Emergency Rooms

Pre-Talk

1) Have you ever needed to go to the emergency room?2) Do you think people go to the doctors too much?3) Should we regularly have checkups or only when we need? How often?

Picture Talk

1) What do you think of the photos above?2) Do you think doctors are overworked?3) Are there enough doctors in your country?

Article Highlights

Sourced from https://www.boredpanda.com/doctor-emergency-room-work-stories-annoying-patients/

I have no faith in humanity.

There has not been one inciting incident for my rant, but basically a culmination of crap that I’ve been exposed to since I started working emergency medicine in 2012.

When it boils down to it –1) Emergency medicine exists not to give you what you NEED, and not what you want.

MEDICINE IS NOT CUSTOMER SERVICE. Emergency medicine exists to ameliorate pain, determine whether or not show up expecting a quick fix for all your problems.

Emergency Rooms 2) Just because you are having a “bad day” or “don’t feel good”, does not give you the right

to be rude, belligerent, or demeaning to the staff of a hospital. We are people who have worked long and hard to earn the “privilege” of helping you.

3) People do ugly things to other people. A lot of the people we take care of the ER are a a result of abuse, assault, rape, or otherwise horribleness that people impose on each other. Children and the elderly are not exempt from the awfulness of the world.

4) A large part of my day is spent sifting through people’s potential ulterior motives and dealing with narcotic seekers. This wears on you more than you think it would.

5) The VAST majority of people do not take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing, and for some reason make it the responsibility of healthcare to do so. More than getting help from medicine, people need to help themselves. You would not believe the amount of full grown adults who do not even attempt to take ibuprofen or Tylenol for a sore throat/fever/etc. before rushing to the emergency department.

6) People complaining about the wait like they’re the only patient in the department. You waiting usually is a good sign, it means you’re not the most ill person there. Be worried if everyone rushes to you, it means something is really wrong.

Also, I’d like to add that I never behave spitefully or rude to people who come in for help (because, you know, professionalism), I do my best to be empathetic and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. It just gets harder to put on that façade these days. As they say – the show must go on.

Discussion

1. Do you agree with his opinions? Why not?2. Do you think people abuse the ED?3. Do you agree folks should take better care of themselves before seeing a doctor?4. How do you take better care of your health?5. What do you think about this job after hearing his story as being a doctor?6. Did you ever think the doctor has to cast doubt on your because you may seek

drugs?7. How would you feel if you went to an international hospital?8. Do you still have faith in humanity?