I work in a hospital. I love my job, but as I am sitting here listening to the receptionist check in those who are coming for a long term visit, I am wondering why they are being told they will get a nice rest?
How can anyone get any rest being bothered every hour? I know I can't calm down if someone is trying to stab me with a needle. And these beds are the most uncomfortable things I have ever laid on! I would much rather sleep on a bed of nails! Not to mention the fact that I think hospitals are filthy.
Last summer, my doctor tried to put me in a hospital for inpatient care. My spinal fluid was leaking out of my epidural and causing the most severe headaches imaginable. Morphine didn't do a thing to get rid of the pain. The doctor thought I would be much more comfortable in the hospital where people could bring me meals, change my bedpan, and keep the pain medicine coming constantly.
I flat out refused. No way would I have felt more comfortable using a bedpan as opposed to crawling to my own toilet. I don't eat that much anyway, so the room service did not appeal to me in the slightest. And now that I work here, I see how filthy the floors REALLY are. No WAY was I going to be a patient.
So now I am sitting here listening to how this fresh meat should "enjoy their stay." I do not see anything enjoyable about being confined to one room even for an hour let alone for an overnight visit!
With all of this in mind, I started thinking about what could make a stay at the hospital be a little more bearable. First thing would probably be to get rid of visiting hours. If I want someone with me at 3:00am, and I can find someone willing to come, I should be able to have someone there. Single rooms should be available to everyone. Who in the world wants to share a room with a stranger when wearing a gown with nothing to cover your ass?
Cafeterias in hospitals have improved over the years, but it could still be even better. Why not stock some beer and wine? It's not like the patients are planning on driving anywhere. I understand that not all patients could benefit from a drink, but I know it would calm my nerves if I were stuck there.
Maybe they could add some ammenities that hotels have? Maybe a workout room for all of the patients instead of those just in physical therapy. A smootie bar would be cool. Large group rooms with big screen tv's and movies......
Or maybe even just a few more nurses on the floors so when a patient pushes the call button they aren't waiting an hour for assistance to the bedpan? Maybe a few people on staff to explain to the patient exactly what is going on in their lives since the doctors rarely take the time to explain anything in layman's terms.
Just a few thoughts on how health care can be changed for the better. For now, I will sit here and listen to more and more people get checked in to the hospital.
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"Who in the world wants to share a room with a stranger when wearing a gown with nothing to cover your ass?"
I laughed so hard at that :)
There is a time to live, and a time to die. But now it the time to break it down!
Why not stock some beer and wine?
Check the pharmacy for beer. Many hospitals stock it because alcohol withdrawals can be fatal.
aside from that though, mixing alcohol with a great many number of medications is never a good idea. Alcohol in your system messes with the vitals the nurses are checking every hour. It also dehydrates you, leading to even more problems... There are ways to relax in a hospital without having to drink.
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Rocky Votolato
I didn't mean to mix, I just figured I'd be a hell of a lot more comfortable sitting in a recliner with a beer than laying in a plastic bed with an IV.
Actually, these examples were overdramatized on purpose to stress the fact that the nursing staff is so busy they never seem to respond in a timely fashion to giving patients their next dose of meds, helping them to the bathroom, etc.
I still have a lot of trouble expressing my sarcasm on paper, but when I'm talking my facial expressions always give my true meaning away. I am working on improving this wo I can write sarcasm as well as I speak it, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to. I'll just keep practicing!
Oh I knew you were being sarcastic. I was just being difficult. :-P I liked your blog. :-)
read my blogs!
ProU
Not ProU
Some mistakes can't be undone/ it'll never be like it was/ and wishing for it only makes it worse
Rocky Votolato
Nice to see some ideas in reforming health care that don't call for ridiculous things like certain presidential candidates are offering. ;-)
Kudos. Very entertaining and well written.
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You are the Voice of the Childwen of the Revowution! [Toulouse, Moulin Rouge]
Have fun finding people to pay for all that... we have a hard enough time getting people to pay their bills... more isn't going to help the situation.
~C
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I know, I don't expect any of these changes, but what I really wish hospitals had were more nurses and support staff so patients aren't neglected as they oftentimes are. I am working on making my writing better. This was a practice blog on sarcasm. Maybe I should take pictures of my facial expressions after each of the suggestions......
;) Thanks for commenting!
I realize it was overdramaticized. I wouldn't complain about improving the conditions in hospitals, but I've head of some 'recovery centers' like you describe, so I wanted to express my concern :)
But yeah... I look on the jobs needed at my local hospitals, and it's a little scary. They need like dozens of nurses and other support staff, and the listings can stay up for ages.
~C
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I just hate to see so many call buttons going off down the hospital hallways. If I had to go to the bathroom and had to wait for half an hour for someone to bring in a bedpan, I would be more stressed out than anything else. Nurses have such a hard job as it is, it's worse that they are stretched so thin.