Recently, I had the eye-opening experience of being in pain and entering the emergency room as a patient. I didn’t inform the triage nurse, nor my assigned nurse that I was a fellow RN, as I have found that there can be a negative reaction. Sometimes, they can feel threatened and that you are judging how well they are doing their job. Other times, they can view you as being a pushy know-it-all. Knowing that these reactions exist, I have taken the approach of pretending that I’m your average patient.
As I mentioned, I was in pain. A LOT of pain (gallstones can do that to you.) The triage nurse, after taking the description of my chief complaint, allergies, and vitals, asked if I wanted anything for the pain. When I refused pain meds, and described my dislike of opiates and adverse reactions to anti-nausea drugs, the surprise on her face was evident. I understand that there is a serious problem with drug-seeking frequent-fliers in the ER, but I wonder how differently I might have been treated if I had accepted the meds. Would they have seen me as another opiate-seeker?
The MD that was assigned to me was awesome. He inquired right away into what I did and where I worked. He instantly switched to “talking to another healthcare professional-mode” and gave me a huge amount of professional courtesy. He even printed out copies of my lab reports and ultrasound report, as he said that he knew that I would want to see all the details.
What was really interesting to me, though, was my nurse never asked about what I did, and didn’t find out I was an RN until the last 15 minutes of my visit. He didn’t address me by name. There wasn’t any warmth or kindness in his interactions. And in all honesty, I would have been scared and confused, if I didn’t have my background. Nothing was explained to me. When I questioned the reasoning behind tests and procedures that they wanted to perform, I had to practically drag the answers out of him. And when I refused a procedure that I felt was unneeded, he responded with hostility and coldness.
However, when he found out that I was an RN like him, his whole countenance changed. I suddenly got eye-contact, a smile, and was actually treated like a human with feelings. This got me thinking, how is your actual average patient treated in the ER? And if it’s similar to the first part of my visit with my nurse, how can we improve that? What sort of things would make you feel respected, comforted, or educated in regards to your care? What has been your experience?
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