Hospital Do's and Don'ts

Did y'all miss me? 

I have been spending all my days and many of my nights in a hospital which is, in fact, where I am at the current moment. 

No, I am not the patient.  It is my mother.  We got ready to take her to her doctor's appt. last Wednesday and when we got her to her feet (which was no small feat in itself) her vision went blurry.  She was transported from the doctor's office to the hospital via ambulance.  She has been a bit of a medical mystery. 

Where is that arrogant, know it all Dr. House when you need him?

After countless testing and a couple of "come to Jesus" meetings with some doctors and staff members, we seem to be getting somewhere though we have more of a clinical diagnosis at this point of a pretty uncommon disease called Wegener's Granulomatosis which is a type of vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels).  Treatment is corticosteroids so we are hoping to get her well soon.  

What I have observed while logging in all these hours at the hospital is that there are a lot of kind health professionals (and a few not so  much) who are all doing their individual jobs but often times fail to communicate both with each other and with the patient as well. 

Here is a little list of do's and dont's I'd like to see enforced in this hospital...

Do read over the entire chart before you enter the patient's room and ask them all the same questions they have already answered five thousand and ninety two times since they were admitted.

Don't  ask the patient if they have any results back yet on their biopsy.  Hello??  Aren't you the doctor who ordered the test?! 

Do try your very hardest to crack a smile when you introduce yourself to the patient and the patient's family.  A smile goes a long way people, a long way. 

Don't come in with yesterday's news.  Lack of knowledge makes you appear incompetent.  I don't work here.  I should not be the one to have to update the doctors and nurses on the latest results and happenings.  I say it again...READ the updated chart before you come in blind.

Don't omit information for any reason but especially not because you believe we are incapable of understanding it. Google is my very best friend, I'm a researcher at heart and I can pronounce the big words. Lay 'em on me, Einstein.  "Einstein" coincidentally, was the name of the ER doc who admitted her.  He was one of the good ones.

Don't express your hostilities while in the patient's room.  I really don't give a shit that your 20 year old self worked a 12 hour shift yesterday, that you are on the 14th hour (clearly!) of a 16 hour shift today, are going to nursing school and have to work at your mom's real estate business tomorrow.  All I want is for you to answer me nicely when I ask you a very legitimate question and to not slam and jerk things around while you are in the room.  Is that really too much to ask?

I don't know how much longer we will be here but I am quite sure I will come up with a few more before it is over. Meanwhile, I will breathe sighs of relief when I see the pleasant doctors and nurses with excellent communicative skills and bedside manners enter the room and take deep breaths and try to contain my inner madwoman when the other ones arrive.  

Y'all say a prayer.