However, what about the patient? They are not all like 1-10. A growing number of people are using the ER for simple scrapes and perhaps an ingrown toenail. If that is 80% of what you see, where does the left over bedside manner go for those of us that really DO NOT want to be there?

Here is a list of 10 things nurses need to understand from the patient’s point of view.

1) The majority of patients do not want to be there.
2) An ER department can only do so much. Leaving people in the waiting room for hours upon end does nothing but piss off the receptionist.
3) No one visits the ER on their best day. Therefore, opinions need to be kept inside. Laughing and giggling while whisking a patient through what ends up being an expensive “parking” area, does nothing to extend understanding toward the Nursing Field. Patients can hear, and I guarantee they are less than enthused about you buying those cute little Penguin scrubs.
4) Keep notes. There is nothing quite as disconcerting as having a nurse come in asking for some other bodily fluid, and check her notes and say, “I’m sorry”. Makes the patient feel as if they came in for removal of the spleen, they could just as easily been thrust into surgery for removal of a kidney.

Nursing has got to be one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Not many have the capacity of caring to extend beyond their social circles. Just please remember, not every ER patient is trying to bilk the system. And in a life or death moment, we could care less if you have penguins or puppies on your top.