Hospital Trips?

[DBug]

I've had the same question come up a couple of times in interviews, and I'm wondering what the "correct" answer is. The question is "What would you do if someone in your care needed an emergency trip to the hospital?". So far I've been of the opinion that if it's not a real emergency (ie a broken bone or something that can wait an hour or so), I'd call the parents of the child and have them take care of the ER visit. If it's life-threatening, I would call an ambulance and send the child to the hospital alone. Then call my back-up to watch the rest of the kids and follow the ambulance while calling the child's parents. Once the parents got to the hospital, I'd resume my post at home. I haven't gotten any feedback on whether parents are happy with that answer or not though.

What's your answer and what do you guys think parents are looking for when they ask that question?

[Blackcat31]

Had a broken bone this summer...called mom and dad and they came and brought child to ER themselves.
Had an urgent emergency a few summers ago and called ambulance and dcm and had her go directly to ER to meet ambulance and I never had to leave.

I feel like that is our only options since I can not leave and the time it would take for my emergency back up to arrive so I could leave is the same amount of time it would take a parent to arrive too soooo.. Plus this goes along with making sure parents are available when needed/called and that they have reliable contact people available for those exact reasons.

[melskids]

i am in a super rural area. it would take back up 40 minutes to get to me. so i cant leave with the ambulance if i wanted to. the parents know, if its life threatening, the child will go in the ambulance, and the parents can meet them there. all of the parents are near the hospital anyway, so they'd be there before the ambulance even gets there. the thought of sending a scared child away in an ambulance bothers me, but i dont see any other way around it.

[SilverSabre25]

My stock answer for things I can't honestly predict is, "it would depend on the nature of the situation." Then I would expand on it and explain that for some things I would just call the parents to come get the child, for some I would call an ambulance first, then the parents, then my back-up care (just in case), sending the child alone if necessary, and if my DH is home and it was an ambulance-worthy event, I would go with the child.

[KEG123]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

Had a broken bone this summer...called mom and dad and they came and brought child to ER themselves.
Had an urgent emergency a few summers ago and called ambulance and dcm and had her go directly to ER to meet ambulance and I never had to leave.

I feel like that is our only options since I can not leave and the time it would take for my emergency back up to arrive so I could leave is the same amount of time it would take a parent to arrive too soooo.. Plus this goes along with making sure parents are available when needed/called and that they have reliable contact people available for those exact reasons.

This. I have something in my contract that minor injuries are treated by me, serious injuries require immediate pickup, severe/life threatening I call 911 and parents to meet ambulance at the hospital since I am unable to assist during transport.

[QualiTcare]

hospital trips can be tricky. i remember when i was a minor my grandmother took me to the ER and they wouldn't see me without consent from my mother. my grandmother couldn't get ahold of her and i laid in the waiting room forever.

i had parents sign a paper with their contact information and insurance information on it giving me consent to "ok" treatment of their children. i've filled out forms like this (notarized) for my own children's grandparents for "just incase" scenarios. everyone has theories about what doctors "would do" and "should do" in an emergency, but unless your definition of emergency only includes life threatening situations, they need consent to do anything. i would consider a split open head or a busted out row of teeth an "emergency" especially if it's a dck under my care, but it's not life threatening. anyway, something to think about - it can only help to have papers like this on hand.