MultiCare Good Samaritan Emergency - Parkland

"We were in and out quickly, but the doctor on the night shift on 8/19 at 1 am—a female doctor—showed no compassion or empathy and provided horrible patient care. As a registered nurse with 22 years of experience in healthcare, I was shocked and disappointed. My 18-year-old son, who has played soccer for 16 years and has had two prior concussions, woke me up at midnight with classic symptoms of a concussion: confusion, disorientation, ringing in his ears, and nausea. What terrified me was the sudden onset of a severe 10/10 headache and his disorientation when he woke up, gagging. My son is extremely strong, healthy, and rarely complains. The last time he was at this same ER was a few years ago when his appendix burst, and even then, he didn’t complain about the pain. This doctor approached us with a poor attitude, demeanor and clearly in a rush. She asked what was going on, and as I explained, she appeared extremely agitated and annoyed. Having been in healthcare for as long as I have, I know when a doctor simply doesn’t care. She was looking around, checking her watch, clearly distracted and annoyed by our presence. She performed a minimal neuro check—one that I could have done better myself and did. When she asked my son to smile and he hesitated, struggling to follow directions, she smirked and sarcastically asked, "Can he not follow directions?" That was the breaking point for me. I responded sternly, advocating for my child, "As I told you before, he’s disoriented and may not follow everything you’re saying." We were placed in the hallway, as the ER was obviously full, and she made it very clear how busy she was. Her body language and tone conveyed that she didn’t believe my son’s condition was severe. At this point it was not. If my son hadn’t woken me up in the middle of the night, scared, I would have taken him to urgent care. When I mentioned that I’m a registered nurse, her demeanor changed entirely—suddenly, she became sweet and kind. Initially, I was considering a CT scan, but his headache started to subside after 1000mg of acetaminophen, so we were originally going to ask for discharge after about thirty minutes since he was improving. Regardless of why you think someone is in the ER, do better. I don’t care if you’re having the worst night of your life—you have a responsibility to be a good healthcare worker, to be compassionate and empathetic to the people you care for. After 22 years in healthcare, I could never treat my patients the way this doctor treated us. Do you think we wanted to be there? No! We don’t go to the ER lightly, and I understand that healthcare workers get used to seeing this kind of thing, but to me, this was an emergency until it wasn’t. I hope you read this and understand that you gave my son a very negative experience and made him feel awful for seeking help. Be better. Do better. My kids know to only go to the ER in true emergencies. I was scared it was something more serious, and thankfully, it wasn’t. We’re not even 24 hours into this, but luckily, he has a mom who’s a nurse and can care for him with the him with the compassion he deserves. I just wanted some reassurance that someone else thought the same thing. Thank you for making us feel judged. Three years ago, my son had his appendix almost rupture, and we had a fantastic experience with great nurses and doctors at this same hospital. I won’t name the doctor, but if anyone wants it, please let me know. I just hope that others who’ve had similar experiences understand that not all healthcare workers are like that."

"I came in today for excruciating pain due to a cyst below my tailbone. They got me back right away and I was in and out in an hour and a half! I actually really liked the main doctor who took a look at my notes from urgent care and the cyst I was dealing with and said basically that it definitely needs to be drained - which is not what urgent care said! They just sent me home with antibiotics and it only got worse. Probably was one of the most painful experiences of my life just due to how swollen it was, but I actually was thankful the doctor was trying to keep my mind off how bad putting all that pressure onto the area felt to drain it. Maybe some people don't like that kind of bedside manner but it actually helped me not focus on only the pain. Also all the nurses were very friendly! I am so thankful at 36 weeks pregnant they were able to get me immediate relief today. Huge thank you!!!"

"My fiancé had kidney stones and was in excruciating pain, didn’t know what was wrong. 90% of the nurses treated him like he was a drug user only looking for pain meds. The doctor said it was back pain and my fiancé refused, the doctor then said “okay well what do you think it is”. One of the nurses also made a snarky comment about “he’s moving slowly but surely” as my fiancé was laying on the floor in pain. The lady at the front desk was extremely rude and made a snarky remark when I was pleading for help for my fiance. Thankfully one of the nurses was very helpful and finally got him something for the pain. Overall not a great experience, won’t be going back."

"Went in with a dog bite, check in was fast and I barely had time to sit down before I was called back. Rooms were very clean staff was very friendly and my nurse Courtney was a rockstar! I don't sit still when I'm in pain and this lady was so kind and understanding letting me take brakes as needed from cleaning my wounds! Same with the doctor I had a million questions and he answered everyone with no problems! This over had to be the best er experience ever!"

"Went in today with my 1,5 year old daughter and had a pleasant experience. We were called to be seen fast, doctors and nurses were professional and polite, answered all of my questions, labs were drawn fast, I was put on IV fast, they took great care of my little one too. They even brought some drinks and snacks for the little one while we were waiting to be discharged. We’ll definitely come back if I ever need to in the future."