Today I had the rare opportunity to witness the real reason why public wait times at the local emergency rooms are so ridiculously long. Bear in mind that it is a holiday and people become more accident prone on holidays for some reason, therefore there were even more patients waiting to be seen than normal when my son sliced part of his finger off and had to see the emergency doc. Eventually after being ushered into the little curtained off rooms with the beds in them, a squadron of doctors and nurses could easily be seen behind their fancy desk, clapping and singing and eating cake (yep, that’s right..CAKE!) while my son and numerous others waited to be seen by someone resembling a doctor. (We were there for a total of 5 hours) Emergency doctors make $190/ hour in NS and the nurses make $36/hr at least. And for that kind of pay they have the nerve to stand around having impromptu soirees when there are patients suffering and 2 waiting rooms FULL of others waiting to be seen! The cake eaters should be ashamed of themselves. At the very least they could have shovelled a forkful in their pie holes and wandered over to tend to their patients but they didn’t even bother to do that! The next time you experience a long wait time at one of our fabulous hospitals, rest assure there is a very good reason for it. It’s probably the doctor’s birthday! —They Could Have At Least Offered Us A Slice
This article appears in May 23-29, 2013.
Let them eat cake.
Did you know that Nurses save lives and put up with assholes like you all day?
Cranky is correct…
Let them eat cake
I also agree with Cranky. For all the stress they have to deal with in that department, they deserve cake and more.
How DARE they take a 15 minute break during their 12 hour days?!
Most of those patients are there because they caught cold or stubbed their toe. They were too lazy to do the work necessary to find a GP in this province and instead use outpatients as their personal physician.
And that, THAT SIR, is the reason the waiting rooms are crammed. Not because the staff that you are seeing FOR FREE (unless you have a job and somehow i’m doubting that) are taking a five minute break to celebrate some milestone or another.
But you’re right. How DARE those of us who service you feel entitled to a break on what is often an eighteen hour shift.
Despicable…
The Captain’s Navigator is a Nurse, and she’d straight up shank you for trying to take her cake away.
They get paid just enough to keep them present and sane….. just barely enough.
People really have no idea the amount of shit Nurses deal with.
What everyone else said.
And I’m pretty sure your precious little miracle’s finger was stitched up just fine anyway with that 15 minute interlude added in the mix.
Did your son die? I didn’t think so. Tell us OB how many cakes and “Happy Birthday” songs happen where you work. But that’s right, doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters and police officers aren’t allowed to be human.
Five hours?? Try nine hours, try eleven hours, try eight hours etc. – yep, I’ve waited them all with my ailing spouse in distress – Jesus H. Crackerflap, I’d be singing Happy Birffday with the whole fucking gang if I only had a measly five hour wait.
Dad was in the ER for 15 hours when he was in septic shock.
Meh, all nurses are not saints. My brother works security in that emerg room. Plenty of miserable, lazy c u next tuesdays as well. It’s almost like it’s…like any other workplace! Super weak bitch though.
I had a very good reason for hating nurses; until I had a good reason for not hating nurses.:) 🙂 🙂 🙂
The medical staff were celebrating the announcement that they now ALMOST make as much as bus drivers.
Quick, hold hezzie back, she’s gonna pop a cap.
Nurses are entitled to breaks too, ya know.
Remember just because you think you have an emergency doesn’t mean I think you have an emergency.
Perhaps the overcrowded emergency room isn’t the most appropriate place to have a mini-party. Maybe the cafeteria at lunch break would be a better spot for cake.
Op… what do you mean “sliced part of his finger off.”?
Do you mean he had a cut?
Fuck… when i was a kid, we had a way to deal with that that didn’t involve the emergency room. It was called a bandaid.
Motherfucker.. i want my taxes back.
Ah, if only cake eating health professionals were the real reason ERs are packed and backed up… It has nothing to do with lack of beds, the doors never close, people treating ERs like walk in clinics, traumas, strokes, MIs in the waiting room, stabbings, gun shots, cruise ships in port, flu season, assaults, lack of staff, bed closers…. Frosh week, winter, summer and car accidents, Norwalk, violent people, demented people…. The list is never ending. But yeah, the cake eating peeps that spend their lives there, holidays, weekends, nights, snow storms, hurricanes… They are the reason the place the place is packed….
Couldn’t agree more with everything that’s been said.. this bitch is horrible. I think its more important for more stressful jobs to take the time for a break and a reason to smile. These people make whatever amount of money they do because they sought this job and worked very hard with loads of schooling to get there. I find this whole rant to be insulting. If this persons son had been extremely hurt they would have saved the cake eating to another time in the night when real emergencies weren’t happening.
Besides, who wants to eat cake in a hospital waiting room, with a bunch of sickies coughing germs into the air? Gross!!! Why not just have it in the bathroom and use the toilet seat as a cake plate?
Nurse, did you have cake and not invite me? Whaaaaaaa. LOL.
Irony win for OP name: “—They Could Have At Least Offered Us A Slice”
Bitch, you got your slice. Pay closer attention to your kid next time.
12 hour shifts suck. Nurses and doctors are people too.. they need breaks like everyone else. When they accidentally sew your sons ass to his face from hallucinating due to not eating all day, you’ll really complain.
crayons, to be fair, I sliced the top fleshy portion of my thumb (it was still attached) with a wallboard knife (I’ll never do that again and start to pay attention to what I’m doing). I wrapped it up and went to my doctor to get it stitched. He told me I had to go to Emerg. I couldn’t believe I had to go there to get a couple of stitches put in.
There are good and bad people in EVERY profession..
People have to eat, sleep and use the washroom.
Do your eating someplace else. For anyone who has to work retail, try standing around munching on sweets when customers need assistance and watch what happens. I have witnessed the emerg staff eating and laughing, while people are bleeding to death or better yet, almost dead. Most nurses that I talk to complain that they are overworked and underpaid. Bla, bla, bla. Most of us are overworked, but nurses are NOT underpaid. Maybe they should try working at a Tim Hortons. Hey. lots of sweets at Tims.
Um. Are you SERIOUSLY comparing nursing to working retail or working at Tim Hortons?
Elle-oh-fucking-elle.
Most emergency personnel are lucky to be able to grab 5 minutes to eat. For some reason people decide to fuck up and do stupid things at meal times. I lost count of the number of times I was about to eat only to get a call but one just sucks it up and gets the job done. We’ve learned to live with it and is a part of lives just like black (not race but grotesque) humour at disturbing scenes. It’s that or go nuts.
Wait… ER nurses make at least $36 per hour? As one of said ER nurses, I am very offended by the fact that all of my coworkers appear to be making way more then I do and no one had the decency to tell me. I love hearing about how much I get paid from a stranger outside of my profession. Also, trust me, none of us want to be eating in the middle of the department. But sometimes, when you haven’t had a chance to eat anything much less go to the break room in 12 hours, you do what you have to do to make sure you don’t pass out while providing care to complete strangers. Don’t even get me started one what it’s like trying to find time to pee…
Jesus H Christ on a pogo stick. My Aunt is a nurse and doesn’t make anywhere near $36/hour. As a retail/warehouse worker, I know for a fact I make just as much if not more than she does, and she still continues to work.