For those of you who visit Emergency Vets -- RANT

[Anubis_Star]

I'm sorry work was so crazy for you.

Thankfully, our Christmas was very slow. I worked 9am-9pm, and we only saw 4 patients. Very minor. Last year on Christmas we had 9 euthanasias in a row. People just don't understand, even if we're not busy, it doesn't mean we're not emotionally drained. I've been to human emergency rooms, I know that patient's in our lobby have NEVER waited that long.

Whenever someone starts to complain, I simply say "I apologize, but we have an extremely critical patient that just came in that may not make it. I hope you would understand and be thankful that your pet is stable." Usually shuts them up.

And it never gets easier. Yes, I can do 20 euthanasias and be fine, but then that one will just hit you. Be it a younger patient, a sudden death, a cat that looked like your childhood pet, etc... there are always those patients that bring you to tears. Or the 5 year old happy dog that has just been acting a little down lately, and you take chest x-rays to find lungs FULL of metastatic cancer (yes, that did happen yesterday, that was horrible telling the owner).

Or the people that complain about price. Here's my advice to pet owners out there - yes, emergency EXAM fees tend to be more expensive, but once that is paid most prices tend to be the same. In fact, the general practice I worked at was MORE expensive than the emergency clinic I work at. So taking your pet home to go to the regular vet in the morning for diagnostic testing, you're just throwing your money away on another exam fee.

Whenever someone starts to complain, I simply say "I apologize, but we have an extremely critical patient that just came in that may not make it. I hope you would understand and be thankful that your pet is stable." Usually shuts them up.

~Emergency CVT

[LoveEcho]

The last trip to the E-Vet was a nightmare and was inexcusable, but every other time (to a different hospital) the staff was great-- which was all the more amazing in the face of all the stuff they were dealing with. It blows my mind how inconsiderate some owners can be regarding triage... I always wondered how they'd feel if the other dog died because they were seeing their less urgent case first.

[DharmasMom]

Originally Posted by huntergreen

in a people er we were trying to revive a 3 year old child. a woman walked into the trauma room demanding her antibiotic so she could go home as she had been there for 2 hours already. if i described some people we deal with, the language i would need to use would be an instant ban. verivus, some people are just clueless and it seems they come out of the wood work at the worst possible times.

This happened when I worked in the peds er. We were coding a 1 year old. CPR in progress when another mother ripped back the curtain to the code bed and yelled "when am I getting my papers? We are ready to leave!" I thought our doc was going to have a stroke. She looked up pointed her finger at the woman and YELLED "GET OUT!!!". Another nurse reached up and snatched the curtain back in place. Holy cow!! Some people just don't get it.

[Jax08]

That is unconscionable, Debbi. You can hear everything that goes on in those rooms. Anyone with a brain would know what was happening on the other side of the curtain. What they could have done was take their child and remove them from the area so the child didn't hear it but to interrupt like that is...well...I just have no words.

[huntergreen]

the real danger in these cases are the family members of the coding patient, doesn't take much for them to explode in these situations.

[Verivus]

People just drive me nuts sometimes; they aren't helping anybody by getting in the way. Then there are also the great folks who understand the situation. And it's always nice when we get Thank You cards in the mail. We like to post them up on our walls; it's a nice reminder why we're all here.

We aren't always so busy that people have to wait for very long, but our ER hospital is the only one this far east in town so we tend to be busier then the clinics on the west side. Someone mentioned this, but our hospital also allows visiting in the treatment area as well if the patient is too critical to be moved to the family room.

[Daisy&Lucky's Mom]

Verivus I just want to say I thank god for our afterhours vets.they saved daisy once with a plasma transfusion and when we made what was to be our final trip[ they were kind ,considerate and let us say our goodbyes w/ no pressure to hurry. Ive been there when there were dogs who were hit ,shot and really sick and the staff just handles everything. I also understand that in ER that its triage and if your there for a non life threatening or non urgent reason you will wait longer. ER docs and nurses as well as vets in ER clinics and vet techs see the worst cases and often perform miracles. Thank you for helping alot of people on your New Years holiday.

[Loneforce]

I am usually too upset to worry about how long it is taking. You people at the ER vet have a very hectic job and I salute you..... /salute

[Mooch]

Originally Posted by huntergreen

the real danger in these cases are the family members of the coding patient, doesn't take much for them to explode in these situations.

Yeah that's why I was surprised the woman you posted about didn't get clobbered - if that was my kid in there and someone interrupted like that there'd be **** to pay - lucky the security guards were on the ball!

[selzer]

I have never been upset about how long I have waited in an animal ER. I don't like that they tell you you have to come in prepared to pay x-amount, and how you need to pay it, before the dog is seen. I find that cold. But everyone has to eat.

I really am glad that that ER is the one that I would rather not frequent and if at all possible, I will drive an extra hour to the better clinic. The better clinic has a better lab, better diagnostic testing machines, like an ultrasound, and I think they have a better pool of doctors.

I am not really sure of that, but you can see them more than once. The other ER, it seems like I see a different doc every time I have gone there.

If at all possible, I prefer to go to my own vet. The fellow who has been there the longest has come in on Sunday when Arwen was hemorraging after a C-section at another 24 hour clinic (that he sent me to). He also rushed out to the waiting room when I was in with one of my dogs, and my dad came in with Cujo and then he started seizing to take care of him. Regular vets take care of emergencies, and if I am in the office with an appointment time that came and went, I just figure they are taking the time they need with someone's pet that needs it. I have also seen them rush out to a vehicle to help dogs that have been hit by cars. They are good people.

That being said, people manage stressful situations very differently. I am generally not going to an ER unless I think it is an emergency, but I have also been able to remain calm because that is always beneficial to the patient. But there are other people that aren't as calm.

Usually when I have the dog I am petting her and telling her she will be ok, and what is going to happen, and it won't bother anyone. However, if they take my dog into the back to check them out or whatever, then I will be pacing the floor and a nervous wreck. I won't generally bother anyone by complaining, but they may take my pacing back and forth as an outward form of being irritated. It's not, it is simply helplessness and worry about the critter who is in there with people they don't know and maybe more scared because of that.