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I've been in the hospital twice in the past year (once to visit my grandfather, once to have my appendix removed), and I was really bothered by the lack of comm

I've been in the hospital twice in the past year (once to visit my grandfather, once to have my appendix removed), and I was really bothered by the lack of communication. In my grandfather's case, the nurses were bewildered by the fact that his blood pressure varied so wildly between lying down and standing (which causes him to pass out). I finally had to ask them "Surely the doctor told you he has Shy-Drager syndrome, right?" They had no idea that this was normal for him, and will only get worse as he gets older. If it only took me 30 seconds to explain it to them, why couldn't his doctor have done the same. When I had my appendix removed, I was on a couple of prescription medications, which I brought with me to the hospital to ensure I got the names correct when I informed the front desk clerk as I was admitted. Two days later my nurses had a hissy fit when they discovered that not only was I on prescription medications (this somehow hadn't been communicated), but that I was also administering them myself (apparently a no-no in the hospital). Apparently no one talks to each other in hospitals.

textfiles 10y ago
Jason Scott, the heart attack guy, here. During the weeks I was with my dad, at Duke Hospital, I got to see extremely excellent care - because he'd been a transplant patient, they took his medications incredibly seriously. Everything was charted and they were always on top of it. There were arguments about his exercise needs, but mostly between him and the nurses, who exhibited a wide range of bedside manner. I definitely think having an advocate with you at the hospital is critical. At St. Vincent's, I really dealt with superior nurses. Only one was short with me, and that's mostly because she was asking me a question and my answers were too fru-fru for her; she wanted a number, and all I had was a guess. When I finally guesstimated a number, she went away; never saw her again. Meanwhile another walked me though a large post-heart attack education patiently to make sure I understood everything. The hospital, I'm sad to say, makes a big difference.

textfiles 10y ago

Jason Scott, the heart attack guy, here. During the weeks I was with my dad, at Duke Hospital, I got to see extremely excellent care - because he'd been a transplant patient, they took his medications incredibly seriously. Everything was charted and they were always on top of it. There were arguments about his exercise needs, but mostly between him and the nurses, who exhibited a wide range of bedside manner. I definitely think having an advocate with you at the hospital is critical. At St. Vincent's, I really dealt with superior nurses. Only one was short with me, and that's mostly because she was asking me a question and my answers were too fru-fru for her; she wanted a number, and all I had was a guess. When I finally guesstimated a number, she went away; never saw her again. Meanwhile another walked me though a large post-heart attack education patiently to make sure I understood everything. The hospital, I'm sad to say, makes a big difference.