University of Wisconsin Hospital

I recently brought in a friend who needed to be seen emergently. There was not an ounce of compassion or concern. The air reeked of cynicism and mockery. Another friend had also come with us and immediately sensed the same attitude from the staff. We were all very disappointed in the attitudes received.

I have worked in the health field for many years. I understand how one can become cynical and hardened to things one can see in an ER, especially when these things are repeated over and over. But the cynicism should be checked at the door, before one enters the hospital. A patient does not need someone else's scorn when coming to a hospital, because most patients have a very hard time agreeing to go to the ER in the first place. So when a staff member comes into the patient's room with these types of attitudes, it feeds into the doubts and apprehension one already feels by coming to the hospital in the first place.