You got sick, and unfortunately, you have to go to the hospital. Doctors tell you that you may have to be admitted for a few days. You might have heard that every hospital is different, and there are rules that you have to follow. Having worked in multiple hospitals, there are many commonalities and differences. You health is important to us. Unfortunately, medical errors do happen, and it is also the patient’s responsibility to catch them as they occur. Here are what you should expect and what you should be doing when you get hospitalized.
1. A doctor should see you every day.
A doctor should come in and see you every day! If you have not seen your doctor today, something is not correct. You need to talk to your nurse or nurse assistant and request to be seen. Worse yet, your doctor may be too lazy to see you, and please make sure that is not the case. This usually happens more frequently at a private hospital compared to a teaching hospital. Most doctors round in the morning, starting at 8 to 9 am, and finish round by 2-3 pm. So you should expect them to come in during those hours. Suppose you were working with a physical therapist or other personnel in the hospital, and you missed the doctor. Make sure to ask around. You should know the detail of your conditions, why you are taking certain medications, and why you are receiving procedures. I round with residents starting at 9 am and see patients from about 10 to 11 am in my practice.
2. If you are at a teaching hospital, expect medical students and residents.
We must educate the next generation of physicians. Residents are physicians who finish their medical school training and are currently subspecialized in certain areas. For example, Internal Medicine residents are physicians trained to become Internal Medicine specialists. They are getting trained for three additional years after medical school to be board eligible. After residency, we become attending physicians. Because of this, they often have to see the patients and gather information before rounds. If I, as an attending physician, am going to round at 8 am. Trainees are likely to come in around 7 am to see you. So do not be alarmed by this routine. However, the patient and family can always request to be seen only by the attending physician, the head doctor of your case. Resident physicians are often the first to talk about the results of your testing, the diagnoses, and the prognoses of your admission diagnoses. In my experience, teaching hospitals generally provide a higher and more comprehensive level of care compared to non-teaching hospitals. On the contrary, they often spend extra money on testing and increase the cost of hospitalization.
3. Expect that there may be restrictions on visiting from family.
This happened during the COVID19 pandemic. Our hospital did not allow family members to visit the patient during regular hours to prevent the transmission of this disease. Even now, many parts of the country still only allow one family member to stay at a time. It also depends on the unit that you are currently in. For example, visiting hours are likely to be different between Med/Surg level vs. ICU level of care due to the differences in acuity. Most hospitals have visiting hours from 7 am to 5 pm. It would help if you asked your nurse and assistant about this. Physicians will most likely not be able to answer this question as it changes every so often depending on the pandemic. After all, physicians are there to manage your medical conditions.
4. Don’t sign any papers without reading.
You will need to sign many papers when you get admitted into the hospital. Make sure you read all of them in much detail as possible. These papers are related to how we can treat you and the procedures that we may be performing on you. If we were to perform any interventions, please speak to the doctor and request them to explain what they are doing to you. Never undergo a procedure without proper education. It is our job as physicians to tell you. Unfortunately, physicians and nurses rush through things a lot of the time due to time constraints. We may not have appropriately educated our patients. Sometimes we also use too much medical jargon. Worse yet, some of these procedures can kill you if a complication happens. Always put down an emergency contact and make sure your wishes are known before getting sedated.
After all, we all work together as a team, both the healthcare team and the patient. we are here to serve our patients and make sure everyone recovers well. Please do not hesitate to contact your medical team so we can provide the best care that we can.
If you are interested in reading more about healthcare, check out the books below,
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: https://amzn.to/39d33lT
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: https://amzn.to/3M7JM3K
The Emporer of All Maladies: https://amzn.to/39Gj2ca
Gifted hands:https://amzn.to/38kp1mL
Cook County ICU: https://amzn.to/3Ldpvsf