How to Get the Most out of Your Hospital Stay

You may have never found yourself in the hospital, you may have visited others, or you may have been a patient yourself. However, many people, whether they have been hospitalized many times or have never set foot in one, do not completely understand what is going on and how they can benefit the most from their hospital stay. While no hospital stay is pleasant, it can go more smoothly if you or your family member keep these suggestions in mind. Note: This article is geared toward the patient, however, this information can be valuable to family of the hospitalized patient, as well.

Don't be afraid to ask questions! Some people feel awkward asking questions because they don't want to sound stupid, don't want to offend the physician, are intimidated, or just feel overwhelmed.

• Ask for something for you or a family member to take notes on. You can ask some questions later, but if you don't write them down you may forget for the few minutes you spend with the physician.

• Many of the questions can be answered by other healthcare personnel, such as your nurse, as well.

Know that you are the most important part of your healthcare team. You know your body and mind best. Your family can be just as valuable if you are not able to communicate, so make sure they know what you want and will follow through with it in case you cannot.

Determine why you are being hospitalized. Are you having elective surgery? Do you need IV antibiotics for and infection? Does your condition need monitoring. Are to have procedures? What is the expected outcome? Your physician or Emergency Room physician should explain this, but if you don't think you understand, don't be afraid to ask.

Find out if there are alternatives you may want to consider, and if so, why hospitalization is preferable. Let your physician and nurse know if you want to consider alternative medical treatments while you are hospitalized.

Find out the estimated length of stay. An exact answer may not be possible for various reasons, however, your should be able to get an approximation.

Have your health history , including allergies , and your most recent medication list up to date, and make sure you and your family knows where it is.

Let your caregiver know right away if you have latex or iodine sensitivities.

Make sure that if you have a Living Will , that you and your family know where to find it, and have a copy available to bring with you for the hospital staff.

Have a small kit of essentials packed and accessible for an emergency or routine hospitalization. Something you can either grab yourself or a family member can bring in later.

Expect that your admission will be a busy time, with many tests, questions, and different people doing unfamiliar or (if you have done this before) somewhat familiar things.

Remember that from the time you come in the doors, you have the right to know what is being done and why. This will help alleviate some of the feelings of loss of control and anxiety that often accompanies hospitalization.

• If something has not been explained, or you didn't fully understand the explanation, ask for clarification.
• If you are admitted for emergent care, your healthcare workers may be very focused upon vital or life-saving treatments, and there may not be time for extended question and answer sessions, but they should do their best to make sure you understand.

Understand that you have the right to refuse any treatment, however, think carefully and only do so if you fully understand the complications that could arise from refusing care that has been deemed either necessary or beneficial.

• For example: You are tired of getting needles stuck in your arm for bloodwork every few hours. It hurts, you're bruised, and you just don't want to deal with it.

• Consider that without that kind of monitoring, not only could your treatment be delayed, or not as effective, it could mean that your condition could worsen without your nurses and physicians being able to monitor it, causing you to spend more time in the hospital or suffer from complications.

Try to follow whatever regimen your physician, nurse, therapist has prescribed for you. That is, after all, while you are there. If you need pain or nausea medication to be able to do so, let someone know. You are part of your healthcare team.

Ask your nurse for any information regarding your condition or surgery, if you have not already received it.

Remember, your caregivers are not mind readers. If you are anxious or unhappy about something, in pain, or need something, they need to know it. What they are not aware of, they can't fix.

Be aware that no matter how pointless or ridiculous some routine of policy may seem, they are in place for a reason. They are, almost without exception, in place to protect you, the patient.

• For instance, they have policies in place to prevent falls. You may be well able to walk about and do things for yourself, but your nurse or aide insists on helping to the bathroom, making your feel helpless and silly.

• What you may not be taking into consideration is that you may feel fine, but those pain pills you took a half hour ago are impairing your judgment, at least a little, and that your non-skid slippers turned around so the non skid strips are on the top while you were in bed watching TV, and you are about to go skating or do one spectacular split if you step on that floor without help. No one goes to the hospital and plans on falling while they are there, but it happens.

Ask what medications you are being given, and if there are unfamiliar ones, ask for information on them. There is a whole system of medication checking between the physician, the nurse, and the pharmacist, but the last stop is you. Mistakes can be made, and you can decrease that possibility even more.

Expect that you will be given medications or treatments to prevent stomach ulcers or deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Whether you are having an elective surgery or and extended more difficult stay, you do not want either of these complications.

Ask what tests you are having done. Write them down or ask someone to write then down for you and make sure you ask the physician what the results were.

Find out what family members are entitled to know and what and how much information will be given to them. This can avoid a lot of frustration and frayed nerves. Different areas have different laws and policies.

Tips

• Sleeping in a hospital is notoriously difficult for many reasons, so one thing it might be helpful to bring is earplugs. Note: You should let your nurse and aide know when you are using them unless you want an unpleasant awakening when you don't respond.
• Let your caregivers know if you have problems with heat or cold, if you have ever had nurses or phlebotomists have trouble doing labwork or starting IV's, if you are not allowed to have your blood pressure or IV sticks on a certain site, have dietary intolerances, certain restrictions regarding religion or custom, or any other conditions that may affect your care.
• Have family and friends bring you things that you can use to keep yourself busy. It will make time pass much faster.
• If you are not allowed to eat, find out if sucking on hard candy or having ice chips is allowed.

Warnings

• Don't listen to other peoples horror stories!! Every person has a unique body, mind, and health concerns. No one will have exactly the same hospitalization experience. Listening to all the things that happened to someone else will only create anxiety and uncertainty.
• Your protection is knowledge, communication with your healthcare team, and awareness of your environment and what is being done for and to you.