My Nurse Point of View

I've contemplated since starting this blog site how to write about what I do for a living.  The biggest obstacle being that I can't write about any specific patients for obvious reasons.  Also I would not bash my coworkers or the company I work for no matter how frustrated at the moment I might be...again for obvious reasons...I like to keep getting paychecks.
So with that disclaimer noted please read on knowing I have to be a little vague about things.  This post is mostly to get a few things off my chest.
Background check: I am a cardiac nurse, and I absolutely love what I do.  I love the part of my job that allows me to teach people about their specific heart issues.  I also (usually) enjoy finding creative ways to help patients with diet/exercise/and medications issues as these are the foundations for treating heart disease.
The reality of dealing with potentially life threatening issues is that it is difficult for a non-medical person to know sometimes if their issue is really an emergency or not.  So they call the office to speak with the nurse.
I'm ok with that, that's part of what I'm there for, to answer questions over the phone and give advice if I can, or offer an appointment if I can't or deem the situation too unstable to treat over the phone.
So #1 frustration for me: Do not argue with me about the plan I recommend.  It is a thought out plan specific for you.  If I tell you to go to the ER, I am not kidding or just trying to put you off.  There is something about what you have just told me that triggers a red flag in my brain that says "this patient must seek immediate treatment" and that means going to the ER.
You'd be surprised how many people refuse to go to the ER after their cardiac nurse who has their history and vital information right in front of her tells them to go.
#2 frustration: Self diagnosing by the internet.  Come on people, I'm not going to elaborate as there are a thousand scenarios with this.  Bottom line, if you do it, fine, but if the doctor you see disagrees with what the internet says, please don't tell him or his nurse that you think he is wrong because what you read on the internet is different.  It's not going to change his knowledge that came from years of medical school and treating thousands of patients every year with your exact same problem.  If you disagree strongly and feel he totally missed the ball then get a second opinion.  There's nothing wrong with that.
#3 frustration: Stopping medicines (that we started) without telling us.  If you think you had a side effect we need to know!  If you read or heard something bad about it, I want to give you more information before you make the decision to stop taking something.  Often I can help people work through medication issues (even cost issues) but they have to call me!
Ok, I feel much better now.