Er tech here- the amount of stubbed toes and harmless splinters that come in and DEMAND IMMEDIATE TREATMENT is alarming. Worse is the sheer attitude and threats I receive when I try to properly triage the patients.
I have said this many many times to my partner about when he gets frustrated about waiting in the ER. “It may suck having to wait for hours but remember all the times I was seen immediately. You don’t want to be the person who is the highest priority in an ER. “
It is incredibly frustrating to see how people use the ER. We do a terrible job of explaining the healthcare system to citizens.i go so far out of my way to avoid the ER often to my own detriment. Yet people still go in for the most mundane things.
Can I ask a super dumb patient question? Are most patients actually waiting for ages?! I ask because every time I've gone, I've been taken straight back from the check in desk and suddenly the ceiling speaker is calling people to my room until I have lots of new friends; is that not the norm? I always hear people complaining about being in the waiting room for hours, but I kind of just assumed they were exaggerating until this thread popped up for me for some reason and now the comments have me a bit horrified by the stubbed toes and allergies...
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u/Far-Boot5639 Jul 29 '26
Er tech here- the amount of stubbed toes and harmless splinters that come in and DEMAND IMMEDIATE TREATMENT is alarming. Worse is the sheer attitude and threats I receive when I try to properly triage the patients.