Not all ERs are bad :( The one that I received terrible treatment at involved my having a really obviously broken collarbone and not getting pain meds for hours (I was BEGGING for Tylenol), and then being told that 1mg of dilaudid was all I was getting because they were worried about my vitals (which were fine) and there was no way I was in that much pain (because crying uncontrollably because you've just broken a major bone doesn't indicate pain at all). The fact that I was a medic didn't even help - they flat out told me I was a drug seeker. With a collarbone so broken that I HAD to have surgery!
If possible, go to Urgent Care for most things unless it really truly is an emergency. The system is so flooded with people using the ER as a doctor's office that you will get better treatment at urgent care. The docs are stretched very thin in an ER. :( If you guys have any free-standing ERs up there (the group we're partnered with, HCA, just opened their third stand-alone ER), then you'll get awesome care at one of those, with all the bang for your buck that an ER has with less of the wait and better overall treatment. I'm actually one of the permanently stationed crews at the newest ER because it's in a rural part of the area, so we always have someone on hand to ambulance patients in if their emergency requires admission at a sister hospital.
Sadly, I work in healthcare and the healthcare system sucks major ass. I go to one of two ERs if I need anything - one because I know the docs personally, the other because I know the docs and nurses very personally, and that gives me a little bit of pull, because I work in the same industry. And that's disgusting.
Any time you go to the hospital, make sure friends/family check in on you who can and WILL advocate for you. No one available to advocate and you will slip through the cracks :(
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Date: 2012-06-22 07:53 pm (UTC)If possible, go to Urgent Care for most things unless it really truly is an emergency. The system is so flooded with people using the ER as a doctor's office that you will get better treatment at urgent care. The docs are stretched very thin in an ER. :( If you guys have any free-standing ERs up there (the group we're partnered with, HCA, just opened their third stand-alone ER), then you'll get awesome care at one of those, with all the bang for your buck that an ER has with less of the wait and better overall treatment. I'm actually one of the permanently stationed crews at the newest ER because it's in a rural part of the area, so we always have someone on hand to ambulance patients in if their emergency requires admission at a sister hospital.
Sadly, I work in healthcare and the healthcare system sucks major ass. I go to one of two ERs if I need anything - one because I know the docs personally, the other because I know the docs and nurses very personally, and that gives me a little bit of pull, because I work in the same industry. And that's disgusting.
Any time you go to the hospital, make sure friends/family check in on you who can and WILL advocate for you. No one available to advocate and you will slip through the cracks :(