Triaged, Admitted, and Discharged

Following my return from work on Wednesday evening, I began to experience a crackling and loss of hearing in my right ear. The loss of hearing increased to approximately 50% following my dinner meal. With the encouragement of my wife and family, I brought myself to Eagle Ridge Hospital - Emegergency Department to investigate the problem.

For the first time, I got a chance to step into the patient role and experience the recieving side of our hospital service delivery system. Upon arriving at the nurse triage desk, I was required to wait 5-10 minutes as the nurse was occupied with a physician consultation. Luckily, the Emergency Department was not experiencing heavy traffic.

Following her return to the triage desk, I was immediately recognized as a staff member and quickly processed through. A few weeks prior to this visit, one of the nurses and Emergency physician joked with me that if I ever presented myself to the department for treatment, they would gown me and send me for a psychiatric assessment.

Obviously I could not resist this opportunity to test their threat. I proceeded to inform her that I felt suicidal and needed a psychiatric assessment for auditory hallucinations and perceptual disturbances. I must admit, it was hard to keep a straight face as she kept looking to roll her eyes at me. I occasionally will come into the Emergency Deparment on my off-work hours and bring in Tim Hortons coffee and doughnuts. I sensed that this should have been one of those moments.



While waiting in the lobby of the Emergency Department, a young man was attempting to seek a nurse's attention regarding concerns for an admitted family member. I watched the treatment team quickly pace back and forth between beds. As five to ten minutes pasted, he remained there with no acknowlegement of his presence. At the fifteen minute mark, a nurse finally noticed him, stopped her duties and addressed his concerns.

At that moment, I realized how pre-occupied we can become in our work we and often neglect to provide support to the patient's families.

I've made it a regular habit in my practice to include the family in all of my assessments. During countless occasions, the family has played an integral role in the indentification of precipitating symptoms which led to their visit. On other occasions, I have also encountered families who feel discouraged and intimidated in sharing their concerns due to feeling of embarassment, foolishness and irrelevance. It is amazing how their shared concerns can significantly decrease the amount of time wasted in unnecessary assessments and procedures.

Following the examination by my work colleague, it was concluded that my secondary symptoms of dizziness and headaches were attributed by a fluid blockage and infection in my right ear. I was given a steroid solution and discharged home.

During the drive home, I took the opportunity to reflect the hospital experience. I realized the importance to not only take care of the patient, but also the family.