I’m an ER nurse and part of the reason our waiting times are so long right now is because people are coming to us instead of waiting months and months to get an appointment somewhere. I can’t blame them: most have little health literacy and are genuinely scared something is really wrong with them.
I discharge multiple people a day who I tell to follow up with their primary care within a week, and they say they already have an appointment but it’s 1-4 months from now.
The whole system is really broken which is only making more and more healthcare workers leave the profession, snowballing the decline. Honestly I don’t see it getting better at any point in the near future.
That being said, for those of you who are having to wait months for an appointment at a specialist or even your primary care, don’t be afraid to be the squeaky wheel. Call once a week to see if there are cancellations and whether you can get in any sooner.
ETA: the ER is a place that diagnoses and tests conditions that are emergent and life threatening. If your symptoms have been happening for days, weeks, or months, and are not progressing quickly, please try to make an appointment with your primary provider or go to an urgent care. You will be waiting in the waiting room of an ER for hours and you most likely won’t get the answers you’re hoping for.
jocotenango t1_jab55tj wrote
Reply to How's everyone getting by with our understaffed medical community? by funcktarts
I’m an ER nurse and part of the reason our waiting times are so long right now is because people are coming to us instead of waiting months and months to get an appointment somewhere. I can’t blame them: most have little health literacy and are genuinely scared something is really wrong with them. I discharge multiple people a day who I tell to follow up with their primary care within a week, and they say they already have an appointment but it’s 1-4 months from now. The whole system is really broken which is only making more and more healthcare workers leave the profession, snowballing the decline. Honestly I don’t see it getting better at any point in the near future. That being said, for those of you who are having to wait months for an appointment at a specialist or even your primary care, don’t be afraid to be the squeaky wheel. Call once a week to see if there are cancellations and whether you can get in any sooner.
ETA: the ER is a place that diagnoses and tests conditions that are emergent and life threatening. If your symptoms have been happening for days, weeks, or months, and are not progressing quickly, please try to make an appointment with your primary provider or go to an urgent care. You will be waiting in the waiting room of an ER for hours and you most likely won’t get the answers you’re hoping for.