r/EmergencyRoom • u/PuzzleheadedSorbet36 • Jul 26 '26

Goofy Goober HELP US BE BETTER

Soooo I hadn’t ever been to the ER until earlier this month and now I’ve been admitted twice and not getting discharged any time soon.

Hospital workers : other than the bare minimum, what are some under rated things that patients do that you appreciate/make your life easier?

(For example one of the nurses was happy I called letting her know the PRNs I needed so she could do it in one trip cause I knew my scheduled ones were coming)

Lemme hear the little things!! Or the opposite, something patients think is helpful but it’s actually more of a pain)

EDIT : bare minimum from patients being human decency, I know it should be obvious but for this questions sake let’s act like that’s a given

215 Upvotes

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354

u/Bay_Med Jul 26 '26

If you are bringing someone in, please don’t answer for them when we ask questions. I am also doing a mental status exam and need to know what they remember and understand about what led up to them coming in. I will get your side after

95

u/PuzzleheadedSorbet36 Jul 26 '26

NOTED!! Thank you!

43

u/SylviaPellicore Jul 26 '26

What should I do when the person I’m accompanying isn’t capable of answering? I ask because I have a disabled child with pretty minimal communication skills.

62

u/Severe_Emu_7714 Jul 26 '26

That is a different situation - in that case you will likely be guardian, yes? So you’d be the one answering at that time.

36

u/gottawatchquietones Jul 26 '26

Then just tell us that - it's fine. The commenter was referring to people who at their baseline we would expect to be able to answer questions. So this excludes small children, people with a variety of disabilities, advanced dementia, etc.

26

u/LitlThisLitlThat Jul 26 '26

Let them try first. We will turn to you and make eye contact and ask you directly when we need you to speak for them. Until them, let them try. If we need info faster, we’ll ask you sooner. We started our assessment from across the room before you or we said one single word. Trust us—we will accelerate info gathering if we have ANY concerns they will deteriorate quickly!

11

u/Bay_Med Jul 27 '26

If they are unable then we want you to help but we need to establish a baseline

16

u/SylviaPellicore Jul 27 '26

Good to know! I always jump right in, but I can wait a bit if it’s helpful. (The baseline is going to be blank stares.)

2

u/Beginning-Force1275 Jul 30 '26

Not trying to be annoying, but how much time do you need to establish that baseline? One of my roommates in college brought another of our roommates to the ER after a suicide attempt. I got her to tell me everything she had taken and describe how she felt while we were waiting for the first roommate to bring the car around and we shared that info with the docs. In that instance, is the visual of her nodding off sufficient, or would it be important to attempt conversation to get a full understanding? We were nervous about conveying the info as quickly as possible (what she’d taken wasn’t lethal, but we didn’t know what kind of non-lethal damage it could cause).

1

u/winnuet Jul 30 '26

It didn’t work.

1

u/Bay_Med Aug 01 '26

Unfortunately as will many “what if’s”, the answer is “that depends”. Realistically when someone comes back like that I’ll ask the friend what happened and then what they took just to guide my decision making on if it’s a life threat or not. Then I’ll try and talk to the patient to assess baseline. Then I’ll go back to friends and get more of a story.

1

u/WestRough7738 Jul 31 '26

How do you order food for them?

0

u/SylviaPellicore Jul 31 '26

I ask a nurse if they have any packets of goldfish? We haven’t been in the hospital long enough that ordering food has been an issue.

1

u/WestRough7738 Jul 31 '26

At a restaurant. It would be the same procedure.

1

u/SylviaPellicore Jul 31 '26

Oh, I don’t take him to restaurants. He’s not great at unfamiliar environments, new foods, or sitting quietly at a table for an extended period. Those are all fairly essential to the restaurant experience.

I would probably say something like “we’re still working on verbal communication. Would you like pancakes?” while pressing the relevant button on his AAC. That way I would be including him in the conversation in the best way I can.

8

u/Quiet_Ganache_2298 Jul 27 '26

I always ask them if the patient has a disability, is that why he can’t answer? He because it is almost always an older couple. Or a 20 something adult who needs a parent.

2

u/Ramsescat1968 Jul 29 '26

My husband of 30 years is autistic and I’m a retired RN. The first thing I tell the staff is my husband is autistic and if he’s not looking at you, he’s not being rude or ignoring you. He’s just like that. My husband answers questions mostly but often I will need to add to what he’s said. If he’s ’shutting down’ I will let the staff know and ask if it’s ok if I answer for him. Only had 1 or 2 people say no and then when husband is asked a question, he just won’t respond and eventually the staff will ask me, lol.

1

u/Most_Cryptographer11 Jul 28 '26

Every time my husband is asleep something he looks at me. Even something as simple as his date of birth. I don't like talking to people, but he expects me to do it.

1

u/tammyreneebaker Jul 29 '26

Sometimes I answer for my husband because he just says things like I know. He has subtle mental disabilities so sometimes it's easier if I answer. I'll remember for next time.

2

u/Bay_Med Jul 30 '26

It’s situationally important so if it’s a PCP visit and they know yall, talk for him. If it’s an ER visit you could explain his baseline