What would you do?

[roundsgirl]

Hey guys, I wanted to post about my experience at my local hospital this week. I had gone because of pain with my hernia that I just couldn't get under control here at home. Anyway when I got to the ER I had a wonderful doctor who first thing got my pain med's going. After several test he wanted to admit me to the hospital, but at this hospital the ER doctors don't actually admit patients so he had to get some residents to come in and give me the once over and they would be the ones to admit me. Well to make a long story short they were both pardon my english but they were total smart asses. One stood over me and told me he didn't believe first that I was in pain or that I had even had a hernia, they were very arrogant but one was more so than the other. From the moment they walked into the room I felt as though I was being attacked. Well after we exchanged some not so nice words I told both to leave my room and not come back, well thats when things get going. I was so upset my heart went into v tech, heart rate was in the 170's b/p shot up to 200/130, it got bad fast, the nursed swarmed over me and started hooking me up to all kinds of monitors etc. They immediated reported him to his attending physician and also to the charge nusrse in the Er. Once they got my heart back to normal, I went upstairs to my room. The next morning their attending dr. came in and I went over all of this with him. They sent my for the test to run the light down my throat and the result so of that test were: esophageal ulcers, hiatal hernia, gastric erosions, gastritis and gerd. I asked so tell me is any of this painful ( i was being the smart ass now as I knew it was.) They of course said yes very painful. They wanted for me to stay for a couple of days, but I had my fill of this hospital at this point and insisted that I be discharged. When I got home the ER doctor had called and left me his cell phone number as it turns out he is the Cheif doctor of the ER, he was apoligzing and letting me know that this incident with the resident doctors was not over as far as he was concerned and I told him I felt the same. He gave me his personal cell phone number and told me he would be in touch the first of the week. I told him I may seek legal action against this doctor to which he stated he would help me in anyway he could as he also felt his arrogant actions had indeed put my life at risk. I was just wondering what would you guys do? Am I wrong to be so upset about how I was treated? I figure if I can keep it from happening to even 1more person whatever I do will be worth it. Thoughts comments are needed. I never saw those doctors again even though one of them was the admitting physician.

 

[Roger Frank]

Was this a teaching hospital?

 

[roundsgirl]

Yes it is a teaching hospital.

 

[Dawn-Marie]

Hi ~ No, you aren't wrong at all for being upset about the way they treated you, and i wouldn't blame you for taking legal action against them. They put your life at risk. I wish i had done something about the first dr. i had when i had bone cancer. I went to him for EIGHT MONTHS, telling him my back and ribs hurt really bad. He just kept telling me i had a desk job and that was putting strain on my upper back. He once even made the comment "wouldn't you rather be spending your money buying pretty dresses than bothering me". I guess he believed me when my right leg wouldn't move and i fell down in my parking lot at work and they took an x-ray and found a tumor the size of a watermelon throughout my spine, all the ribs on my right side and my right lung. What an idiot!! If they had found it earlier before it hit my spinal cord, i wouldn't be paralyzed.



So, definitely take action against them...they deserve it. It's really something that the doctor who is head of the ER said he will help you. Most doctors will not testify against one of their own. Like you said, the best thing is that it, hopefully, will prevent other people from putting up with the bad care you received from them. When i've had bad care from certain doctors i just make sure that as many people as possible know so they will avoid them. Sometimes not an easy thing to do in the ER though if they are on call.

I hope they find ways (medicine/surgery) to take care of all the medical problems that you have and that you feel better. Take care, Dawn-Marie

 

[netmiff]

if you feel up to it, GO FOR IT, GIRL !!!!!!

If you don't feel like fighting a major lawsuit against them, maybe you would settle for say a letter of apology and an official reprimand from the state medical board (or whoever licences them) ?? and a suspension from the hospital?

 

[geckley]

If you want to avoid lengthy legal battles. Contact TV news and News papers. They should be punnished for their actions. They should be Janitors not Doctors. Go with your gut and think what if they did it to a child or someone who cant defend themselves.

 

[lisou]

Wow good teaching hospital, I don't blame you girl go for it, nobody deserves to be treated that way so unprofessional of them.

 

[Ross]

I'll refrain from stating a position because I'm very angry with the system right now.

 

[Nancy]

It's much better for these young men to find out NOW that they are not suited to become doctors. They can start thinking about alternative plans.

I am sorry this happened to you, and I hope they both GET OUT and not foist themselves on another person in need of help.

AOL just had a little feature about bad doctors. One of the scenarios was doctors who treat their patients in a condescending way, another was doctors who laugh at and make jokes about their patients, sometimes when they are under anesthesia, but when they were lucid as well. And there were several other equally unprofessional behaviors.

Don't let up on their superiors, and if you don't feel you are being taken seriously, write to the state board. They will listen, I believe.

If it were me, I would write a long letter of explanation and complaint to the Chairman of the Board of the teaching facility and copy the hospital administrator. Maybe the lower level faculty won't take it as seriously as the Chairman would.

That is totally unacceptable!!

 

[hensylee]

if you take legal action, they will no doubt settle out of court. Ask a lawyer, maybe? you were ill-treated and the hospital should be held accountable. Sounds like the ER boss is expecting it, anyway. Hopefully it's all written down by someone. You might want to write your own account before details are lost to you. If you intend to take any action.

That is a horrible spot to be in when you are in pain. We had an incident when my mother suddenly was in dire pain, (yelling out, which she'd never done in her life) we took her to the ER, the ER dr couldn't find any reasons to keep her so he wanted us to take her home! I said no, call her own dr, let me talk to him and he will admit Mother. He did, but I didn't have to talk to him at all; he said 'admit her'. She passed away 9 days later. So, see how, if we didn't protest, that we'd have taken her home where we couldn't have cared for her at all.

At least you got care you needed. Good for that, at least. A hard lesson learned the hardest way.

 

[briansmom]

We were treated the same way when my son was in pain before he was diagnosed. Very condescending doctors and residents. They almost killed my son and ruined his health permanently by ignoring his symptoms. At the very least you should write a long letter to the administrators.

BTW, how are they treating your esophageal erosions?

 

[hall]

Yep, I would not hesitate. Those guys do not deserve to be doctors. Thank God I have not had that experience. Who in their right mind would sit in an emergency room for kicks these days. Best of luck to you.

 

[roundsgirl]

Thanks guys,
It was pretty bad. For the esophageal ulcers and gastric erosions they put me on nexium 40mg twice a day. I have all the names and dates on Mon. I am going to get my records & doctors notes see what they say as well as my path report from where they did a biopsy of my stomach. I'll go from there and the ER doctor is suppose to be in contact with me the first of the week when he said he is going to get the ball rolling from his end.

Thanks again, I had thought if they had treated my son of any other member of my family this way, I would do any and everything in my power to have his butt on a silver platter. So.... I'll do it for myself.

Thanks again I'll keep you updated.