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Wellness
How To Survive Your Hospital Stay:
1. Remember that everyone you encounter is well-intentioned and is trying to help you. Hospitals are filled with individuals who have specialized jobs. Nurses, doctors, personal care assistants, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, radiology technicians, and on and on. While at times they may seem hurried or even brusque, they are there to help you. Being polite, helpful, and not unnecessarily fighting with them will go a long way towards making your stay go smoothly. Often, the person you are working with is carrying out “orders” given by someone else (e.g., one of your doctors). Beating up on a phlebotomist for drawing blood doesn’t help if your doctor ordered the blood draw. If you have concerns about something being done, ask who ordered it, what the purpose is, and then take up your concern with the correct person not the messenger.
2. Remember that at the end of the day, you are still in charge. Many patients do not realize that they retain the ultimate right to refuse treatment. Just because you are in the hospital, you do not lose control over the right to control what happens to your body. With great power comes great responsibility, so be careful about wielding this weapon. But, equally, don’t forget about it.
3. Get to know and respect hospital routines and understand where there is leeway in the system. Hospitals work on systems. Your room will be in an area with certain protocols. For example, some areas may require the nurse to take your “vitals” (blood pressure, temperature, pulse) every four hours. Others, may use eight hours. You are monitored 24 hours so don’t be surprised if the nurse needs to awaken you at midnight or 4 am to check your blood pressure. Nurses also check patients throughout the night, so even if they don’t need to wake you they will check on you. In the meantime, pharmacy techs may deliver medications at all hours, environmental services will pop in to clean your room, others will check supplies in your room, and of course you may have blood drawn at strange hours. You should also expect doctors or physician’s assistants to stop by on rounds. In other words, recognize that your room will be a hub of activity day and night. At best, you may have stretches of three or four hours without interruption.
4. Get ready to be frustrated. You will find many aspects of hospital life frustrating. For example, you may find yourself tethered to several pieces of equipment, such as an intravenous machine, a heart rate monitor, and breathing apparatus. You will have a tangle of tubes and wires running from you to the machines. Going to the bathroom will involve a nurse or personal care assistant disconnecting you from some machines or bringing others with you as you move from the bed to the bathroom. You will have to call for assistance, and depending on how busy those individuals are with other patients you may have to wait a while before they can help you. The best rule is plan ahead. Don’t wait until the urge to use the bathroom is irresistible, signal for help as soon as you think you need to go. Watch for things like shift change times when the staff is busy transitioning duties and plan to go before or wait until after the change.
5. Don’t expect to leave the hospital in the same condition you were in when you arrived. The rule of thumb for a hospital stay is that it will take you one week to recover to pre-hospital condition for each day you spend in the hospital (some say 3–4 days recovery for each day in the hospital). You will need help when you leave if you stay for more than a few days. That could mean you will need a walker and other assistive devices when you go back home. You may also need physical therapy. The sooner you recognize these facts, the better off you will be.
6. Be prepared for setbacks. Although we may refer to medical science, medicine is as much art as science. Every drug has side effects and two similarly situated individuals may react very differently to the same drug. Drugs also can work against each other. You will face drug side effects, conflicts, and unknown problems. Some days will go well; others not so well. If you can accept and roll with the punches you will do much better than if you get frustrated by each downturn.
7. Have a support crew if at all possible. Being in the hospital is a lonely experience. While there are many interruptions day and night, there also are long periods where you are alone in the room with your thoughts. You are not well, and it is easy to let your mind wander down paths that are not helpful. You also will find that you have forgotten to bring things with you, that it would help to have an extra pair of hands arrange your tray table or help you eat, and there are times when you just want some company. If you can, arrange for a support crew. They don’t have to be at the hospital during all hours, but even having someone there a few hours a today can be a tremendous benefit both physically and psychologically.
8. Play an active role in your care. Usually, nurses and doctors like it when the patient is actively involved in their care. When you are going to receive medication, ask which medications you are being given and compare them to what you have been told. If the nurse takes your vital signs, ask for the readings. You know your condition — if your blood pressure suddenly spikes or drops, flag the change for the nurse (they should see the change from what the chart tells them, but they have lots of things to check so don’t assume they will catch the change). Hospitals have strange schedules for nurses and even then change nursing assignments during shifts. While nurses do review your chart, the more complicated the information the harder it is for the nurse to catch everything. Or, put another way, the only constant is you. Work with the nurses and doctors to make sure they are aware of your current state and treatments.
9. Beware interference from the insurance companies. This admonition may apply outside the hospital as much as in the hospital, but get ready for insurance companies to interfere with your treatment. Each time an insurance company gets involved, costs go up, diagnoses can get delayed or your treatment level can go down.