This is called ‘Triage’. Look it up sometime, because the triage nurse in every Emerg in America makes these decisions on a daily basis.
Thank you. I learned a new word today.
Hey, Triage this: You’re dumb.
When the heck did nurses decide that once someone reached a certain age limit that they should be withheld care? You stupid, addle brained, jackass.
Triage nurses decide who can wait an hour or six and not go downhill but they’re not deciding to withhold treatment from 86 y.o. patients with memory impairment, shortness of breath and chest pain - they move to the front of the line in today’s non-disaster conditions. Which is not to say the nurse doesn’t make inquiries about DNRs - but DNR does not mean “do not treat.”
Really, triage nurses in ERs decide that certain patients will not get treated, period, end of story?
Triage is a legitimate practice, of course, but comparing “belly pain, you go in ahead of the guy with the cut toe even if he is dripping blood on the carpet” is a world away from “no treatment for you, Granny.”