A family member had to go to the emergency room this weekend. All better. No tragedy. Their experience made me realize how difficult it is to be a patient in that situation. The ER is just not always the warm, fuzzy, loving, caring environment a person might like when not feeling well.
Here's the short of it: Emergency rooms are not nice places. In spite of any television and billboard advertising you may see to the contrary, emergency rooms are not friendly. Emergency room docs are often not graduates of the Marcus Welby, MD School of Compassionate Care. More often than not, emergency room nurses are not your sister or brother, your mom or your dad.
What emergency room personal are, usually at least, is competent. What they are is hard working. What they do-- beyond saving lives, beyond fixing booboos, beyond taking the front row seat in a nonstop parade of trouble and tragedy-- is take a boat load of crap.
I can't quote statistics but I'll stand by these observations: On any given day 65% of the patients in an emergency room don't need to be there. On any given day, at least 12% of the patients in an emergency room are f'n crazy.
In all of that I'll tell you this: God forbid, but if you ever find yourself on a gurney in the emergency room, remember most of the doctors and nurses are there because they love emergency medicine. They love taking care of sick and injured patients. They love caring for the nasty, bloody, sorrowful stuff that shows up on their doorstep. But a lot of the time they are taking care of either the 65% or the 12%. And if they seem to be lacking in the warmth and compassion department, cut 'em a little slack. They just want you out of there. In one piece. Alive.
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