home
thanks
turned around and left
APNAA: literally
that's it.
man
horrible!!
Me: sounds about right
APNAA: I feel bad for the doctors
APNAA: not to mention
you know
they have this classification system, like all the ERs, and we read it in the triage room
you can be classified as 1, 2 (seen immediately) or a 3-6
cold/flu symptoms make you a 5 or a 6 which means you wait. it makes sense
Well, EVERY SINGLE PERSON who went in had like nothing wrong with them
and the people with seizures
TWO broken legs
(yea, seriously)
kidney stones
sat there
you konw why?
Me: No, tell me, why?
APPNAA: because these morons can't triage!
i mean
listen
please tell me
where do they find these women?
and how do they get degrees?
I'm concerned about their ability to wipe their own asses!
Me: I’m mentally shrugging
APNAA I’m glad I left
I’m guessing there is not clot Or I’d be dead
Right?
Me: More or less...
me: hopefully...