A Brief Patient’s Guide to Emergency Room Visits

A visit to an emergency room may not be the best experience anyone might go through. As commonly portrayed in mass media, the ER is not your typical dreamland; it is in fact, a battleground between life and death.

If you’re feeling like you need to go to the emergency room Bundaberg, here are a few guidelines that might help you during your visit.

  1. Arrival

Unless you arrive by ambulance due to a severe injury or serious medical condition, you will most likely be triaged by a nurse upon your arrival, which includes brief inquiries about your condition, a quick examination on your vital signs, such as blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate, etc. Depending on the result of this initial consultation, the nurse will determine whether your case demands instant priority.

  1. Time

Since the emergency room deals with patients that require instant attention, some even on the verge of life and death situations, you might have to wait some time before it’s your turn to be examined by the doctor. Depending on the urgency of your case, you might have to stay in the waiting area for a while, so try to bring with you some company or a book to read to distract you as you wait for your turn.

  1. Consultation

During consultation, the doctor needs to be equipped with a few important details about you, such as the list of your past medications, past surgeries, health problems that run in your family, and specialists you have been seeing. All these will guide the doctor to have an accurate diagnosis of your current condition. While waiting for your turn, it is good to try and list all these pieces of information on your mobile phone or notebook to be prepared for the consultation.

  1. Before Leaving

Before you leave the ER, make sure to note all the instructions given to you by the doctor, together with the name of the physicians that have assisted you, the diagnosis that was made, and all prescriptions that have been given.

A visit to the emergency room is most often associated with stress and frustrations. To minimise the possibility an unfortunate visit to the ER, be sure to take in mind these guidelines provided above.

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