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When my Principal's mom was in the hospital seriously ill, she would go to visit her right after school. One afternoon when I walked into the office, my Principal was changing into a fresh, beautiful suit with jewelry. I asked her why she was so dressed up and she said she'd heard that patients with family who looked well to do might get better care.
She felt that health care workers were human and might give a little better attention to somebody who looked like someone of means was caring about them.
I wondered about that. From that point on, when I went to visit anybody in the hospital, I did make sure I was dressed nicely... just in case.
Then I was talking to Megan who is an RN and daughter of a good friend of mine. She said that when her father-in-law was ill, she brought over three large boxes of pizzas for the nurses station because she knew it would be appreciated and the staff would be inclined to look in more often to make sure her father-in-law was comfortable.
I was wondering about all this since it might be good to know at my age. I checked on line and found this excellent site giving you 7 Ways to Get More Attention for Your Family Member.
It doesn't mention anything about dressing up, but it did agree with Megan that it would be helpful to bring some sort of treat for the nurses to show your appreciation for their care.
This is a little hint to my family that if I'm ever in the hospital, be sure to bring over some mangoes or maybe macadamia nut candies for the nurses...better yet, make that Godivas.
Happy Easter, Happy Spring, everybody! Stay well!
Very interesting, Kay. Usually, we give nurses something after the event, whatever it might be, but it makes sense to show appreciation during the hospital stay.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post Kay, and I thought the link was fascinating. I don't know whether to be appalled or sympathetic at the thought that someone might be better cared for if they are thought to be well off, but the rest of it makes good sense.
ReplyDeleteKay - that was an interesting link about getting attention as a patient.
ReplyDeleteWe ethically and professionally try to treat all patients the same. A rich patient may have rich, rude and impatient family members. The poor ones and grateful military patients appreciate every bit of care. A nurse who is a patient, may get a better summary of what is going on, because they already know what goes on, and can be briefed more directly about lab and procedure results, because they're familiar with it all.
*I've seen brave female cancer patients still putting on their own make-up to help with their dignity. I honor them for keeping their daily ritual in place.
*My best time is asking a patient about their military time or occupation. Most stories are stunning compared to the ill, weak person I see in the bed.
* It helps staff if family can acknowledge that their patient is normally difficult or crabby, not just when they're sick.
* If patients cuss at staff, threaten to hit or try to hit us, push the call light for meds that we are in the middle of fetching for them, or push the call light for things they know we can't get or fix, THEN we try to avoid the patient, but check them hourly, if they haven't buzzed us once every 10 minutes. Patients REALLY do this.
* Some patients treat staff with expectations that the hospital is a bed and breakfast resort. I've been called in to the room to turn off the TV when the same button is in their hand!
* Nurses don't take good care of ourselves, and we're stunned when a worried, exhausted family brings treats for us. Please bring a set for the day shift and a set for the night shift. Most food shouldn't sit out that long, and both shifts' nurses act like termites on balsa wood with such gifts. It won't last through one shift.
* The best time to talk to your patients' nurse is between 2 and 4 a.m. We're awake, you're awake worrying - call us. Calling at shift change, the hour around 7 a.m. or 7 p.m. is terrible, because we're getting report.
* Get a small notepad and string a mechanical pencil to it, and put the patient's name on it. When they have a doctor question, write it down, tell and make the doc stay in the room until all the questions are answered, and write down what they're saying, and planning to do.
*Short of a serious error, you can request a different nurse, but you may not be able to get a different one. Assignments depend on nursing skill and your illness, and available staff. You don't want an LPN watching your heart; you don't want an untrained nurse giving you your night dose of chemo; nor a nurse uncomfortable with hospice escorting you through such a journey.
* Listen for a doc to say MAYBE, MIGHT, POSSIBLY. That means they don't know when you're going home, and it doesn't mean the next day. You don't get to go home until they look at morning labs, and write discharge orders, the nurse does all the discharge paperwork and the pharmacist comes to talk with you....you'll be lucky if you're out by late afternoon.
* Every nurse wishes she had more time to be a better nurse more often, but they won't hire more.
Thanks, Aloha, DrumMajor
I was several times in hospital as a child and after the war. The nurses were always kind fortunately.
ReplyDeleteHave a terrific Easter.
I'm sure everyone who serves others including waitresses and clerks could use some TLC and appreciation even moms and wives. Happy EAster!
ReplyDeleteIt's all true! I wrote a post about how to be a good patient, and prepare for a doctor or nurse practitioner visit!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter to you!
ReplyDeleteGreat information about getting good hospital care. I hope I don't need it anytime soon :-)
I'm thinking Chicago Pizza, thanks Kay for your update and this great post. I need to keep this in mind when my treatment begins!
ReplyDeleteYou're the best friend anybody could wish for. I feel better already! :)
Great suggestion. I¨m going to ask my daughter if it helps to bring them some goodies. I think it can´t hurt.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a great post, filled with information, and DrumMajor's comment was amazing. I will head over to the website and read it now. I hope you are well and in no danger of being hospitalized at the moment, but as you say, you never know when... For now, Easter blessings!
ReplyDeleteI practically brought in a bakery when Mom was in to try to counteract her demanding personality....
ReplyDeleteI believe the part about looking good. I have a friend who has been hospitalized A LOT and she has no family and few friends. It's me and another gal. We always dress well, anyway, but we always greet the nursing staff, chat and ask how their day is going, and try to be very cooperative if they come in to do medical things while we visit.
ReplyDeleteOur sick friend tells us that the nursing staff always talks about us after we leave. How nice we are, how lucky she is to have such good friends, etc. We and she believe that she gets excellent care because we all acknowledge the staff and show how much we care about them. That's really all anyone wants, is to be acknowledged for the work they do.
As the veteran of much and long hospitalization, I can say that every hospital is different and being reasonably pleasant works well. The magic words -- please and thank you -- make an impact with people who don't hear it often enough.
ReplyDeleteMother always took chocolates, and we usually bring something for the staff too.
ReplyDeletesuch good advice Kay, I'll share that article, thank you. So sorry to hear about all the illnesses.
ReplyDeleteMahalo for your visits to my blog and the link today, Kay. Much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI love the staff at Straub in Honolulu. I was treated kindly, gently, and compassionately -- even without rewarding them with treats.
Thanks for the good tips, Kay and commenters.
ReplyDeleteI worked in the internal medicine ward of a big hospital near Tel Aviv. It was as a word doctor (medical editor) but still, I ate breakfast at the big table with the docs and nurses and when there appeared goodies to share, Dr. P. would always smile and say "ANOTHER satisfied patient!"
But the food gift was usually made when the patient was being discharged.
Sometimes families were so appreciative of the good care that they wrote loving letters and brought candy even when the patient died.
Thank you all and especially DrumMajor for the wonderful advice and information. I forgot to mention that I've always considered nurses angels of mercy. I can just imagine how tiring their days are and yet all except just one nurse in my life have been such incredible, comforting, fabulous advocates for me when I've been in the hospitals. Just like DrumMajor, even when they're off of work, nurses try to help.
ReplyDeleteWhen my daughter overturned our car in an Illinois cornfield, it was an off-duty nurse that stopped to take care of her.
Thank you, thank you, nurses everywhere!
As a patient, I try to treat hospital staff the way I would want to be treated -- with kindness, consideration, and dignity. I find that people almost always respond in kind. I have found nurses to be angels.
ReplyDeleteI also found Anonymous' comment very interesting and while I'm appalled that some treat nursing staff as resort employees, I also know it's true.