PHARMACIST STEVE

Empathy at the ER ? or “healthcare” at a comedy club ?

17 Responses

1. 

   Every, on June 18, 2018 at 4:55 pm said:

   That’s because they can get away with it. Back in the 90s when pain became the 5th vital sign , ERs were forced to treat patients with respect. Now it all the acceptable rage to deny and humiliate humans in pain!!!!!

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     canarensis, on June 18, 2018 at 5:06 pm said:

     Every, you are totally correct. I’m convinced that, were I to go to an ER & claim to be a heroin addict facing withdrawal, there’d be a mob of ‘helpers’ falling all over each other to help me (including the wackjob in Seattle who wants to supply free heroin to addicts at the existing ‘safe shooting’ spots). But because i’m a chronic pain patient who would like to live a life of reduced agony & increased functionality, I must be a lying, malingering drug seeker who doesn’t even have the integrity to admit that I’m an addict (unlike the noble heroin addict).

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2. 

   canarensis, on June 18, 2018 at 3:55 pm said:

   The last time I went to an ER was after nearly a week of continuous vomiting from a savage migraine. I begged for anti-nausea meds & IV fluids, as I was so dehydrated I was very nearly unconscious. I never said anything about hoping for pain relief –I learned that was a non-starter long ago. Not only did they abuse me loudly & long for being a ‘drug seeker,’ they refused to even give me IV saline. Dehydration is a diagnosable condition & I had all the symptoms of severe dehydration except coma (& was heading that way). After 1/2 an hour of abuse that left my friend in complete shock, I asked him to drag me out & take me home, still dangerously dehydrated. Clearly, I recovered. But I will die (literally) rather than face an ER again for any reason; no matter what your problem is, as far as I can tell their instant, universal response is, “You’re just after drugs, GOMER!!” If I had a bone sticking out of my skin, they’d scream at me & call me a faker, or that I’d given myself a compound fracture deliberately so I’d get drugs. I have had a few doctors who were sterling examples of the profession, but it seems the majority are power-seeking sadists. I can legitimately say I loathe ERs & their personnel, which is sad, because I know there are still some good, dedicated, caring physicians out there…unfortunately, too few of them, & many are being driven out of the profession by the legislative overreach of hysterical idiots who punish the ones who try to help people.

   Some day, I probably will kill myself during one of my more severe migraines, or when (I doubt it’s “if”) they take away the medicines I take responsibly & legally for several incurable conditions. I dearly pray that haunting is an option; I have a list of people whom I hope to torment unmercifully from the afterlife, just as they’ve tormented people in this life (& I don’t just mean horrible physicians, like the vile excuse for a human in this vid).

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3. 

   Victoria, on June 17, 2018 at 7:19 am said:

   This is horrible! But it kind of reminds me of back in 2010 when I had facet joint injections, and started having bad side effects the next day, including a golf ball size absess in my lower back at the injection site. I went to the ER to have them check out and see why I was having this and other side effects of the injections. When the attending nurse saw I was taking pain meds he literally ripped my socks off and started looking for needle marks between my toes and started accusing me of being a junkie. I never asked for any meds at all. I simply wanted them to tell me what was going on and why I had a huge golf ball sized thing at the injections site. They were abusive and treated me like a junkie, God knows what they wrote down in my chart. This was Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, if I am ever in that area, I’d die on the street before I’d go to that hospital ever again. Beware of it! Situations like this happen far too often in ERs all over Florida. I feel so bad for the man in this video.

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     canarensis, on June 18, 2018 at 4:07 pm said:

     Victoria; I am so sorry to hear of the unconscionable non-treatment you didn’t receive. I doubt it’s any consolation, but horrible, sadistic treatment at ERs is not limited to Florida…think again before hoping for a geographic cure. It appalls me –but does not surprise me– that they refused to acknowledge an obvious, clearly visible, testable & diagnosable problem. The last time I went to an ER was on par with your experience (in a comment below…or possibly above)

     And as for your chart…that’s always a terrifying concept, because they can write any sort of vile lie & there’s nothing you can do about it. I saw a neuro (non-emergency situation) a couple of months ago who flat-out lied to my face. My retiring pcp had sent me to him for migraines, & he swore up & down that he knew nothing about them, didn’t treat them, & didn’t understand why I was wasting his time (his words). I went home & looked at the clinic’s website again; there it was in black & white, he was their “migraine specialist.” My pcp had a couple of other patients go to him & he was treating their migraines. Why did he blatantly lie to me? Why was he so adamantly against seeing me (not that I’d want to see him after that first appointment)? What in the world did he put on my chart? If he wrote something that could limit my treatment elsewhere (like, “drugseeker”), there isn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

     Elsewhere I’ve seen advice that patients should record their visits, but it still doesn’t prevent lies ending up on one’s chart, just (maybe) gives one the chance to sue about it –if you can afford it. A truly FUBARed system.

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4. 

   Chronically Pained, on June 15, 2018 at 12:53 am said:

   This reminds me a whole lot of the time I went to the ER after having heavy bleeding and cramping for 6 months straight. Something was not right and I knew it. I was freezing cold, was having trouble staying awake and felt weak. The nurses that came in assumed I was after pain pills and wanted to send me home. One of the remarks that were made were “I bet we see HER again”, to which the other nurse snidely snickered. When the doctor on call that night got the results of my blood draw back, I was told I was to be immediately admitted. Apparently my CBC was at a 3 and I was literally bleeding to death. If I had been sent home, I have no doubt that I’d have died. I did not see the first 2 nurses again, but the nurse that came in to give me the IV, could not get the needle into my vein and instead of choosing another vein, she repeatedly rammed the needle into the same vein, without even withdrawing it from my arm. She could see that I was in a severe amount of pain from this and my husband says I almost broke his fingers because I was squeezing them, yet she kept doing it. I honestly believe that all of this was because they thought I was there for pain medicine even when I NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT PAIN AND NEVER ASKED FOR MEDICINE OF ANY KIND. Fortunately, the doctordhad ordered the blood draw and saw the need to admit me overnight. They gave me a blood transfusion and did some testing for a bleeding disorder. I took something like 2.5 bags of blood and the bleeding disorder testing was inconclusive, in that I bled right up to 8 minutes before clotting. To this day, I do not go to the hospital now unless I literally feel like I am dying, even when I have BP spikes, chest pains or tachycardia. I have told my family that I refuse to go unless I either think I actually may be dying or unless I go unconscious. This was not the first incident I had with being accused of coming in looking for drugs, even when I had made it clear that I only wanted to make sure there was nothing majorly wrong. At the very same hospital I went in with chest pains one time and they asked me if I was looking for something for pain. I said no and told them all I wanted was to make sure that I wasn’t having a heart attack. Granted, I was young then, but I have family history of heart issues on both sides of my family. I was not accustomed to such severe chest pains. So after they ask me if that is what I am there for and I say no, they tell me that the doc ordered a shot of Dilaudid for me. Now, I have countless medication allergies and have had severe side effects, if not outright allergies to a lot of different types of meds. This is documented in my medical history. Anyway, I told them that I had never had Dilaudid before and that I did not want the shot. I was told that I would not get anything else. I said that was fine, because that was not why I was there. Then they asked why I did not want the shot. I told them about my history of med allergies, to which they responded, “Well, you are in a hospital”. I told them that even being in a hospital, I’d rather not risk it because I didn’t want to have to go through hell from an allergy, severe side effects or what have you. The nurse did not say anything else to me, but left the room. I was trying to be calm and relax because of the chest pains and when the nurse returned, he went around behind me, where I could not see him and pushed the Dilaudid anyway. About the time I figured out something was up, he said “There, now don’t you feel much better?” in a highly sarcastic tone. I was very upset about what had just happened and I started to get agitated, which caused even worse chest pains but I told them I was feeling much better so they would let me go home. I know now, that I should have taken this up with administration. However, at that hospital, I’m not sure it would have done much good. Now I stay out of the ER, knowing that my aversion to going may kill me someday, but I can’t get past not wanting to be treated like crap and probably sent away anyway. That’s why I feel like I have to either literally feel like I am dying or be unconscious before going in, so they will be more likely to try and help me. Not only that, but since I am now prescribed pain medications for several chronic pain issues and after a couple of incidents involving hospital staff post-surgical where I was called a junkie in the recovery room or flat denied pain relief, I am now even less inclined to go in even if I feel like I probably should. I thought maybe I could start going back in after they finish force tapering me off of them, but then came to the conclusion that I would probably, once again, be accused of coming in specifically for that reason, so no, probably not.

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     heidi schlossberg, on June 18, 2018 at 3:48 am said:

     this DR abused me and my daughter . We have been abused the exact same ways as you. Its horrific and terrifying. They are literally Dr Mengele now.

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     canarensis, on June 18, 2018 at 5:13 pm said:

     Chronically pained; I hear ya. God help you if you admit that you have chronic pain, because no one in an ER will, even if you’re there for something completely other than pain meds. I’ve had an ER refuse to give me IV saline for severe dehydration. I asked for only fluids & maybe anti-nausea meds, received nothing but abuse & charges of being a drug seeker/junkie. If I hadn’t been so incredibly sick, I might have asked them how it was possible to become a saline junkie. (I hadn’t been to an ER in about 4 years at that point, btw). like you, I won’t go to an ER for any reason now; if I wanted to be abused I’d find less expensive ways of doing so.

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5. 

   maryw M, on June 14, 2018 at 10:44 pm said:

   Ill never forget when I could not get to a 90 degree angle from undiagnosed pancreatitis,and they tried to force me to get up..The ekg machines went nuts,,inverted t-waves,,st segement changes,,,,the very next doctor appointment,,48 hours latter,,,it showed a lower left lung collapse..1 year latter 17 cardiac ablations,,for this ,”artifiact,”’ they deemed it at that time,,,that would always appear w/this undiagnosed pancreatits,,,,,Obviously the stone had passed,,but the swelling of the pancreas and bladder,,literally cause my lower lobe to collapse,,and these a-holes are going sit-up sit-up,,,Sorry,,,I will forever despise nurses like the one pictured here..She obviously needs to get out of nursing or become a jail guard,,a more appropriate position for her mentality,,,maryw

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6. 

   Mark Ibsen MD, on June 14, 2018 at 10:27 pm said:

   Ok
   There is a conflict here.
   The person in the scrubs( Doctor, Nurse, medic, clerk?) is not feeling the love.
   It’s time to call in a relief pitcher.
   This may seem egregious,
   But these kind of interactions happen regularly in the ER.
   I hope the patient safely got outta there without harm,
   And
   I pray that caregiver gets a vacation.

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     Anne Fuqua, on June 14, 2018 at 11:37 pm said:

     She is obviously NOT in a position to treat this patient. Sure she may be frustrated, but THIS is not the way you respond to a patient.

     Relief pitcher, STAT! Room 4.

     P.S. She’s giving a verbal order for fluids to someone not in the picture so I’m guessing she’s a Doc or NP.

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       Mark Ibsen MD, on June 16, 2018 at 8:43 pm said:

       Right?
       Horrible way to treat Anyone.

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       canarensis, on June 18, 2018 at 5:08 pm said:

       She is a doctor, not a nurse, according the the news sources I read. Interesting that a lot of people assume she’s a nurse –I’m guessing because she’s female. I’d bet nobody would assume “nurse” if the person had been a male.

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     Krista Bartel, on June 16, 2018 at 8:43 pm said:

     I think so, too, Dr. Ibsen that the person is showing burn-out. This is the kind of mindfulness providers can use for themselves to assist both themselves and their patients. We need caring providers, and be need to care about our providers, too.

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       heidi schlossberg, on June 18, 2018 at 3:51 am said:

       if this is burn out, she was the same way to us in 2012. Shes a monster. Nothing more. My daughter and I met HUNDREDS of these monsters in the bay area hospitals.

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     heidi schlossberg, on June 18, 2018 at 3:50 am said:

     Mark, this “Doctor” abused me and my daughter the same way in 2012. This Doctor is not an anomaly in the Bay area per our personal experience in 4 hospitals including Stanford. They torture people in pain regularly and this is status Quo.

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     canarensis, on June 18, 2018 at 5:03 pm said:

     That doctor is asking for funds to be sent on a medical mission to Guatemala. Wunnnderful…we’re exporting our sadists.

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