r/EmergencyRoom

First ED i’m working at- been here for about a year and a half. Is every ED this flirtatious?

I feel like the culture at my place of work revolves around some heavy flirting. This goes beyond dark/raunchy jokes and giggles. I am hit on very consistently by techs, nurses, and providers (EVS and security too but I feel like that’s almost a given). I thought it would die down as I stopped being new and novel, but it’s only picked up as people are growing more comfortable with me.

Everyone is respectful (mostly…) and I love my job, just wondering if this comes with the trauma-bonding territory. I can appreciate being bubbly/friendly and like to engage in banter with others, but recently it’s been crossing some lines.

I’m tired of it and just want work to be a neutral place.

Hi all,

I’m looking for advice. I’m looking to transfer to a different position within my company. I currently work at a Family Medicine Practice as a Certified Medical Assistant - I will be 3 years in June. I’m looking to transfer to the ED and work as an Emergency Technician as I will be working night shifts possibly 3 12 hours shifts and that will give me more flexibility to pursue my career goals. I have a strong medical/clinical background from my home country but regardless I started this current position at $16.00 now I’m at $18.86. I got my certification as a Medical Assistant through NHA and only got .50 cents for it.

I’m just looking for more stability and also financially, I’d like to be in a different place right now. I’m looking to obtain a Phlebotomy certification (CPT). I’ve been doing Phlebotomy for a few years now not sure if that would make any difference. I already do it all at my current position (EKG, Vitals, Vaccines, Phlebotomy, inventory, clinical duties, front desk, phone calls, YOU NAME IT). Do I have a chance of starting this new position in the ED at least at $20-21 an hour?

I greatly appreciate the advice. 💕
Happy Monday! Thank you for reading me.

Went to the ER today and every person who cared for me was wonderful and kind and I am so grateful for them. I did end up really confused about insurance and billing and I’m wondering if I should have done something differently to make the process smoother.

I went to the ER because I needed something that is only kept in stock at ERs. I called my insurance company ahead of time to ask about coverage and if they had a very rough estimate of what cost might be. They told me that I need to call the ER and they can’t give me any info until they get a bill.

I called the ER and they told me that they can’t give me any information until I get there in person.

I went in person and at check in I asked if the ER was in network and if they could explain how payment/billing works. They said they can only discuss that once I am check in and have already been billed for the check in and triage process.

I nervously went through check in and triage and then someone came out and said they were going to talk to me about insurance/billing/financial obligations. They showed me a screen which said “$900” and said that was an estimate. I had two questions:

1. Was that estimate representing estimated costs after insurance cover their portion or is that the estimated bill before insurance?

2. Was that number representing estimate of the cost of check in and triage or was that representing an estimate of the entire visit including the treatment that has not yet been discussed or administered?

The person could not answer either question and said they could only show me the number but not explain what that number represents. They seemed annoyed at me for asking questions.

At the end of my time at the visit I still have no idea what I might be billed, how billing works, or what that number that was shown represented.

I am a little lost because I called insurance ahead of time, called ER ahead of time, asked at check in, and asked the billing people and none of them were able to give me information about how the process works.

Is there someone else I should have called ahead of time? Is there someone else I should have asked for? I do not want to irritate anyone in the ER especially when the nurses and physicians were so kind, but I do want to be able to have a basic understanding of how the process works and what I may or may not be charged for.

Thank you for any insight you can give me

Been in the ER as an RN for almost a year now. Lately I’ve felt I’ve been in a rut. I’m not sure if it’s burnout, or if it’s because I’m still new, or because the unit is a lot busier. I’ve been making small mistakes and beating myself up over everything. I hold myself to a super high standard and I hate making mistakes. Has anyone else experienced this? Really in need of a different perspective because I am taking work home with me BAD. I do love working in the ED but damn it is hard sometimes. Thanks in advance!

I broke my ankle a few days ago, and they gave me ketamine while they reset it. And while I didn’t feel anything I had a HORRIBLE trip (idk what else to call it)
Think of a depiction of a trip in a horror movie, flashing red and orange, weird geometric shapes and patterns that danced. There were times I could see the doctor’s face and it would transform and melt. I had a feeling like I was in hell, or that my consciousness had slipped through into another dimension (think Talk to Me but without all the other ghosts). It had me thinking “if this is what’s at the end of life wtf is the point?”
“1-800” by BBNo$ and “Chance to be Alive” by Kat Hasty were playing on repeat.
My husband had met me at the ER, but had to step out during the procedure. I had tried to go find him during my trip and couldn’t, which made everything worse.
He was in the room as I was coming out and said that I looked like I was terrified as I was coming out of it.

I’m sure the stress of breaking my leg and being in the ER made the experience bad. Has anyone else had horrible experiences on Ketamine while in the hospital?

Had surgery yesterday and discovered a moderate allergy to Dilaudid; I'm also allergic to morphine and latex. A friend is encouraging me to get a medical alert bracelet like a road id, was wondering if it is necessary or worth it since I know those are common opiates given by ems and in the er.

What is your opinion on a ED specific CNA/PSA role Trauma charting? Not an ER Tech who has EMT class under their belt, but just a ED CNA?

It was described as in my scope for my job position, due to high volume of traumas, or no available techs (this is more likely because it seems to be techs are currently lacking on the shifts I’ve been working and we just had one leave).

But the techs on a regular basis give me push back about shadowing them/learning trauma charting. I’ve only gotten into a couple traumas to shadow techs while charting.

Tonight we had a trauma 3 come in, which we usually do not chart on paper. I was assisting my RN with setting up VS/heart monitoring, cleaning pt, and prepping the area around the head lac for MD to evaluate (chucks under head, helping nurse remove gauze etc).

MD evaluated and changed it to a trauma 2. My charge nurse instructed me to chart it before it was even announced over head, because she’s been knowing I’ve been reaching out for the hands on experience so I feel comfortable in extreme traumas if I was thrown into it.

The RN in charge of the trauma, and the charge nurse both looked over my charting after I was done, and said I did a great job.

The two techs that were on shift were opinionated about it, and the other CNA/PSA I work with has vocally stated multiple times he wouldn’t feel comfortable trauma charting.

I personally want to learn, I want to improve in any possible way while I’m reaching out for schooling for my RN, but it just seems like there’s multiple road blocks attempting to learn within my scope.

I Just applied for an ER Tech job in an understaffed rural ER I have MY NREMT, phlebotomy Tech, EKG Tech and CNA certs what should my hourly rate expectations be for a part time job while I’m in nursing school.

Hi everyone I’ll keep it short. Went to the er last Saturday for alcohol withdrawals. Was the scariest day of my life and that day I decided to quit so I needed to go to the er. The staff were so kind. I can’t put it into words. I already gave them all compliments and submitted their info on the website.

I went to an urgent care right before that and that doctor told me to go to the er right away (they were amazing too) and I wanted to give them both little gifts for the office.

So for the er and urgent care so far I got
- a card
-18 little medical pens that are fun and cute
-30 pack of individually wrapped chocolate chip cookies
-20 mini kind bars individually wrapped
-40 pack of fruit snacks

I also wanted to add a bag of individually wrapped popcorn, or gold fish, and some mini chocolates and starburst

Is that going overboard? I don’t wanna be cringe. I’ve been sober since! Do I just walk it to the front desk?

I have BPD. On at least four separate occasions when I've tried to get crisis inpatient psych care (once at an emergency room) staff have done this kind of roleplay? They pretend to have a conversation that sounds like they are gossiping.

Is this a thing that is common to test how reactive someone with BPD in crisis will react? Or is this something that is specific to me relating to my medical file? It's made me extremely paranoid over the years. I'm just trying to get some clarity on what is going on to try and engage with treatment more effectively without jumping to paranoid delusions.

went to the ER for blood pressure reading 175/116 with a headache and the nurses and assistants said they weren’t worried about it?? did bloodwork everything was fine. did a bunch of tests all negative. doc said she doesn’t feel comfortable prescribing something to lower it unless she does a cat scan of my stomach, so i did it. told me i was free to go and nothing else was needed and she’d call back later with the results. she never called with and got a text from the pharmacy that she called in an antibiotic and nothing to lower the pressure. she never even called me back with any results saying there’s any kind of infection?? fast forward to the next day, got a voicemail from an assistant saying they might’ve called in the wrong prescription and that i’ll get a call from the ER if it’s the wrong one, if not it’s the right one. anyone ever experience anything like this they couldn’t have cared less to help even the pharmacist thought this was a joke they couldn’t believe it.

So i’m an EMT prn as a tech in an er, and as such don’t have my autonomy that i do on the street. i don’t mind it as i don’t gotta think when i have a doctor doing it for me. the problem is nurses. i don’t mind doing what I’m told. I’m used to it with medics and having a mutual understanding with our standing protocol/orders. but in here it’s all doctors telling us what to do.

great i don’t have to think, i don’t have to triage.
key word is don’t. i still do as that will better the pt care if i understand the situation so i always read charts and ask about pts as well as talk to them so i can advocate and help the doctors and nurses.

well i have this nurse who thinks she’s gods gift to nursing. so she will tell me to do things on pts that aren’t ordered and it gets me into trouble with the doctors who i have a huge amount of admiration and respect for.

I don’t always have time to sit down login and look at orders. but i try my best to go around and do things my self.

she multiple times will tell me to grab a urine sample on pts that aren’t hers if she hears i’m going into a room or to start an un ordered un indicate ecg on a pt who truly doesn’t need one because she thinks she knows everything.

i also think a lot of it has to do with the power trip of pulling me around, she out of all of the nurses i work with over works me the most.

how do i resolve this issue because it’s been 3 shifts this week alone she has done this shit.

i’d hate to cut my hours by asking to not work with her but she and don’t get along “because i’m just a baby” im 18 an adult, in the guard, pay my bills, buy my groceries. i just want to get this sorted less i lose my job by flipping my shit on her