He must put on a gown that is sure to remove his last shred of dignity. Then the patient must sit and listen to crying, screaming, and profanity while waiting interminably to be seen. He hears everything the patient in the next cubicle says and knows others will be listening to him. The person is assumed to be a doctor, although his self-introduction was so fast that the patient did not catch the name. After less than five minutes, he abruptly leaves, then someone new comes in to draw blood.
Patients deserve better.
If you or your loved one was a patient in an emergency department, you would want to be treated with respect and dignity. You would expect attention from calm, caring nurses and doctors, and informed of everything that was done. For example, a simple statement that blood tests will take about an hour will do much to decrease the anxiety in the patient. At the time of disposition, the patient deserves to have the emergency physician come back in to discuss the findings and answer any questions the patient may have. Anything less than that, and you will find yourself with unhappy patients.