It's interesting to me how much the weather impacts people's "emergencies."
You'd think that an emergency is an emergency, and that, no matter what the weather is, it needs to be treated. I'm not talking about snow storms, tornadoes, or hurricanes here. I'm talking about temperature. People will actually stay home if it is "too cold."
I say "too cold" rather than too cold because I live in a part of the country where it doesn't really get that cold. If it's below fifty or sixty out, people don't want to come. Well, ok, fine. I'm not complaining because that usually means we get patients in who actually need emergency services.
But it's funny that the same person who won't come in because it's cold out will come in on a nice day with the sniffles and tell me how they just had to come because it's an emergency to them.
I've got news for those folks. If the temperature influences whether or not you come in to the emergency room, it isn't an emergency!
Bright sunny days are great for one reason: When the kids and family aren't all crammed in the same room coughing on each other, we get less of the 6-member Family Plan sign-ins. Instead, we get them when they fall off their bicycles, break their arms skateboarding, or need stitches for all their other little misadventures. But at least those belong here.
ReplyDeleteDitto when it's raining so hard they walk outside and say "Screw it, you can go to the doctor's office in the morning, I'm not driving anywhere in this crap." But then we get more homeless drug seekers trying for 3 hots and a cot.
When it's not sunny, but not raining animal-sized drops, the waiting room looks like Disneyland in July.
I'm thinking the perfect weather is plagues of locusts and raining brimstone, because it helps people prioritize real emergencies.