Medical professionals say this is the worst thing you can do in the emergency room

Here’s a basic truth of human life: No one plans for a visit to the emergency room, and no one really wants to be there. The unexpected, oh-****-now-I’m-in-trouble nature of the place means that everyone who came there to be seen probably had a very different plan for the rest of the day.

But just because you’re sick and scared, you really don’t have to take out your frustrations on the people around you, especially those who are there to help you get better.

Health: Nurses reveal what it’s really like to work in ED right now – and the stories are brutal

“Patients and their families come to the Emergency Department during their most difficult and stressful days, and we are here to support them during this time,” said Dr. J. David Gatzassociate medical director of the Adult Emergency Department for the University of Maryland Medical Center. “We are extremely understanding in general, but we often see many cases at the same time and it is essential that one person’s behavior does not adversely affect another.”

What often happens in the emergency room these days it is an emergency, and not just because of the patients waiting there to be treated. Patients and visitors are behaving in increasingly disturbing ways, many staff say.

HuffPost spoke with a few medical professionals who offered very simple suggestions to make life a little easier in the emergency room.

And if you’re thinking, “Why do we have to remind people of this?” we agree with you and hope this article will help you. Here’s what to do – and what not to do.

Health: Medical professionals say this is the worst thing you can do in the emergency room

Don’t punch your doctor (seems like that needs to be said).

If you’ve had to visit an emergency room lately, you may have noticed a large sign at check-in that declares the venue to be a “healing environment” and lets you know that the staff would greatly appreciate it if you’d see fit to avoid their physical or verbal abuse, thanks a jillion (or something like that).

Why would anyone punch someone who is there to help them get better? That’s what doctors and nurses would also like to know, because many of them are increasingly experiencing patient behavior that is frightening and dangerous.

An alarming 66 percent of emergency room doctors reported being assaulted in the past year, according to a study, with more than a–the third reported being assaulted several times. In another study, 71% of doctors have witnessed an attack at work; 97% say the perpetrators were patients.

If this seems unbelievable, it’s important to note that every health professional interviewed for this story cited physical and verbal violence as a primary concern. To drive the point home, here are some recent incidents Gatz has seen in the emergency room:

Health: You’ve Heard of FOMO, But What Is “FOBO”? Here’s how to spot this pesky problem.

• Breakdown of equipment and computers

• Throwing and smearing body waste on surfaces and walls

• Self-removing the IVs and then walking out as blood drips onto the floor

• Calling 911 from inside the ER to complain about not being seen (this wins the award for “most meta”)

Even with “atrocious” wait times, try to stay calm.

Let’s say you just stubbed your toe and decide to go to the emergency room. While you are there, a massive traffic accident has overwhelmed the local medical facilities and all the staff are fighting to save lives. You may have waited a very long time, but can you understand how your cause, although painful, may not be the top priority at this time?

Apparently, many people not understand this, leading to ugly scenes between angry patients and beleaguered staff.

Health: 6 Red Flag Phrases Narcissists Use to Manipulate You During an Argument

“We prioritize based on acuity,” explained Dr. Jared L. Rossa board-certified emergency physician who was an EMT, paramedic, and firefighter before becoming a physician. His point is that if you don’t have access to the “board” of all incoming patients, you have no idea how serious your problem is compared to others. Ross admits this is a harsh truth: “I know wait times can be excruciating in crowded emergency departments,” he said.

Sometimes, however, wait times are exacerbated by patients who force things to take much longer than they need to. Emma W., a second-year emergency medicine resident who asked that her full name not be used, recently walked into a treatment room where the patient signaled “not now” because they were on the phone with a friend and didn’t want to be “interrupted.”

“The patient later complained about how long it was taking to be seen, insisting it be ‘fast-tracked’ because they had a concert that night they couldn’t miss,” she said.

“I’ve also had patients tell me they would only see a male doctor (I’m a woman), but when no male doctor was on duty, the patient was upset because he had to wait for a man to come on the next shift or ‘give in’ and see a female doctor,” she added.

While Ross encourages patients and family members to be good health advocates, there are effective ways to do so. If something about the patient’s condition changes and, for example, their mild chest pain worsens, then inform the care team. But reminding everyone how long you’ve been waiting and repeatedly asking when you’ll be seen isn’t the best tactic.

“Requiring to be seen ‘right now’ will disrupt staff concentration, scare other patients and create unnecessary tension in an already stressful environment,” said Then Pickford, an acute care nurse with more than two decades of clinical experience in emergency rooms. “People forget that emergency teams are juggling trauma, sepsis, stroke and COVID, not just mild fevers or pricked fingers. Politeness and patience are very good.”

Be careful who you call or bring with you.

“I’ve seen firsthand how patient and family behavior in the emergency room can seriously support or disrupt the process of care,” Pickford said. “The ER is not the place to yell, take phone calls on speakerphone, or bring five people into the room to ‘check on mom.’

“Who you bring with you to the ER matters,” the nurse said Karen Selby. “A calm and supportive companion can make the experience easier, but bringing large groups into a small treatment space creates noise and chaos, making it harder for staff to work quickly and safely.

“Unfortunately, family members and visitors sometimes exhibit verbally or physically aggressive behaviors, such as yelling about wait times, insisting on immediate attention, or even threatening staff,” Selby said. “This draws attention away from critically ill patients and can delay care if security needs to be involved.”

Thomas Barwick via Getty Images

Do some “self-triage”

If the emergency room seems busier than ever, there are many reasons for that. One of them, ER staff said, is that while urgent care and clinic visits might be the right course of treatment for many situations, many people rush to the ER instead. Then they wait a long time in a crowded waiting room because non-emergencies are not treated as quickly as medical emergencies.

“URS are designed to prioritize life-threatening conditions first, such as heart attacks, strokes and trauma,” Selby said. “If you come in with a minor problem, you may be waiting for hours while more critical patients are being treated.”

There’s another reason to reconsider an ER visit if your condition isn’t truly an emergency, she added: “ER visits are among the most expensive care options. Even with insurance, copays and deductibles are typically much higher than urgent care or primary care visits.”

Ross said: “There are a lot of patients who come to the ER and don’t need to be seen there, and then they’re not willing to understand that they can’t be the top priority at all times. Of course, you shouldn’t hesitate to seek care and we’re really here to help you in any emergency, but it might be a good idea to ‘self-triage’ and quickly ask yourself what you might see in another medical facility. It doesn’t always have to be in the ER.”

Linked…

Read the original on HuffPost