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I had an exemplary surgeon. I assumed that the "boutique" hospital he worked out of would also be excellent. Or at least: good.
Keeping it short: the nurses and their helpers were scary, snippy, not friendly. Awful about sums it up.
I'm in a giant city and this is a famed hospital with a name known around the world.
Three nights and four days in the hospital with my husband visiting here and there (we have kids at home) meant I didn't have a care advocate. Not smart.
In a nutshell:
Occupational therapist and physical therapist: Just fine.
Food people: A
Xray folks: A
Check in person: the one thing she was supposed to do -- explain how to order food -- she didn't do.
Nurses and their helpers: Mean to each other and irritable w/ me. (And I was trying very hard to be agreeable and easy. I'm not a princess. I must have sounded like an idiot saying thank you 100 times, but I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't really move after surgery.)
Takeaway: don't go to any hospital without a caring, yet assertive family member, friend or medical doula with you. Don't do the hospital alone. Trust me on this one.
And don't let your friends and family go alone either. Spread the word.
Even if everything goes well, and everyone's nice and informative and helpful, there's just too much going on, and too much information being presented, for a person already under stress to take in and retain. Having a second set of eyes and ears there with you, and looking out for you, is really important.
Whether it's out-patient or you're going to be there for a while, have a family member or good friend with you.
So, the OP had an experience she found disagreeable and now this becomes an absolute to have someone with you, generalized to all hospitals everywhere? What is even more remarkable about the whole complaint is that the worst thing that happened was the RN's were snippy, rude, and not friendly. There were no actual problems (at least none reported by the OP in the original post). News flash: This world offers no guarantee against encountering snippy, rude, and unfriendly people.
Now I would agree that having someone with you in the hospital is probably a good idea in most circumstances. What I am saying is the OP seems to be having an emotional over-reaction. I have been in the hospital for hernia surgery and found absolutely no need to have someone with me. The RN's were not rude, snippy, or unfriendly.
I had an exemplary surgeon. I assumed that the "boutique" hospital he worked out of would also be excellent. Or at least: good.
Keeping it short: the nurses and their helpers were scary, snippy, not friendly. Awful about sums it up.
I'm in a giant city and this is a famed hospital with a name known around the world.
Three nights and four days in the hospital with my husband visiting here and there (we have kids at home) meant I didn't have a care advocate. Not smart.
In a nutshell:
Occupational therapist and physical therapist: Just fine.
Food people: A
Xray folks: A
Check in person: the one thing she was supposed to do -- explain how to order food -- she didn't do.
Nurses and their helpers: Mean to each other and irritable w/ me. (And I was trying very hard to be agreeable and easy. I'm not a princess. I must have sounded like an idiot saying thank you 100 times, but I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't really move after surgery.)
Takeaway: don't go to any hospital without a caring, yet assertive family member, friend or medical doula with you. Don't do the hospital alone. Trust me on this one.
And don't let your friends and family go alone either. Spread the word.
As a widower created by medical malfeasance I surely agree with the OP in most aspects. I was unable to get reasonable communication from the oncologist or anyone closely connected with my wife's condition. I usually got excuses like "the doctor is in clinic" That is where we usually were "in the clinic". I went through H for a year and a half trying to coordinate reasonable communication with the medical staffs.
The patient advocate office at one of our leading cancer hospitals was not useful and mostly absent. Raising your voice in total frustration get the police called to the ward where someone on the staff will claim to be threatened.
This is a sad day for humanity when an attorney or an army is required to obtain info. necessary to make decisions. Having an advocate appears to be a necessity in many cases.
So, the OP had an experience she found disagreeable and now this becomes an absolute to have someone with you, generalized to all hospitals everywhere? What is even more remarkable about the whole complaint is that the worst thing that happened was the RN's were snippy, rude, and not friendly. There were no actual problems (at least none reported by the OP in the original post). News flash: This world offers no guarantee against encountering snippy, rude, and unfriendly people.
Now I would agree that having someone with you in the hospital is probably a good idea in most circumstances. What I am saying is the OP seems to be having an emotional over-reaction. I have been in the hospital for hernia surgery and found absolutely no need to have someone with me. The RN's were not rude, snippy, or unfriendly.
I just didn't want to bore you with fun details.
Yes, it's an absolute: always have someone with you if you stay in the hospital.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,715 posts, read 58,054,000 times
Reputation: 46185
Healthcare, including hospitals, is one of many USA systems that are broken beyond a bandaid.
In 30 yrs of caregiving I found out how vital a healthcare advocate is in any situation LTC / SNF. Very much needed. Have seen many people's lives disrupted / destroyed by bouched medical proceedures, and no one held accountable, and certainly the medical 'professionals' are the first to flee the crisis. Families are left floundering in the insurance, legal, and care systems.
Mod cut.
Last edited by PJSaturn; 04-09-2016 at 02:58 PM..
Reason: Political rant.
I missed it the first time.....this took place in a "giant city." I think that is short hand for NYC!! I know the place well. It is the best in the world for healthcare and those same great hospitals are among the world's worst for patient satisfaction. I don't think it is a mere coincidence that the nurses are unionized.
BTW, if this did occur in NYC, having an advocate is not enough. You need a New Yorker to deal with another New Yorker. You have to be New York pushy to get by.
Eight years ago, my husband had 3 critical surgeries while being hospitalized for 24 days. I did what I could but I had to go home to eat, shower and sleep. He did fine. His nurses were good, one in particular was great. Not everyone has a 24/7 posse.
I had no choice. I was admitted to the hospital through the ER. I have a chronic medical condition in which I am well versed of the whys and wherefores. I also make it my business to know what I am up against in the latest of treatments and my own personal medical information.
I am also fairly new in my city and do not have anyone to go to a hospital with me to advocate for me. My hospital was connected to one of the largest, most prestigious clinics in the country, Sheiks and celebrities go there. I doubt, however, if sheiks and celebrities are treated the same as ordinary patients such as myself. In a word: rotten.
Remember, the most important thing, if you don't know why they want to give you a shot or a pill, ask. I did. When I did, I discovered a daily shot of Heparin was given routinely to every single patient daily beginning on day one regardless of how long their stay. Every day they brought it to me, every day I rejected it. Was it really for me or a safety measure for them to guard against a lawsuit in case I threw a blood clot and decided to sue them? Was the constant checking the bar code on my wristband for my safety or again, to guard against a mistake on their part preventing a possible lawsuit as we heard so much about happening in the news awhile back.
The nurses thought it was amusing. They agreed with me with their smiles but of course couldn't say anything. Nurses are you first line of defense if you can befriend them. It isn't always easy but it is worth your while if you can.
Other problems occurred. I also watched my roommate who had her daughter by her side all the time as they dealt with issues that shouldn't have been.
So, mistakes were made, records not written down, etc etc. Even as an out patient three times alerting them weeks ahead of time did not stop them from trying to give me an IV for an MRI that could have caused a serious allergic reaction. The test was cancelled because I refused it. But my records do show I am allergic to something I am not. The nurse explained that for "some reason" it's difficult to change the information in the computer program someone had mistakenly entered. This is a computer program they and just about every medical facility across the country uses. I wonder who made how much money selling them that?
BTW, when I reported this error to the doctor he just said, "Oh, really?" He knew nothing about what had happened. Makes one wonder how much I really needed the test in the first place. Too bad for the hospital. They lost money on that one.
The medical profession in America is a bazillion dollar industry. An industry like any other industry. It's out to make money. People don't care until it's their ox being gored but by then it's too late.
So be smart, if you have an advocate take them with you but make sure it's an advocate who knows what's going on otherwise they will be useless. Better still, know what's happening yourself. Speak up. It's YOUR LIFE we are talking about. No one cares about it but you.
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