What\u2019s happening in ERs these days often is an emergency, and not just because of the sick people who are waiting there to be treated. Patients and visitors are acting out in increasingly troublesome ways, many staffers say. <\/p>\n
HuffPost spoke to some medical professionals who offered very simple suggestions for making their lives \u2014 and yours, potentially \u2014 a little bit easier in the ER. <\/p>\n
And if you think, \u201cWhy do we even need to remind people of this?\u201d we agree with you, and we hope this article helps. Here\u2019s what to do \u2015 and not do.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t punch your doctor (apparently, this needs to be said).<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve had to visit an emergency room lately, you might have noticed a big sign at check-in declaring the venue to be a \u201chealing environment\u201d and letting you know that the staff would super-duper appreciate it if you could possibly see fit to avoid physically or verbally assaulting them, thanks a jillion (or something along those lines).<\/p>\n
Why would anyone punch someone who\u2019s there to help them get better? That\u2019s what doctors and nurses would like to know, too, since many of them increasingly experience patient behavior that\u2019s scary and dangerous. <\/p>\n
An alarming 66% of emergency room physicians reported being assaulted in the past year, according to one study<\/a>, with over one\u2011third reported being assaulted multiple times. In another study, 71% of physicians have witnessed an assault<\/a> at work; 97% say perpetrators were patients.<\/p>\n If this seems unbelievable, it\u2019s important to note that every health care professional interviewed for this story mentioned physical and verbal violence as a top concern. To drive the point home, here are some recent incidents that Gatz has seen in his ER:<\/p>\n Breaking equipment and computers<\/p>\n Breaking windows<\/p>\n Throwing and smearing bodily waste on surfaces and walls<\/p>\n Throwing food<\/p>\n Self-removing IVs and then walking out while dripping blood on the floor<\/p>\n Calling 911 from within the ER to complain they haven\u2019t been seen (this one wins the prize for \u201cmost meta\u201d)<\/p>\n SDI Productions via Getty Images<\/p>\n Doctors know the wait times in ERs are long right now.<\/p>\n Even with \u201catrocious\u201d wait times, try to stay calm.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you just stubbed your toe and decided to go to the ER. While you\u2019re there, a massive traffic accident has flooded local health care facilities, and all the staff are struggling to save lives. You might have been waiting a very long time, but can you understand how your owie, while painful, may not be the top priority right now? <\/p>\n Apparently, many people don\u2019t understand that, which leads to ugly scenes between angry patients and beleaguered staff. <\/p>\n \u201cWe prioritize based on acuity,\u201d explained Dr. Jared L. Ross<\/a>, a board-certified emergency physician who was an EMT, paramedic and firefighter before becoming a doctor. His point is that unless you have access to \u201cthe board\u201d of all incoming patients, you have no idea how serious your issue really is compared to others. Ross acknowledges that this is a hard truth: \u201cI know that wait times can be atrocious in busy ERs,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Sometimes, though, wait times are exacerbated by patients who force things to take much longer than they need to. Emma W., a second-year emergency medicine resident who asked that her full name not be used, recently entered a treatment room in which the patient flashed her the \u201cnot now\u201d finger signal, because they were on the phone with a friend and didn\u2019t want to be \u201cinterrupted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat patient later complained about how long it took to be seen, insisting they be \u2018sped up\u2019 because they had a concert that night that they couldn\u2019t miss,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve also had patients tell me they\u2019ll only see a male doctor (I\u2019m female), but when no male doctors were on duty, the patient was irate because they had to wait for a man to clock in on the next shift or to \u2018give in\u2019 and see a female doctor,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n While Ross encourages patients and family members to be good health care advocates, there are effective ways to do that. If something about the patient\u2019s condition is changing, and, for example, their mild chest pain is getting worse, then do let the care team know. But reminding everyone about how long you\u2019ve been waiting and asking repeatedly about when you\u2019ll be seen is not the best tactic.<\/p>\n \u201cDemanding to be seen \u2018right now\u2019 will disrupt staff focus, scare other patients and create unnecessary tension in an already high-stress environment,\u201d said Kisha Pickford,<\/a> an acute care nurse practitioner with more than two decades of clinical experience in emergency room settings. \u201cPeople forget that ER teams are juggling trauma, sepsis, stroke and COVID, not just mild fevers or stubbed toes. Courtesy and patience go a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n Be mindful of who you call or bring with you.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen firsthand how patient and family behavior in the ER can either support or severely disrupt the care process,\u201d Pickford said. \u201cThe ER is not the place to yell, take phone calls on speaker or bring five people into the room to \u2018check on mom.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Doctors](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/68c9806a14000095015c5297.jpeg\")
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