I have a dream. A dream that one day the general public will be able to categorize the difference between Emergent, Urgent, and Non-urgent medical problems. Why you ask? Because I work in the "Emergency" Department (ED) and you would not believe the stuff people come in for. And I don't blame them (actually some I do). I blame our culture of healthcare, EMTALA (that's for another time), and our educational system. They really think they're dying or have a true emergency when in fact it's sometimes as simple as a paper cut. These non-emergencies jam up the system, increase wait time for true emergencies, waste money, and add to healthcare costs as the hospital doesn't always receive payment for the visit. I could almost use the terms Emergency Department, Urgent Care, and Primary Care, but with the rate of uninsured people and shortage of primary care doctors those terms don't necessarily correlate. For this purpose, "Emergent" means talk to a doctor now or go to the ED, "Urgent" mean talk to your doctor with 24 hours or go to Urgent Care, and "Non-Emergent" means wait until your doctor can see you or treat yourself at home.
Part of my dream includes a way to help change this crisis and I've been working on a plan.
Remember health class? It all started around middle school? Step 1 of the plan: Start earlier. I'd like to see it start in elementary school. It would include basic first aid. What to do when you fall down, what to do if you get burned, how to stop bleeding, what to do when you are choking or see someone choking, signs of a stroke, signs of a heart attack, what to do if you find someone unresponsive, and how to call 911. These are the big basics. I can hear what you're saying now, "That's way too complicated for little kids." Is it though? Have you seen them navigate SnapChat? I literally had to google "How to use Snapchat." Kids are smart and the earlier you start the more they will remember.
For example, remember when the firefighters came to your school? I think just about every child has been taught, "Stop drop and roll." Others that remain clear in my mind include: check a door with the back of your hand to make sure it's not hot, stay low, cover your face, have an escape plan. SEE, IT STUCK. How many people do you know whose house has burned down? (... waiting.... waiting... ) My answer is zero. How many people do you know have had a heart attack or stroke? (waiting... waiting... ) I lost count. The concepts of these big scary medical conditions that could kill you aren't that complicated. We can teach kids the signs of heart attack and strokes and how they can help save someone. Part of my dream includes every child knowing FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time = Signs of a stroke) just as well as they know "Stop, Drop, and Roll."
And an added bonus would be saving the ED (me) from unnecessary visits. You do not need to rush to the ED if you fall down and scrape your knee. You do not need to rush to the ED if you have a paper cut. You do not need to rush to the ED if you fell down of you butt and it kinda hurts but you can walk perfectly.
Step 2 of the plan: Teach CPR and the Heimlich in middle school. Perhaps they might not be strong enough to compress an adult chest yet, but they can instruct an adult, and they will grow. As I recall middle school was my first exposure to health class (because my parent's wisened up and finally let one of the Tuckers attend). It was mostly reproductive health. I would love to expand on that material. Instead of just teaching kids what's normal and abnormal, start introducing the classifications of: Emergent, Urgent, and Non-Urgent.
I vividly remember my teacher telling me what amount of menstrual bleeding and size clots were normal (and I vividly remember it because yes... it was a very awkward lecture). But she never told us what to do about it. If the curriculum took that extra step to explain what to do about it we could help them avoid unneccisary ED visits. You do NOT need to rush to the ED because your period is a day late, the at home pregnancy test said negative, but you know we could do a more sensitive blood test to check for pregnancy. You do NOT need to rush to the ED because you get a twinge of lower abdominal pain occasionally and you're spotting. You do NOT need to rush to the ED because you had wild sex and you were bleeding but now it's stopped... but just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Yes these things could be concerning, but it can wait.
Step 3 of the plan: Really dive deeper in to the classification of Emergent, Urgent, and Non-Urgent. Teenagers have the skills to think critically and put it all together. They can be taught what types of cuts need stitches. They can be taught the signs of infection. They can be taught signs and symptoms of common illnesses and their complications.
I'm not implying that high school needs to be medical school, but people need to learn basic medical knowledge and skills from someone. And that obviously isn't happening from their parents. Not every family is lucky enough to have that nurse or doctor friend to show their rash to. The generation of walk it out-ers, just drink more water-ers, and wait it out-ers is dying. The current generation is running to WebMD and flooding to the ED because they're convinced it's the worst case scenario. The only way I can dream up to stop the cycle is to start educating our kids. And to start early. But alas I guess my plan will forever remain a dream...
If you can't answer these questions, you may be health care system illiterate. Or in other words you may be inappropriately using the Emergency Department. (It's okay just blame your parents)
Classify these following conditions as:
Emergent-talk to a doctor now or go to the ED
Urgent- talk to a doctor within 24 hours or go to Urgent Care
Non-Emergent- Wait until a doctor can see you or treat yourself at home
1) Lice
2) Occasional belly pain with fever
3) Right arm feels week and numb
3) Earache and fever
4) Think you need stitches
5) Chest feels painful when you walk
6) Fell and my ankle hurts so bad can't walk
7) Hit your head so hard I passed out, now vomiting
8) Missed period
9) Wart that's been there for 3 years
10) Hit by a slow moving car but nothing hurts
If you ever debate where to go or take your child for medical care please visit https://www.eugenepeds.com/illness.html. Under the Title "Is Your Child Sick" is an excellent resource that helps navigate their symptoms.
To learn more about the signs of Strokes please visit https://stroke.nih.gov/materials/index.htm
but alas I guess it will forever remain a dream. Unless ...
Remember health class? It all started around middle school? Step 1 of the plan: Start earlier. I'd like to see it start in elementary school. It would include basic first aid. What to do when you fall down, what to do if you get burned, how to stop bleeding, what to do when you are choking or see someone choking, signs of a stroke, signs of a heart attack, what to do if you find someone unresponsive, and how to call 911. These are the big basics. I can hear what you're saying now, "That's way too complicated for little kids." Is it though? Have you seen them navigate SnapChat? I literally had to google "How to use Snapchat." Kids are smart and the earlier you start the more they will remember.
For example, remember when the firefighters came to your school? I think just about every child has been taught, "Stop drop and roll." Others that remain clear in my mind include: check a door with the back of your hand to make sure it's not hot, stay low, cover your face, have an escape plan. SEE, IT STUCK. How many people do you know whose house has burned down? (... waiting.... waiting... ) My answer is zero. How many people do you know have had a heart attack or stroke? (waiting... waiting... ) I lost count. The concepts of these big scary medical conditions that could kill you aren't that complicated. We can teach kids the signs of heart attack and strokes and how they can help save someone. Part of my dream includes every child knowing FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time = Signs of a stroke) just as well as they know "Stop, Drop, and Roll."
And an added bonus would be saving the ED (me) from unnecessary visits. You do not need to rush to the ED if you fall down and scrape your knee. You do not need to rush to the ED if you have a paper cut. You do not need to rush to the ED if you fell down of you butt and it kinda hurts but you can walk perfectly.
Step 2 of the plan: Teach CPR and the Heimlich in middle school. Perhaps they might not be strong enough to compress an adult chest yet, but they can instruct an adult, and they will grow. As I recall middle school was my first exposure to health class (because my parent's wisened up and finally let one of the Tuckers attend). It was mostly reproductive health. I would love to expand on that material. Instead of just teaching kids what's normal and abnormal, start introducing the classifications of: Emergent, Urgent, and Non-Urgent.
I vividly remember my teacher telling me what amount of menstrual bleeding and size clots were normal (and I vividly remember it because yes... it was a very awkward lecture). But she never told us what to do about it. If the curriculum took that extra step to explain what to do about it we could help them avoid unneccisary ED visits. You do NOT need to rush to the ED because your period is a day late, the at home pregnancy test said negative, but you know we could do a more sensitive blood test to check for pregnancy. You do NOT need to rush to the ED because you get a twinge of lower abdominal pain occasionally and you're spotting. You do NOT need to rush to the ED because you had wild sex and you were bleeding but now it's stopped... but just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Yes these things could be concerning, but it can wait.
Step 3 of the plan: Really dive deeper in to the classification of Emergent, Urgent, and Non-Urgent. Teenagers have the skills to think critically and put it all together. They can be taught what types of cuts need stitches. They can be taught the signs of infection. They can be taught signs and symptoms of common illnesses and their complications.
I'm not implying that high school needs to be medical school, but people need to learn basic medical knowledge and skills from someone. And that obviously isn't happening from their parents. Not every family is lucky enough to have that nurse or doctor friend to show their rash to. The generation of walk it out-ers, just drink more water-ers, and wait it out-ers is dying. The current generation is running to WebMD and flooding to the ED because they're convinced it's the worst case scenario. The only way I can dream up to stop the cycle is to start educating our kids. And to start early. But alas I guess my plan will forever remain a dream...
If you can't answer these questions, you may be health care system illiterate. Or in other words you may be inappropriately using the Emergency Department. (It's okay just blame your parents)
Classify these following conditions as:
Emergent-talk to a doctor now or go to the ED
Urgent- talk to a doctor within 24 hours or go to Urgent Care
Non-Emergent- Wait until a doctor can see you or treat yourself at home
1) Lice
2) Occasional belly pain with fever
3) Right arm feels week and numb
3) Earache and fever
4) Think you need stitches
5) Chest feels painful when you walk
6) Fell and my ankle hurts so bad can't walk
7) Hit your head so hard I passed out, now vomiting
8) Missed period
9) Wart that's been there for 3 years
10) Hit by a slow moving car but nothing hurts
If you ever debate where to go or take your child for medical care please visit https://www.eugenepeds.com/illness.html. Under the Title "Is Your Child Sick" is an excellent resource that helps navigate their symptoms.
To learn more about the signs of Strokes please visit https://stroke.nih.gov/materials/index.htm
but alas I guess it will forever remain a dream. Unless ...
I completely agree with you as being one of those people who tends to wait out going in until I really need too but urgent care is normally my first stop. But it is frustrating as a person who has had to wait with family who are seriously in need of being seen have to wait because of the paper cut type going in the the ER.
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