There are few things more irritating in emergency medicine then when a patient who clearly is vegetative, severely demented, and bedridden has family members who refuse to make him or her DNR.
One thing that is more irritating though is when they keep reversing themselves! Okay let’s make her DNR. No, wait! Grandma said she wanted to live! Take off the DNR! Oh she’s not going to survive? Okay resume the DNR.
FFS.

It’s really pathetic when MD’s who see all the patients in a nursing home just blast them all with pain meds without bothering to even try to figure out what’s wrong.

Now, if someone is end stage dementia, vegetative, etc, fine. That makes sense. But functional 90 year olds should be treated a little better.

Back pain? Percocet. Never mind it turns out to be a huge kidney stone.

Chest pain? Never mind that it’s a PE.

Headache? Who cares if it’s a subdural bleed!

Come on doctors, do your job.

Listen, just because you finally managed to drag Gramps in to the ER to see a doctor for the first time in years for an acute but mild problem, doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to ask me to have three specialists see him for a whole boatload of progressive, non-urgent problems.
It’s called make a friggin’ appointment with someone and drag his old bones to their office! Getting ER consults is expensive and when not indicated, are a waste of resources and a strain on our already overused health care system. They tend to order lots of expensive tests and scans, all of which can be more cheaply and appropriately done as an outpatient.