What is your most memorable patient experience?

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Chemdude

Chemdude

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A years ago, when I was volunteering in the ER, a high school kid came in looking horrible. He had blisters all over his face and his face was all swollen up. An attending came by to diagnose him with a first-year intern. The attending looked at the patient for a few seconds and opened the patient's mouth for examination. He then asked the intern, "What is this?" The intern could not reply. After about a minute of stuttering, the intern said that he had no idea what the patient has. The attending mocked the intern and said, "So after 4 years of medical school you are telling me you do not know what this is-it's chickenpox-get out of my face!"

I felt really sorry for the guy. lol, I hope that is not me in a couple of years.
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It will be you. Institutionalized hazing.
 
I helped perform CPR while doing my EMT training ER hours. I was on chest compressions, when the victim's heart started up again. Amazing feeling, and I was very lucky (also, some very well trained people were doing ventilation/monitoring the situation).

Anyway, I think this experience (which I wrote about in my statements) helped get me into Med school (I know my grades didnt)
 
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I had a guy try to set me on fire during an ambulance transport.
 
I had a doped out guy bust out of the psych ER padded (and locked) room. He proceeded to dismantle the department and got tased twice. When the third taser shot was coming he flexed hulk hogan style and shouted "DO IT AGAIN IT FEELS GOOD!"
 
I was shadowing a Sportsmeds Doc. A lady had driven a decent distance and apparently there was a rather good clinic in her hometown--he asked the nurse "Why did she come HERE?" The nurse said "She wants drugs."

I remember thinking that is so pessimistic, and that I wish people wouldn't be so quick to make those judgements.

When he told her she just had a large bruise and that he couldn't prescribe her narcotics she flipped a switch. She went from nice normal regular patient to Hell Patient. She was screaming and cussing and telling him this was the worst pain she'd ever been in and this was just ridiculous that he wouldn't help her.

He got this INCREDIBLY PO'd look on his. He looked 2 seconds away from telling her she could get the bleep out. And then he took a HUGE deep breath. And said well, that's my policy for this situation, and that's where we're at with that--in a calm, polite voice.
 
Frazier said:
I can't wait to make all these experiences my own. 🙂
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They are certainly amusing to tell afterwards, but they can be downright terrifying as a medical student (because your reflexes when the **** hits the fan tend to be the slowest and thus you are most likely to get it full on whatever it is).
 
Okay my experience isn't really exciting but it means a lot to me.

At a nursing home I worked in, one resident would always request that I help him get ready for bed. A lot of the other CNAs loved the fact because they all strongly disliked helping him because he could be very difficult; he used to be a psychiatrist and he would analyze every word and action you made.

Well anyways, if he knew I was working that night and I wasn't the one who got ready for bed he would end up peeing in his bed. This led to him getting his way and I was always the one who helped him get ready. I really didn't mind helping him but sometimes it was frustrating because he could be very time consuming. But at the same time he was really interesting to talk to. He said he first went to college to be a mechanical engineer major (which I was at the time) but realized that it just wasn't for him. And him and a lot of residents agreed that I should work with people and I kept saying no, no I want to be an engineer. It's funny how that changed.
 
These two experiences are memorable in different ways.

There was a female patient in late 60's who had a stroke and lost the vast majority of her higher mental functions. A neurologist was scheduled to come by later to officially declare brain death. Anyway, she had a very large, redneck family. She was one of 10 or so children. Many family members were sporting tattoos and / or missing teeth. There were disagreements among the family about how her care should be handled and I got to witness a full scale brawl in the waiting room. This was only my second week of hospital volunteering, and I've yet to see anything like it again.

The other experience was a 91 year old woman with heart failure. She and her husband had actually been married for 70 years. It was the day after their 70th anniversary when I met them. I'd never personally heard of anyone being married this long. I ended up sitting down with them for about an hour and listening to some life stories / lessons. The situation was sad because the woman was dieing of heart failure, but on the other hand, she had one of the happiest lives / marriages I had ever heard of.
 
Too many to count! Been working in the ER for 3+ years.

Seen a psych patient suffering from such paranoia/delusion that he leapt from his bed, tackled his own mother to the floor, and started choking her out. The entire ED, including some other PATIENTS proceeded to dogpile on the guy to pry him off. Haha

Also, seen a man with 2nd and 3rd degree burns to 80+% of his body following a gas explosion in an apartment building - you never forget that smell of burnt flesh.
 
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There were three:

1 - An ER resident gives me a chart and tells me to go talk to the guy in that room. I go and ask him what's going on, and he replies with an interesting story. He has been transported from a violent town across the river where he and his wife were participating in a SWAT raid of a rat-infested hotel. He wanted to get his wife, who is Yugoslavian and pregnant by him and Hugh Hefner, away from the violence so that they could return to their distant home on a star in another galaxy. After this, he asked if I was the doctor and had any medication for him and then went back to sleep.

2 - I walked in on some nurses and residents laughing over an X-ray of a "vibrating device" (fill in the lines there) lodged in a man's colon.

3 - A lady came in with an obviously necrotic hand, but she didn't know that there was anything wrong with it. We even took pictures and showed her, but she still couldn't tell the difference between her necrotic hand and her good one. The chief complaint on the chart was "hand may be infected." :laugh:
 
MilkmanAl said:
I watched a guy in the ICU die during one of my first shadowing experiences.
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Not the one I want to remember but had an older guy die in the ER where I volunteer. Very sad to see what it did to his wife.
 
I had a post-ictal epilepsy patient in for a phase 2 (intercranial) EEG grab the wires and come close to tearing them entirely from his brain/head. He got them a good ways out, could have done some serious damage but luckily he was ok. I wasn't in the room at the time since I was doing the recording but it took ~6 RNs, 2 security guards and another tech to restrain him while they pushed ativan. Pretty crazy experience
 
I had a patient who had suffered from police brutality on my first Ambulance ride for my EMT-B clinicals and the cops did not accompany us, but instead stated that they would meet us at the hospital since the patient was ambulatory (the patient was more than ambulatory, he was severely injured), yet the patient sprinted away so fast upon the arrival to the hospital. It was pretty crazy, he looked sooo hurt.

Also, hospice has provided me some great experiences that are pretty memorable. Generally, when people are dying, they have a lot to get off of their chest and it's pretty cool to be there alongside a patient hearing some of their last words.
 
I've had a few that will likely stick with me.

Until a few weeks ago, I would have said my first encounter with a dead patient and my survival of the zombie apocalypse. That however was more my most memorable experience with clinical staff.

There was a homeless epileptic that stood out. Probably because for someone who probably had a pretty crappy life, he was in good spirits (and no, he wasn't on drugs). Also I have seizures too so it could have been a vision of my future.

Then there was the guy with ALS who was in-stage and his family wanted to take him off support. I hope I never forget his wife. She was something else. For someone who hadn't been able to move in a few years, there wasn't a flaw on his skin. She must have moved him a few times an hour. Such a pillar of strength too. If I could be half the doctor that she was a caregiver, I would probably be the World's Best Doctor (after Oscar London of course)
 
familyaerospace said:
I've had a few that will likely stick with me.
Until a few weeks ago, I would have said my first encounter with a dead patient and my survival of the zombie apocalypse. That however was more my most memorable experience with clinical staff.

There was a homeless epileptic that stood out. Probably because for someone who probably had a pretty crappy life, he was in good spirits (and no, he wasn't on drugs). Also I have seizures too so it could have been a vision of my future.

Then there was the guy with ALS who was in-stage and his family wanted to take him off support. I hope I never forget his wife. She was something else. For someone who hadn't been able to move in a few years, there wasn't a flaw on his skin. She must have moved him a few times an hour. Such a pillar of strength too. If I could be half the doctor that she was a caregiver, I would probably be the World's Best Doctor (after Oscar London of course)
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Huh?
 
The joke is that I survived a zombie apocalypse. Now I'm incredibly squeamish and very uncomfortable around medicine as a whole (why I want to be a doctor is honestly beyond me). And dead bodies make me flip out. Also reading "Confessions of Emergency Room Doctors" did not help matters.

It was about my 5th shift as an ED volunteer and I was tricked into escorting a dead body to the morgue by a PCT and another volunteer. I didn't realise I was near a dead body (I admit I am naive and I wasn't paying attention to why the stretcher had a sheet on it) and I certainly didn't realise I was going to the morgue. When I was locked in the elevator with said dead body is when I realised what was near me and where I was likely going. Apparently I turned very, very pale. The things running through my head included "OMG! ZOMBIEEEE!!!!", "If this guy comes back to life, what can I do to get it to eat N or J first?", "If it moves, do I fight, freeze, or faint?," and "The head! If it moves, hit it in the head!" That was the longest elevator ride of my life and I spent the rest of the escort as far away from the stretcher as I could be. They were both trying to distract me away from thinking about the deceased on the route. I took a few steps into the morgue (within arms length of the door), saw another dead body and as soon as the pathologist said we didn't have to move the body, N reached out to hug him and by that time I was already out the door RUNNING back to the elevator to go back to ED. The entire staff of ED thought it was hilarious and they all wished the dead body had moved so I could have wet myself.

This is also when I learned I really need to stop watching so many horror movies.

As an aside, I am much better with dealing with the deceased now. However, if any of the techs try to play a joke on me and pretend to be a body coming back to life, they are all more than aware of the fact I will probably hit their zombie-acting self in the head. Then they will be grateful they are already in the emergency room.
 
The first time I shadowed a Dr. (urologist) the first patient I witnessed was a Mexican guy who didn't speak english. The Dr. brought a translator in the room. The guy said his testes hurt. So what does the Dr. tell me to do? Tells me to get some gloves on and check his balls.

So the Doc and I are both feeling up this guy, and the Mexican dude starts saying that theres a paquito (small) lump at the bottom of his testicle to the Dr. The Dr. says he cant find it. Then the Doc grabs the guy's penis, pulls it out and says "But THIS is paquito" and the Doc and the Mex dude both burst out laughing. I just kinda awkwardly smiled and hoped for it all to be over soon.


Keep in mind, This was my very first clincal experience ever.
 
familyaerospace said:
The joke is that I survived a zombie apocalypse. Now I'm incredibly squeamish and very uncomfortable around medicine as a whole (why I want to be a doctor is honestly beyond me). And dead bodies make me flip out. Also reading "Confessions of Emergency Room Doctors" did not help matters.

It was about my 5th shift as an ED volunteer and I was tricked into escorting a dead body to the morgue by a PCT and another volunteer. I didn't realise I was near a dead body (I admit I am naive and I wasn't paying attention to why the stretcher had a sheet on it) and I certainly didn't realise I was going to the morgue. When I was locked in the elevator with said dead body is when I realised what was near me and where I was likely going. Apparently I turned very, very pale. The things running through my head included "OMG! ZOMBIEEEE!!!!", "If this guy comes back to life, what can I do to get it to eat N or J first?", "If it moves, do I fight, freeze, or faint?," and "The head! If it moves, hit it in the head!" That was the longest elevator ride of my life and I spent the rest of the escort as far away from the stretcher as I could be. They were both trying to distract me away from thinking about the deceased on the route. I took a few steps into the morgue (within arms length of the door), saw another dead body and as soon as the pathologist said we didn't have to move the body, N reached out to hug him and by that time I was already out the door RUNNING back to the elevator to go back to ED. The entire staff of ED thought it was hilarious and they all wished the dead body had moved so I could have wet myself.

This is also when I learned I really need to stop watching so many horror movies.

As an aside, I am much better with dealing with the deceased now. However, if any of the techs try to play a joke on me and pretend to be a body coming back to life, they are all more than aware of the fact I will probably hit their zombie-acting self in the head. Then they will be grateful they are already in the emergency room.
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I'll just say up front that my intended path for a medical career is to be a medical examiner. I could see myself pursuing other avenues as well, but forensic path is what drew me to this crazy scheme in the first place. By nature of my work I've had a few rendezvous with decedents, beating hearts and otherwise. Death is as inevitable as anything gets and quite as natural as birth, so from the get go, I don't have any hangups.


I had the opportunity to shadow 2 autopsies and really enjoyed it. You'll be relieved to know that in the... er... fridge there was a big 'ol ax by the doors. Wanna know what it's for?..... That's right, Zombies.

Lol, just kidding...... maybe.
 
Smell is strongly linked to memory. Need I say more?
 
LebLlama said:
The first time I shadowed a Dr. (urologist) the first patient I witnessed was a Mexican guy who didn't speak english. The Dr. brought a translator in the room. The guy said his testes hurt. So what does the Dr. tell me to do? Tells me to get some gloves on and check his balls.

So the Doc and I are both feeling up this guy, and the Mexican dude starts saying that theres a paquito (small) lump at the bottom of his testicle to the Dr. The Dr. says he cant find it. Then the Doc grabs the guy's penis, pulls it out and says "But THIS is paquito" and the Doc and the Mex dude both burst out laughing. I just kinda awkwardly smiled and hoped for it all to be over soon.


Keep in mind, This was my very first clincal experience ever.
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This is even more awkward if you are female.
 
osteohopeful09 said:
I helped perform CPR while doing my EMT training ER hours. I was on chest compressions, when the victim's heart started up again. Amazing feeling, and I was very lucky (also, some very well trained people were doing ventilation/monitoring the situation).

Anyway, I think this experience (which I wrote about in my statements) helped get me into Med school (I know my grades didnt)
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This happened to me just a couple days ago...except he didn't make it :\ He seemed like he was going to and then just let go! It was weird seeing his family outside the room while doing the compressions and then after like twenty minutes them saying to just let him go...I'll never forget that! I had to help get him ready and escort him out and all that too. Very weird, seeing somebody who is talking and ok one minute, then two hours later you're helping transport them to the morgue.
 
The right Path said:
I had the opportunity to shadow 2 autopsies and really enjoyed it. You'll be relieved to know that in the... er... fridge there was a big 'ol ax by the doors. Wanna know what it's for?..... That's right, Zombies.

Lol, just kidding...... maybe.
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What was bad is that we had to wait for the morgue to be unlocked, I was like "Why would someone lock a morgue?" Then I figured it was to keep us safe from the zombies. 🙂 Needless to say, I was not happy when they unlocked the door!!
 
Poliscidoc said:
Not the one I want to remember but had an older guy die in the ER where I volunteer. Very sad to see what it did to his wife.
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I had one like this too...My very first day of volunteering ever. Actually I walked into the ER....Literally JUST walked in...and a nurse stepped out of a room and asked if I would help her put a cath in a guy! I just kind of looked at her funny but said I would...Then another nurse stopped me and said "No, he just got here he's not experienced enough", then she told me to go into another room and help the staff bag a dead body and take it to the morgue. I couldn't decide which one was worse.


I also have a story that a friend of mine just told me a couple days ago. He's a third year med student at Pitt and he had just started his psych rotation. On his third day he had to stay late and their alarms went off, so he rushed to it only to find a middle aged woman who had ripped her clothes off and gouged out her left eye with a tooth brush and squished it in her hand. She did that before he got there, but then he actually watched her stab a hairbrush into her skull as they all ran to stop her, and then try to gouge her right eye out with her hands! And he said she was laughing the entire time! Pretty freaky stuff! He also said everyone is getting counseling for it.
 
I also have a story that a friend of mine just told me a couple days ago. He's a third year med student at Pitt and he had just started his psych rotation. On his third day he had to stay late and their alarms went off, so he rushed to it only to find a middle aged woman who had ripped her clothes off and gouged out her left eye with a tooth brush and squished it in her hand. She did that before he got there, but then he actually watched her stab a hairbrush into her skull as they all ran to stop her, and then try to gouge her right eye out with her hands! And he said she was laughing the entire time! Pretty freaky stuff! He also said everyone is getting counseling for it.[/QUOTE]

That's really weird. I don't even want to imagine it. I wonder what I would have done had I been there though.
 
A guy came into the hospital where I work through the urgent care... he thought he had a pulled muscle in his leg from mowing his lawn a few days before. They found out he had necrotizing fasciitis (bacterial infection that destroys the muscle, connective tissue etc... under his skin). He got to the OR where I work to have a debridement before it spread to his peritoneal cavity. I remember his wife sitting with him in tears before he went into the OR. Long story short, he died during the operation... went into cardiac arrest 3 times during the surgery and never woke up. I took him to the hospital morgue after his family spent a few minutes with him. He was ~45 with 3 young children.

Thinking you had a pulled muscle then dying during surgery and leaving behind a wife and 3 kids all in a matter of hours... very sad and hard to forget.


Edit: On a lighter note I also brought a patient in for plastic surgery because he tried to circumcise himself in his garage with a hammer and chisel!!! WTF!!!
 
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not a big experience, but i thought it was rather humorous. We were transporting a frequent flier patient to the hospital and I had one of the older guys who was just getting his call in (not doing any actual pt care)...

I was running through my list of PMH/ drug hx questions and asked if she smoked/drank/recreational drugs...she says "no, but i hear they're pretty good..do you do them?"...my reply "no ma'm, not my thing"...and my partner (in a very heavy southern drawl) "ya know i did some crack this mornin just before i came to work that was some perty good stuff"

shakes head...we see her fairly often and usually joke around with her, so she didn't take offense to it (she was in absolutely no distress..just needed a taxi to the hospital)
 
rHinO1 said:
A guy came into the hospital where I work through the urgent care... he thought he had a pulled muscle in his leg from mowing his lawn a few days before. They found out he had necrotizing fasciitis (bacterial infection that destroys the muscle, connective tissue etc... under his skin). He got to the OR where I work to have a debridement before it spread to his peritoneal cavity. I remember his wife sitting with him in tears before he went into the OR. Long story short, he died during the operation... went into cardiac arrest 3 times during the surgery and never woke up. I took him to the hospital morgue after his family spent a few minutes with him. He was ~45 with 3 young children.

Thinking you had a pulled muscle then dying during surgery and leaving behind a wife and 3 kids all in a matter of hours... very sad and hard to forget.


Edit: On a lighter note I also brought a patient in for plastic surgery because he tried to circumcise himself in his garage with a hammer and chisel!!! WTF!!!
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I've seen a couple similar situation. It really makes ya think about things. Actually, even if I never make it to be a doctor, the one thing that I know I have gotten out of this is to go for what you want because tomorrow ain't promised to anyone.
 
chman said:
I've seen a couple similar situation. It really makes ya think about things. Actually, even if I never make it to be a doctor, the one thing that I know I have gotten out of this is to go for what you want because tomorrow ain't promised to anyone.
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👍 true dat

Lesson #2 should be do not try to circumcise yourself... especially not with a hammer and chisel. :meanie:
 
rHinO1 said:
👍 true dat

Lesson #2 should be do not try to circumcise yourself... especially not with a hammer and chisel. :meanie:
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Most memorable in a good way, or a bad way?

There's one patient that'll stick with me for a while, because she spent like the last three months of her life in the hospital, going from the oncology floor, to a med-surg floor, then finally ended up intubated in ICU. It was rather depressing.

The day before one of my interviews, we had a bad ice storm (well, bad for here). Idiots were rampant that day, and we had a couple traumas (where they actually activate the trauma team) come into the ER. One guy had his chest crushed by the steering wheel, had virtually no blood pressure, and was getting arterial lines put in him like nothing else. The surgeon basically said 'well, either we let him die down here, or we stabilize him enough to move him to ICU and he'll be dead by morning'. They brought his wife into the trauma room bawling her eyes out.

And, on a lighter note, I once walked into a patient's room while he was masturbating. I had to get blood from him, so I shook him, told him what I was going to do, moved his arm, got his blood and walked out. He didn't stop for the duration of that. An EKG tech came in during this... her eyes got all wide and she walked out, mumbling something about coming back later 🙂
 
mvenus929 said:
Most memorable in a good way, or a bad way?

There's one patient that'll stick with me for a while, because she spent like the last three months of her life in the hospital, going from the oncology floor, to a med-surg floor, then finally ended up intubated in ICU. It was rather depressing.

The day before one of my interviews, we had a bad ice storm (well, bad for here). Idiots were rampant that day, and we had a couple traumas (where they actually activate the trauma team) come into the ER. One guy had his chest crushed by the steering wheel, had virtually no blood pressure, and was getting arterial lines put in him like nothing else. The surgeon basically said 'well, either we let him die down here, or we stabilize him enough to move him to ICU and he'll be dead by morning'. They brought his wife into the trauma room bawling her eyes out.

And, on a lighter note, I once walked into a patient's room while he was masturbating. I had to get blood from him, so I shook him, told him what I was going to do, moved his arm, got his blood and walked out. He didn't stop for the duration of that. An EKG tech came in during this... her eyes got all wide and she walked out, mumbling something about coming back later 🙂
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holy ballz you couldn't give the guy a minute of privacy? 😛
 
I was shadowing an oncologist, and a patient had a cardiac arrest while I was talking to him. I had to start CPR and started screaming to get the nurses attention and in the room. He died. Nothing will ever be more memorable than that for me.
 
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rHinO1 said:
holy ballz you couldn't give the guy a minute of privacy? 😛
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Pretty sure the guy wasn't with it mentally. I made my presence more than known, and he didn't even flinch. So, I doubt a moment of privacy would've done much good. Knowing my luck, I would've come back a half hour later and he would've still been at it.
 
Like everyone probably does, I remember the first time I did chest compressions. 40 y/o male mvc head on into a tree. He didn't make it.

I've seen a lot of memorable ones in the ER. One girl was screaming she had bugs all over her (thank you crystal meth.) Then lots of drunk people, of course.
 
Yup - same here. One of the most memorable was my first code - 18 YOF Hx metastatic stomach cancer. Found down by her parents in their living room. Somehow got a rhythm back after multiple rounds of epi and lido, as well as several high doses of electricity. I have no idea how it happened, but feeling a weak radial pulse where there wasn't one before is the most amazing feeling in the world. This patient also taught me how to say "enough." After we got to the hospital and the docs had been working on her for a few minutes, the parents decided that it would be best just to let her go. I was initially pretty shaken, but in the end, her death was merciful. It may sound cliche, but I grew up a lot that night.


The most fun case I had was an MVC rollover with ejection, and partial facial avulsion... but thats another story for another time!
 
My favorite, while not all that interesting, happened when I was going to get some blood samples from patients for a research study. After I explained the basics of the research study and obtained consent, I asked the patient, an 80+ year old male with heart problems, if there was anything else I could do for him. He said, "Yes, you can. I would like to see my wife. She's in the waiting room. You'll know which one she is. She's the most beautiful woman in the whole world." After I went to go get her and immediately upon seeing her, he said, "Hey gorgeous. You look even more beautiful than when I left this morning" in the most upbeat mood possible.

I think it's something about older couples. They just always seem so darn awesome together.
 
oaklandguy said:
I had a patient who had suffered from police brutality on my first Ambulance ride for my EMT-B clinicals and the cops did not accompany us, but instead stated that they would meet us at the hospital since the patient was ambulatory (the patient was more than ambulatory, he was severely injured), yet the patient sprinted away so fast upon the arrival to the hospital. It was pretty crazy, he looked sooo hurt.

Also, hospice has provided me some great experiences that are pretty memorable. Generally, when people are dying, they have a lot to get off of their chest and it's pretty cool to be there alongside a patient hearing some of their last words.
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Ambulatory means that they are able to walk on their own. It has nothing to do with how sick or injured they are ( eg it doesnt mean they need an ambulance). I didnt know that it meant that until i worked in a hospital though.

My favorite was getting some food for an old lady in the ER ( a banana among other things). I asked her if i could get her anything else and she replies " yeah a real banana, ive been a widow for 15 years":laugh:
 
An elderly patient came into the ED with a nosebleed that just wouldn't quit. I had to interview him for a couple of studies. After I was done with my questions, he proceeded to ask his own of me. He was mostly curious about my own life goals, but we ended up talking about his own life as an artist. He went on to give me some bits of advice that, while a bit generic, have stuck with me since that day. It was just an unexpected conversation with a very pleasant old guy. Perhaps it doesn't even matter what was said. I left the hospital that day with an extra spring in my step.
 
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