It always surprises me how incredibly rude patients can be to health care providers. As I've mentioned before, many people that come in to this ER are either high or drunk (or both). While these people do provide a certain level of entertainment, sometimes they can be mean and desperate for more drugs. This is never a combination someone wants to be faced with, the situation can go from frustrating to scary pretty quickly.
One man that came in tonight was leaving as I walked in, he refused to stay after his nurse told him that she was unable to provide narcotics for his leg injury. Well, this guy just wasn't taking no for an answer. He created a huge fuss on his way out, screaming obscenities, and waving his cane this way and that. The nurses had tried to help him, but he kept assuring them of a prescription to narcotics in his name, as if they would just take his word for it. They looked up his file, finding absolutely no prescriptions for him in the state of Florida. He wouldn't let them touch his so-called leg injury, or even examine it. Nobody could force him to stay, and so he left, threatening to take his business to a different hospital. Yeah... good luck dude.
I did feel bad for the guy. I've never dealt with nor have I been around somebody who has had to deal with addiction, but I do know how serious it is, and how strongly it can take hold of somebody's life. Addiction can turn even the nicest person into a monster, I've seen the show Intervention. As sad as I was, I was also a bit bewildered from the fact that people are actually that dumb in the world. Did he honestly believe he could just walk in and ask for narcotics?
Crazy guy: Narcotics please, I promise I really do have a prescription.
Nurse: Hmm.. okay, but only if you pinky promise.
Was he seriously naive enough to believe he could depend on the ER to be his drug dealer for the night? People never cease to amaze me sometimes.
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