04/26/2026
Last night, I went to Duke Raleigh Emergency Department after being directed to go by my care team.
I have a complex medical history, including recent hospitalizations for bowel obstruction and severe constipation. I have a PICC line, receive regular infusions, and have home health involved. When symptoms escalate, I’m told—like many patients—go to the ED.
I went because I was in pain, nauseated, and vomiting.
After waiting for hours, the first interaction I had was not assessment—it was accusation.
A nurse came in and repeatedly questioned what I had “taken.” I clearly stated I do not take pain medication and never have. She insisted it was “in my chart.” It is not. I even asked her to verify through PMP Aware.
Then the physician came in and continued the same narrative—focused on pain medication I never asked for and do not take.
No physical exam.
No meaningful assessment.
No hands-on evaluation.
Just standing at a computer, reading, and saying: “I don’t know what you want us to do.”
I was told I couldn’t be given pain medication due to low blood pressure… despite never asking for any.
I left the same way I came in—still in pain, still nauseated, and without answers.
As a psychiatric provider, I understand the importance of safety, prescribing responsibility, and clinical judgment. But what I experienced was not clinical caution—it was bias.
This is what happens when patients are labeled before they are assessed.
This is what happens when pain is filtered through suspicion instead of compassion.
This experience could have been entirely different with:
• Basic clinical assessment
• Patient-centered communication
• Treating someone as a human being in distress—not a stereotype
I’ve formally submitted a complaint to Patient Relations requesting a review of this encounter, including the lack of evaluation and the assumptions made about my care.
We can do better in healthcare.
We have to do better.
— Robin Trivette, DNP, MSN-Ed., PMHNP-BC
