Not free pregnancy test room.
I was standing at the front desk with the patient reps, shooting the breeze, and a young woman came up and started signing in.
Me: How can I help you?
Woman: Do you guys do free pregnancy tests?
Me: No. You can get them at any drugstore pretty inexpensively, or you can go to Planned Parenthood on Monday.
Woman: Oh. Well, I don't trust those tests. They're not accurate.
Me: We use the exact same test as the ones sold in the drugstore. Are you having any bleeding or abdominal pain right now?
Woman: No. What about a blood test?
Me: We only do those if you're having an emergency. Have you missed your period?
Woman: No.
Me: I'm confused; can you tell me a little bit about why you want a pregnancy test?
Woman: Well, I'm trying to get pregnant, and I might be pregnant, and I want to start prenatal care as soon as possible.
Me: You should probably see your OB/GYN for checkup and a pregnancy test, then, since we don't do prenatal care in the ER.
Woman: But I don't have an OB/GYN.
Me: Again, Planned Parenthood is a good resource. I can also give you our physician referral line number.
Woman: I really just want a pregnancy test.
Me: If you want to sign in to be seen by the doctor, you can. But I'm not going to give you a pregnancy test.
Woman: (sighs and stomps out)
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6 comments:
Good for you (except for the part about telling her she could be seen by the doctor if she wanted to. Why, if she didn't have a problem?)
I would have LOVED TO. But the Powers that Be don't let us nursies make a decision about whether or not people who actually want to see the doc get to see them. If they sign up, eventually (and if they stay around long enough) they will get seen.
No doubt she went to a nearby phone both and called 9-1-1 to have an ambulance take her to a more sympathetic ED.
Or maybe she called 9-1-1 to find out if the ambulance crew could come over and do a pregnancy test.
They even have pregnancy tests at the dollar store now. I'm sure she could've scraped up the change along the side of the road for one. Hell of a lot cheaper than an ER visit.
You know what scares me most about this? She tells you she is "trying" to get pregnant yet she can't even plan to have a pregnancy test on hand in the event her planning meets fruition.
Scary.
Jaime---you hit what scared the bejesus out of me...
She is TRYING to get pregnant and doesn't have a pregnancy test. More so... She is TRYING to get pregnant and wants a FREE test. Gimme a break.
If you can't afford a pregnancy test I can't afford to pay the taxes to support your damned kid.
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