EMERGENCY!!! EMERGENCY!!!

Nurses in the Emergency Department get a lot of publicity.  More movies and television shows are set in the ED than all the other areas of the hospital combined.  When was the last time you saw a television show set in a dialysis clinic?

88% of ED patients walk out the front door. 

I'm gonna say that again:   88% WALK OUT THE FRONT DOOR. 

What that means is that patients on the quietest med/surg floor are still sicker than most ED patients.

I've worked some in the ED.  I got to see a lot of vaginal discharge, nauseous kids, drunk prostitutes, whiny men with back aches and drug seekers.  There were some broken arms set and fluids given, but mostly I saw folks patted on their fuzzy heads and sent home.

The ED is like a big wall of graffiti.  The majority of it is just crap.  But mixed in are a few things you better not miss.

Nurse's Note:  If a patient comes in to the ED with a heart attack, a nurse from the Cardiac ICU responds. If a trauma patient comes in, a nurse from the Surgical ICU responds. If a patient is brought in with a stroke, a nurse from the Neuro ICU responds. If a burned patient comes in, a nurse from the Burn ICU responds. I have never seen any of those nurse responders portrayed on television. The televison ED nurse somehow specializes in every diagnoses.