Parade Magazine and ‘Surviving the ER’
Posted by GruntDoc on October 29th, 2006
In today’s Parade magazine (bundled with the 3 pounds of newspaper delivered each Sunday) the headline article is:
I read it, mostly out of a sense of curiosity, and their highlighted items make sense to me.
Essentially:
- have a medication list, up to date
- know your allergies
- know your doctor’s name
- have a copy of your EKG (if you’re a heart patient)
And all that makes sense to me. The other thing they recommend, and which I cautiously endorse, is ‘get staff attention when something changes or it’s been a long time since re-eval’. Once a year this really pays off for the patient, and it’s appreciated, which is why I cautiously endorse getting attention. What I would caution, however, is that after you’ve made your concern known, and the complaint has been addressed, most likely nothing is going to change.
It’s a long wait because the resources are limited, no there’s not a bed upstairs yet, and screaming for more attention (as I had to deal with recently) doesn’t make a bed magically appear, it just keeps us from doing anything but listen to your self-important carping. So, make sure you’re not forgotten but don’t expect that to change anything most of the time.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
October 30th, 2006 at 8:39 am
I like the med/allergy list and EKG ideas the best. Making a trip to Kinko’s and reducing your EKG to the size of a credit card and laminating it has saved many a hospital admission.
October 31st, 2006 at 10:20 am
What struck me the most in this piece was the admonition to “time” your visit to the ED. The last time I looked, these places were called “EMERGENCY” Departments, not places where you should time your visit to miss the crowd, like taking in a matinee showing of the newest Star Wars flick. That is one of the most basic problems we have in EDs across the country today — they are overcrowded with people who present with non-emergent issues.