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“Not Letting Patients Get Any Sleep”: 30 Things That Should Not Be Normal In Healthcare, According To Twitter Users
When a person goes to a medical institution, they expect to be treated equally as others, they expect to be heard and provided a solution. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works all the time and patients get disappointed with their healthcare providers.
The reasons can vary: it could be that the healthcare worker has a personal problem with a patient, maybe they worked 24 hours in a row and just want to be finished with their shift, or they don’t devote themselves to their job as much anymore because they’re burnt out.
There are obviously a lot of issues in the medical field that both patients and healthcare professionals have to deal with. And Twitter user @DrBryanLeyva wanted to know what people feel is the problem that is the worst in their eyes. Bryan asked, “What should we denormalize in healthcare?” and people had so much to say.
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Bryan Leyva is a Doctor of Medicine who went to Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and now he is a public health researcher at the University of Minnesota. Bryan focuses his research on “the behavioral and social determinants of health; b) racial and socioeconomic health disparities; c) models, measures, and strategies to improve quality and equity in health care.”
"Psychosomatic" isn't an insult. It means "(of a physical illness or other condition) caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress." Anxiety and depression can cause physical symptoms to worsen, and it's necessary to point that out clinically in order to properly treat a patient.
He wanted to hear the vox populi and asked “What should we denormalize in healthcare?” which essentially means, what are the biggest problems in the healthcare system that bother people the most.
Both people who were patients and medical professionals joined the conversation and a lot of issues surfaced. Some pointed out that racial and sexual discrimination or applying stereotypes still are existing problems that prevent doctors from giving quality service.
This is no joke. When I was on chemo, they used start it of an evening, and well 4 or 5 bags of fluid has to go somewhere, so I was up all night peeing. You can therefore imagine my delight when someone comes round offering you breakfast at 7.30 in the morning! I won't complain too much though, as I owe my life to them and the care they gave me.
Chemo nurse here. Firstoff, congratulations and best wishes. We give a lot of fluids especially with chemos known to be nephrotoxic, or damaging to your kidneys. Peeing is good because your kidneys are working, lol. When your doctor has you go inpatient instead of just dropping my the infusion center during the days, it's usually because you are on chemo that lasts several days or requires very close monitoring. Again, best wishes and hoping you don't have to go through that again!
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As a nurse I hate waking patients up because I know how difficult it is to get sleep in the hospital in the first place. Doctors are the ones who order labs for 4am, and for us to check vital signs every 4 hours, and for medications to be given in the middle of the night.
The nurses at night are usually the best! I can't sleep in a hospital bed anyway and you're probably bringing a fresh, much needed IV pain drip! I had my gallbladder and then my appendix removed. The only thing that kept me awake was my mom and the roommate. The old lady for my first groaned and moaned all night AND my mom decided to sleep in the chair next to my bed and snore. My husband was with me for the appendix and had to gently force mom to leave after a short visit because she was talking so loud while I tried to sleep and insulted the person sweeping the floor and emptying the trash. So for that at least I had a private room and no one else sleeping. My husband only stuck around during the day to help me do my walks and get to the bathroom.
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Sleep is one of the best forms of recovery. If I don't sleep I feel worse. I ended up faking feeling better so they would discharge me so I could actually get 7+ hours uninterrupted sleep in a real bed.
Hospital beds are the closest thing to the medieval rack in modern society.
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Nurse here. I also hate waking people up. The thinking is, these days, if you're sick enough to still be in hospital, then you're sick enough that I need to do vitals and safety checks. I think if I came in to find your mom's breathing has changed or BP had spiked, you'd prefer I discovered that on my 4 am vitals rounds rather than 2 hours later at 6:00 before I leave for the night, or at 8 am when the next shift gets on finishes report and starts rounds. Sleep is so important to healing, but assessment is more important to preventing deterioration of status. When someone gets out of hospital, plan to give them time to catch up on the sleep they missed. They're going to be jet lagged!
The vitals, meds and labs aren't even the biggest issue for me. Those are standard and expected. Last time I was inpatient my neurologist did rounds at 5:30 every morning expecting me to wake up and have a coherent conversation after only sleeping for 4 hours or so.
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If you need your meds, you need your meds. I rather be woken up than get sicker or worse.
Exactly! Hurry up and get better so you can go home and rest in your own bed or recliner. Also there are a lot of other patients who may be in worse condition that need more attention and they don't always catch you while you are awake.
Load More Replies... When I was in hospital after having my 2nd daughter, our room on the maternity ward was right next to a kitchen, so not only could you hear numerous babies crying all night (obviously expected!) but that was compounded and exacerbated by constant banging of pans, etc all. f-ing. night. Horrendous. I had no sleep (after a long labour) for 36 hours. It was a blessing for both me and my daughter to get home
That's horrible... whoever thought that placing those things next to each other was a good idea would deserve to be placed on that room. Also what is it with hospitals not respecting mother's sleep after labour? I was hospitalised for over a week with my 1st and I had no sleep at all. I had antibiotics in an IV drip because of all the tearing and infection, had jo help in caring for my baby while barely able to walk, which was hell, and when my baby finally slept a bit the nurse would come to give me an anticoagulant jab into the belly at 4am every day. Like why at that time?? That's one of the more horrible ways to wake somebody up...
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It really is frustrating but it's important too. You are in hospital for a reason and they need to do your Obs or bloods etc often to make sure your okay. When I took an overdose I had to get bloods done every 6 hours to check my kidney and liver function. And I had to have Obs done every 4 hours.
There's a term for that: "hospital psychosis" which is caused by the sleep deprivation that patients undergo
I don't know where you live but no one in the US is staying in the hospital that long to achieve that lol...maybe 50 years ago when you could be kept weeks or even months...nowadays the average length of stay for non critical admission is about 72 hours or less anything longer would likely require a transfer to an extended care facility or skilled nursing home because it's cheaper and your insurance if you have it is going to require that.
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I'm a heavy sleeper with a VERY strict sleep routine. When I sleep I SLEEP! A few years ago when was in hospital and I had had the surgery on my large intestines, I slept through the night and through all the tests they ran. The nurse told me they even checked whether I was actually still alive and really just sleeping.
Soo jealous.. If I don't fall a sleep between 22 and 22.30 I'll be awake every 3 hours to pee, or because I hear my cats, or neighbor or boyfriend snoring...
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This one is crazy. Patients are regularly awakened at 4 or 5 AM, after being prodded and poked half the night. There is no control of noise, especially by staff who seem to chat and laugh and disturb everyone all night long. You're lying in a bed with horrible bright lights on the ceiling that are blinding. They want you to have breakfast at 6 AM in the morning. Everyone knows that rest and sleep and peace are essential to recovery. Hospital seems to be the last place anyone would get well.
Yeah, what is up with this? Seems like sleep would really help a lot of people that are sick enough to be in the hospital.
The main reason why I pay through the nose for a single room, when I ever have to be in a hospital. The lack of sleep just kills me.
I hate having roommates. They always seem to put someone really sick and unable to care for themselves with a somewhat healthier person. My husband was hospitalized and the other guy in the room was a tall old man. Like former basketball player sized. The nurses had helped him into a chair, he couldn't walk on his own and couldn't communicate well. Possible senility. I had just arrived and the guy tried to get out of his chair on his own and I had to try to catch him. I was kneeling on the ground holding him up while my husband screamed down the hall for a nurse. Husband was in for the flu/asthma and had no strength to help. I'm 5' 8" and was about 185 lbs at the time and if I hadn't caught him...
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I take pills to help me sleep at night but when I was in the hospital they didn't want to give me those pills that's why I was up, in pain, during the night as well as during the day
After my hip replacement in 2008, the nurses woke me every for hours to take pain meds (to stay ahead of it, they said). Why don't you just put me on an IV and let me get some freaking sleep? She didn't really have a good response for that.
This should be number 1. Number 2 should be making doctors work 28 hours straight which makes them more dangerous than being drunk.
Yeah, that one is crazy. When I worked in both neuro and onco, I'd flat out refuse to WAKE patients to give them their sleep meds........ I'd tell the night nurse they hadn't gotten it, so if they woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, they could get it then. Same with vitals........ I'd rather measure them 1 hr early, than do it "on time" and have to wake the patients. Nawww....... let them get some darn rest!!
i sleep 😴 best when i am admitted into the hospital, they told me I only had to wake up enough to verify it’s me i am assuming that I somewhat get a break from my norm
When you're there, there often needs to be a bunch of tests to see why, or treatments to fix it. It sucks, but I literally don't know what to tell you.
No sh*t! Whatever happened to Private and Quiet? Shut the h*ll up and let me sleep, and whenever there was a meal somebody had to mess with you until it got cold.
I vaguely remember being woken up every 6, maybe 4 hours during my first hospital stay in August and September 2013 for childhood brain cancer. I don’t remember much, but according to my parents, I was in the hospital for 6 weeks before being discharged. So… yeah, that must have been fun.
This needs to stop. I live with chronic illness and end up in the hospital regularly. I was once woken at 6am by a male gynaecology doctor to give me a smear test (think it's known as a pap in the USA). When I questioned it he told me that he had come the previous afternoon but I'd been asleep so he went away... no I know that makes no sense! Making it worse was he was with a healthcare assistant who had never assisted before so he spent all the time telling her what to do rather than check i was ok. I'll add the other thing that needs to stop is that curtains act as privacy... on the occasion I mention above he quizzed me on my sexual history, in a room where there were 3 other patients who could hear everything'. That's not privacy!
In the US we have private rooms in the hospital. I don't remember how many years it has been since I heard of a patient having a roommate. I live in NJ and assume that it is that way in most places but not positive.
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100% on this, I was recently in a UK hospital, last medication was given at 11.30pm, morning medication at around 5am......i thought sleep heals, not constant waking up to take blood pressure etc.....
Beats me why they insist on waking you up for obs: I've only been asleep for an hour, why can't you take my BP while I sleep?!
I didn't mind the nurses checking in on me at night, they usually were so quit and quick I didn't notice. But I did hate the lady who woke me up at 6:30 every morning to take a blood sample, and after 30/40 minutes of falling back asleep be woken up again by the breakfast crew. I understand I'm not in a all inclusive hotel but please let me sleep after a night of tossing and turning.
Or keep asking if there is a reason that you can't sleep. And not accepting we both can hear the guy I shared the room with snoring 10 meters away - as the reason
Wow this rings so true. After a difficult delivery, my daughter was only happy to sleep feeding or with a cuddle. If I was lucky enough to get her in her crib, the midwife (doing her 4 hourly obs) would wake her up with a cold metal thermometer to her armpit! Then they'd look at me as if there was something wrong with her when she started a loud cry. As if there was something wrong with her. No love, it's you!
Yep, after giving birth someone was knocking at our room door all the time. People changing shifts, cleaning ladies, someone with food. All. The. Time.
I had surgery as a teen and needed to stay in the hospital for a week, and it was practically heck for this reason! Every. Dang. Hour. The nurse needed to check my vitals (which didn’t change), as well as wake me up to check my oxygen because the pain meds "might" affect my breathing. And, to top it off, a random doctor (who most certainly was NOT my doctor/surgeon) would come in every morning during his own rounds and wake up me and my mom just to let us know that he was there. Then, they'd wake me up again to force me to eat and do occupational therapy, with the occasional visit from a therapy dog. When that was all FINALLY done, my parents had traded places with each other, and everyone had left my room, I’d pass out for a few hours…until it was night and the whole cycle was started again.
I had my baby with pneumonia. I couldn't leave him, the hospital did not allow me to go out all the week neither sleep on the chair and anything. It was horrible.
This drove me nuts both times I gave birth. They'd come in every 15 minutes, it felt like, to check our vitals. I was so, so exhausted and they woke both me and the baby up every single time.
2 years ago I was in the hospital for 3 months, and I never slept for more than 2 hours at a time. I lost 45lbs and I came out of the hospital exhausted and on anti-depressants. The not being able to sleep was the worst part of being in the hospital, and I was in tremendous pain with multiple complications that landed me in the ICU for a time.
The morning after a surgical procedure, a nurses aid bringing me ice water at 5 A.M.
That's a good thing! I never had enough water. My appendix decided to go during a snowstorm so there were lots of a accidents and my surgery kept getting delayed. Once my surgery was over my husband brought my giant water bottle from home.
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YES! I was recently hospitalized in the ICU. Sleeping was a nightmare. It was very loud, bright, and I was attached to a thousand beeping machines and IV tubes were everywhere. How a person can heal in such a environment is beyond me. Also, the bed was very uncomfortable, they wouldn't let me go to an actual toilet to pee despite my wishes, and many of the nurses were mean. Terrible.
I already have a sleep disorder, so I won't consider going to a hospital now. Even as an outpatient they ruined my health over a small broken bone.
Check your vitals, give you medications, change IV drips...basically make sure you're still alive! It's something my hospitals and nurses like to do, get you healthy enough to go home and sleep in your own bed. The other option is a casket.
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Y'all. You're in the hospital. We don't interrupt you for fun we are helping you get better.
OP’s point is, what if hospitals can operate differently so that this doesn’t happen so much?
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After one of my many surgeries, I spoke up. The nurses on the floor were obnoxious! Loud, uncaring for patients, abrupt, aggressive and many more adjectives I don't want to use. I just came put of one of the most complicated surgeries in the hospital and I was recovering in the ICU. I woke up in pain, but it wasn't from the cuts or drain tubes…it was because of the nurses. I even heard one saying that if they didn't get to sleep, why should we (the patients) get to sleep?
Exactly!!! When a 15 year old is telling you while crying that her quality of life is so bad that she prefers to get rid of everything inside her or to die you don't f*****g tell her that it's normal and you better get used to it cause it's going to be like that for the next 30-40 years!!! (Real dialogue with my first ob!)
I was at university and broke my pinky finger during the night. I went to Student health first thing in the morning when they opened. They put me in an exam room to wait for next available. I sat in the room for four hours. I thought things were getting very quite. I walked down hallway and everyone had gone to lunch except one attendant at the front desk. He asked me what I was doing! Not a happy day.
Others were pointing to the absurd amounts of money they have to pay in order to get the help they need. There were a quite significant number of people who thought that doctors will not believe how much pain patients, especially women, are in.
Miscommunication was also brought up as doctors will not try to explain conditions and illnesses to their patients in a language they would understand.
This is sadly one of the drawbacks of the NHS. The healthcare might be free, but it often involves a fair bit of waiting around, meaning more time off work, and if you have driven the to the hospital it can also mean increased parking charges if they are running late. I think we need to start an awareness campaign with fake invoices "if this had been America, this is what you would'be been charged". People might appreciate them more.
Medical professionals themselves were mentioning burnout and long shifts as well as disrespect among colleagues. So both sides see problems that need to be fixed and every issue that has been mentioned has to be dealt with individually as there is no one solution that would fit all challenges, so maybe that is why it is so difficult to change the situation.
Medical professionals are a crucial part of our society as they contain the knowledge of how to heal and survive when you are literally in the process of stepping into a coffin. But if they can't provide the care people need, it is really concerning and admitting that there are problems is already progress towards finding a solution.
So what would you answer to Bryan’s question? Let us know in the comments and also show us what tweets you agree with the most by upvoting them!
When you can hear the nursing staff making jokes about you from outside your room in the emergency department. Guys, I am fat, not stupid and deaf.
Ding ding Ding! Anxiety disorder, female, told my crippling pain must be stomach bug, twice turned away from hospital. Third time I went back i was really bad, and it caused a huge amount of surgeries that may have been avoided. I mean jeez if I'm saying it's only one notch below childbirth, pls listen. Anxious doesn't always mean wrong.
As a person with several conditions that CAUSE weight gain as a side effect, I'm still classified as obese even as I know that if I wasn't watching every carb (dibeties 2) every cup of water or how much iron I eat(PCOS)(anemia) , or keep up with daily walks (arthritis), I could easily be 300lbs. So being 40lb overweight is NOT the issue.
Well, I believe it depends on what kind of doctor you are there to see and what your medical issue is. I was told at the Ophthalmologist to put my clothes back on. The mammogram lady said I could've kept my pants on. It's very confusing.
Over specialization is an issue for us in Korea. It seems like each specialist only knows about their specialty and nothing about general health or anything related to their field. My husband has bad allergies and weird sinus structure. Not one sinus doctor has offered allergy meds, they just want to do surgery. Finally saw an allergist, still no meds but wants to do expensive immunotherapy to "cure" his moderate allergies for the low cost of $800/year AND getting rid of our pets. Seems like a daily pill would be a lot cheaper...
Gina seems misinformed. Kidneys? Nephrology. Brain issues? Neurology. Cancer? Oncology, etc. There's not exactly a Geriatric One-Stop-Shopping Center for specialists. It would be great if there was, though.
This attitude probably has its roots in some toxic masculinity initiation thing. Rarely do I hear women bragging about their burnout schedule, but it's bragging rights for some men. Very dangerous bragging rights.
My hospital calls it "failure to thrive". I like that better. Means, might be surviving, but quality of life could be improved if we can find the source of what's slowing you down/troubling you. And maybe we can help you be more you with some supports.
Note: this post originally had 32 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Shaming doctors for making medical mistakes. I know it sounds logical and deserved in theory, but what it really means is that healthcare providers hide their mistakes and healthcare provider employers find excuses and reasons to blame the patient. We can’t have good healthcare if we don’t allow providers to admit when they’ve made a mistake and not risk their entire career. Doctors are human. Humans make mistakes.
This does depend on the mistake though. If a doctor makes an incorrect diagnosis because a patient's symptoms were vague that's just a normal, human mistake, but if a doctor amputates the wrong leg that's something they should be shamed for.
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(US) think many of these problems could be changed by moving from a "for-profit" healthcare system to a universal healthcare one. The profit side pushes doctors to maximize the number of patients they see. Insurance companies demand as little testing as possible. What I have been seeing lately is doctors will only see you for 1 problem at a time. That wastes time, is expensive, and makes for poorer healthcare overall.
Thank you for having a holistic view of this issue. I completely agree. It’s so easy to blame the insurance industry but the truth is that everyone is out to make money on your health in the US. Hospitals are owned by large companies that are publicly traded on the stock market and pay dividends to shareholders. Physicians who do great work are paid a whole lot more in this country than they are other countries. Hence why we have a lot of foreign doctors that come over here to start their careers versus their home countries. And yes insurance is certainly not getting off scot free either. That doesn’t even touch pharmacy and medical supply cost issues. It’s a broken system and there’s not just one responsible party.
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Let's add: having people in outpatient with complex illnesses bear the full burden of managing their care. I don't think doctors realize that when you've got a patient with multisystemic issues, that patient -- already sicker than most -- is slammed with a lot of very stressful work. Organize your many medications, spend hours on the phone with medical receptionists, medical records departments, the insurance company, the pharmacy. Get your sick body to and from all your appointments on time. It's a second job for someone probably struggling to keep their actual paid job, or who is on disability because they CAN'T perform a job. And it's a recipe for disaster. You're asking someone who is ILL to navigate systems they're not familiar with, oversee communication between systems that are not designed to communicate with each other... of COURSE medications will be forgotten. Of COURSE important follow-up won't happen. Chronically ill patients, and patients with complex multisystemic issues, need wraparound support even after they leave the hospital, and there should be a component of healthcare that addresses this gap.
For my husband it is like a second job. Multiple doctor visits in a week, hours and hours in the waiting room, examinations,... it takes a lot of time and it causes so much stress
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Denormalise Caesarians. They are surgical procedures: women need different recovery expectations, different management for future pregnancies and psychological support where birth of their baby has not gone according to plan. They need to not be whipped into theatre at the drop of a hat.
The way that the elderly are treated, and the entire aging process is viewed as a disease. We stow our older relatives away from sight in institutions where they are treated as prisoners to languish in boredom and loneliness. As if aging is unusual and won't happen to us.
It's not always so clear cut. Let's say my mother cannot live by herself anymore. Her mind is still sharp but her body just can't keep up because of the normal aging process. She needs someone with her because she can no longer walk safely by herself. I work all day and cannot be with her to help her no matter how much I want to. I can't quit my job or take time off because I wouldn't be able to pay my bills if I did that. I can't find a new job that gives any better benefits. I can't afford to hire someone to stay with my mother for the time I am at work...but I can just barely afford to put her in an old age home. So that's what I do. Now she isn't alone and if something happens there's someone there to help. Is it ideal? No. Is it better than leaving her alone at home all day where she might fall, break a hip and be left lying alone on the floor until I get home in 6 hours? Yes. And yet people will still judge me for "stowing her away" rather than looking after her myself.
Load More Replies... Doctors need to 1) Listen to the nurses. They see everything and they know at least as much as the doctors, sometimes more. 2) Listen to the patients. The vast majority are giving an honest and accurate account of their experiences. Let them guide assessment. 3) Listen to the patient's family or advocate. They are not there for fun. My daughter came within hours of losing her life because none of the above happened. I had to fight and argue and be incredibly forceful and aggressive with several doctors in order to save her life, which they were happy to admit after the fact. But that doesn't compensate for the fact that if I hadn't, she would be dead.
I've been in a fight to get a hysterectomy. Despite family history or issues that I am currently going through, and that I've chosen not to have children, they refuse to reclassify the surgery as needed. No it's Elective. Due to that insurance won't pay for it. How do they want to 'fix' me? IUD. I'm already on iron pills daily because I'm losing so much blood every month its made me anemic. They're not even sure if it will fix this, I have a 60% chance of success. They refuse to do the surgery until my uterus puts me in the hospital. This has been the same experience with the other main medical provider in my city. They may have gotten rid of the law where a man, boyfriend or husband, has to give me permission to get it removed, but they've taken every step they can to block me from having the surgery.
I hope this got sorted for you. I had a similar experience. Though I don't think there was any argument of necessity, the "but what about kids," argument was such a roadblock. Best wishes to you.
Load More Replies... And, if you ask to have students in the room(which is fine with me normally, it's a teaching hospital), then pls: A) Warn them if you are about to give a life altering diagnosis and you're bringing in students, and B) don't flippantly tell them they had someone in recently like you, but they're dead now, then show me the door. That's not the way to teach med students how to deliver news 🤷♀️
In the US... I was having a necessary surgery and didnt have healthcare. My cost without insurance was $6900 and had to be paid upfront. I was lucky enough to get health care before the procedure. They charged my insurance $49000 because I had insurance. REALLY.!!! Why could it be done cheaper without insurance? It's the exact same surgery!!!! And that is why the US has such extreme cost in health care.
Let the charge nurse have the authority to discharge patients. Before you @ me, I'm not saying let them make the decision but I can't tell you how many times my mom has been in the hospital and the doc comes first thing in the morning for rounds, says "Oh yeah you can go home today" and then poof, he disappears (gets called to emergency surgery, etc) and there you sit for another eight hours waiting for him to come back just because he has to sign the paper. Once he (or she) has said you can go the charge nurse should be able to complete the paperwork.
This happened when my ex was in the hospital. Didn't want to pay for another day just because the dr. never came back so I wandered around the hospital till I found him and made him come sign the discharge papers so we could leave.
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Brazilian here and as a former nurse I can say that many of these issues happen here too. I was considered to be a very boring and stupid nurse because I cared about patients like I wanted to be cared if I was in their place. I heard many inappropriated comments due my behavior mainly during the night shifts when I asked my co-workers to avoid making noise and allow the patients to get some sleep. I got into much unnecessary arguments due this "silly" request. Anyway.... Today I'm a proud teacher and I have no intentions to work as a nurse anymore. I also feel sorry for USA's citizens about their healthcare system not being for free. This is outrageous. I have some Americans friends and this is the number 1 complaint when I talk to them about healthcare.
This isn't the 1980s. Trans people have more rights now days than any other group of people.
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Ugh almost all of this. I don't know why society decided to glorify and sanctify doctors in the 21st century. They are not all created equal and they do have their own prejudices. For many it's just a career and a paycheck.
Jerry Mathers The 1 problem at a time will not be solved by a universal heath care system. Canada has universal health care and they still insist on 1 problem per visit because they can only charge the patient per visit OHIP pays per visit. I inquired about this to see if it was legal I was told until OHIP can get around this situation is is legal but not ethical so it it legality vs ethics which does your doctor prefer. In Canada the doctors can also slap you with a time limit. (One doctor is 3-4 min.) then she is buzzed! Many docs. overbook also. I think the trouble with doctors is that most of them are healthy- they have not had surgery, a chronic disease or chronic pain. I know that is not their fault but they should treat people like they have had theses problems. In Canada I don't know about other places but the docs. have notices in the treatment rooms stating the way patients must treat the Doctors - nothing about the way they must treat us! I had a Dr. refuse to wear
I have scoliosis and sometimes if they don’t have rooms available they have me change into a gown and then wait for my X-ray in the waiting room with other people who are fully clothed because they’re just getting their arm X-rayed or something (I also really hate the gowns)
I've a list... Drs not admitting when they don't know something. I have a couple of very rare conditions for which I take rare medicines.. and I hate it when drs pretend to know when clearly they don't. I much prefer it when they say they don't know, or ask me to explain Drawing curtains around the bed does not stop everyone outside the curtain being able to hear what is being said inside. I don't want other patients in the bay to know my medical condition or history Consultants acting like God and blaming their junior drs or nursing staff for mistakes or things not getting done
Yep. My best wishes to you both. I know this because I've been living it for 3+ years, so I can empathize with what you're going through, and I'm so sorry
I am going to play devils advocate here. People need to stop expecting doctors to be perfect and never make mistakes. People need to "let go" when a friend or relative is circling the drain. Every hour of ICU you waste for a patient circling the drain, is an hour not available to someone with a fighting chance, awaiting triage. Demanding heroic efforts for someone whose quality of life will suck, is selfish and wasteful. Patients also need to shoulder the responsibility of poor life choices they made.
a mask during COVID when he did it gaped all over and under his nose I told him off using the verbs of the day! I got a note from him saying I abused him! (he did get COVID but survived) and I abused him - go figure!
One of the reasons health insurance is so overpriced is due to the prices doctors charge for their services. When I had good insurance I was sent to a specialist my doctor recommended for the pain I was having in my back. That specialist ran test after test ( including a chest xray). In the end, he gave me a vague diagnosis and put me on a large amount of pain killers..indefinatley. I saw him every other month like clockwork for a year. Then I lost my health insurance. I got the bill for the final appointment I had with him. He had been charging my insurance 560.00 per visit. I would see him 5-10 min each visit. I was shocked. I was even more shocked when I was able to receive medicaid and it took 1 steroid shot to my spine to cure me of the back pain. I've been pain and pill free for 9 years. And that procedure cost less than 200$. No one is worth 5600.00$ per hour. But some doctors seem to think they are.
Shaming doctors for making medical mistakes. I know it sounds logical and deserved in theory, but what it really means is that healthcare providers hide their mistakes and healthcare provider employers find excuses and reasons to blame the patient. We can’t have good healthcare if we don’t allow providers to admit when they’ve made a mistake and not risk their entire career. Doctors are human. Humans make mistakes.
This does depend on the mistake though. If a doctor makes an incorrect diagnosis because a patient's symptoms were vague that's just a normal, human mistake, but if a doctor amputates the wrong leg that's something they should be shamed for.
Load More Replies... (US) think many of these problems could be changed by moving from a "for-profit" healthcare system to a universal healthcare one. The profit side pushes doctors to maximize the number of patients they see. Insurance companies demand as little testing as possible. What I have been seeing lately is doctors will only see you for 1 problem at a time. That wastes time, is expensive, and makes for poorer healthcare overall.
Thank you for having a holistic view of this issue. I completely agree. It’s so easy to blame the insurance industry but the truth is that everyone is out to make money on your health in the US. Hospitals are owned by large companies that are publicly traded on the stock market and pay dividends to shareholders. Physicians who do great work are paid a whole lot more in this country than they are other countries. Hence why we have a lot of foreign doctors that come over here to start their careers versus their home countries. And yes insurance is certainly not getting off scot free either. That doesn’t even touch pharmacy and medical supply cost issues. It’s a broken system and there’s not just one responsible party.
Load More Replies... Let's add: having people in outpatient with complex illnesses bear the full burden of managing their care. I don't think doctors realize that when you've got a patient with multisystemic issues, that patient -- already sicker than most -- is slammed with a lot of very stressful work. Organize your many medications, spend hours on the phone with medical receptionists, medical records departments, the insurance company, the pharmacy. Get your sick body to and from all your appointments on time. It's a second job for someone probably struggling to keep their actual paid job, or who is on disability because they CAN'T perform a job. And it's a recipe for disaster. You're asking someone who is ILL to navigate systems they're not familiar with, oversee communication between systems that are not designed to communicate with each other... of COURSE medications will be forgotten. Of COURSE important follow-up won't happen. Chronically ill patients, and patients with complex multisystemic issues, need wraparound support even after they leave the hospital, and there should be a component of healthcare that addresses this gap.
For my husband it is like a second job. Multiple doctor visits in a week, hours and hours in the waiting room, examinations,... it takes a lot of time and it causes so much stress
Load More Replies... Denormalise Caesarians. They are surgical procedures: women need different recovery expectations, different management for future pregnancies and psychological support where birth of their baby has not gone according to plan. They need to not be whipped into theatre at the drop of a hat.
The way that the elderly are treated, and the entire aging process is viewed as a disease. We stow our older relatives away from sight in institutions where they are treated as prisoners to languish in boredom and loneliness. As if aging is unusual and won't happen to us.
It's not always so clear cut. Let's say my mother cannot live by herself anymore. Her mind is still sharp but her body just can't keep up because of the normal aging process. She needs someone with her because she can no longer walk safely by herself. I work all day and cannot be with her to help her no matter how much I want to. I can't quit my job or take time off because I wouldn't be able to pay my bills if I did that. I can't find a new job that gives any better benefits. I can't afford to hire someone to stay with my mother for the time I am at work...but I can just barely afford to put her in an old age home. So that's what I do. Now she isn't alone and if something happens there's someone there to help. Is it ideal? No. Is it better than leaving her alone at home all day where she might fall, break a hip and be left lying alone on the floor until I get home in 6 hours? Yes. And yet people will still judge me for "stowing her away" rather than looking after her myself.
Load More Replies... Doctors need to 1) Listen to the nurses. They see everything and they know at least as much as the doctors, sometimes more. 2) Listen to the patients. The vast majority are giving an honest and accurate account of their experiences. Let them guide assessment. 3) Listen to the patient's family or advocate. They are not there for fun. My daughter came within hours of losing her life because none of the above happened. I had to fight and argue and be incredibly forceful and aggressive with several doctors in order to save her life, which they were happy to admit after the fact. But that doesn't compensate for the fact that if I hadn't, she would be dead.
I've been in a fight to get a hysterectomy. Despite family history or issues that I am currently going through, and that I've chosen not to have children, they refuse to reclassify the surgery as needed. No it's Elective. Due to that insurance won't pay for it. How do they want to 'fix' me? IUD. I'm already on iron pills daily because I'm losing so much blood every month its made me anemic. They're not even sure if it will fix this, I have a 60% chance of success. They refuse to do the surgery until my uterus puts me in the hospital. This has been the same experience with the other main medical provider in my city. They may have gotten rid of the law where a man, boyfriend or husband, has to give me permission to get it removed, but they've taken every step they can to block me from having the surgery.
I hope this got sorted for you. I had a similar experience. Though I don't think there was any argument of necessity, the "but what about kids," argument was such a roadblock. Best wishes to you.
Load More Replies... And, if you ask to have students in the room(which is fine with me normally, it's a teaching hospital), then pls: A) Warn them if you are about to give a life altering diagnosis and you're bringing in students, and B) don't flippantly tell them they had someone in recently like you, but they're dead now, then show me the door. That's not the way to teach med students how to deliver news 🤷♀️
In the US... I was having a necessary surgery and didnt have healthcare. My cost without insurance was $6900 and had to be paid upfront. I was lucky enough to get health care before the procedure. They charged my insurance $49000 because I had insurance. REALLY.!!! Why could it be done cheaper without insurance? It's the exact same surgery!!!! And that is why the US has such extreme cost in health care.
Let the charge nurse have the authority to discharge patients. Before you @ me, I'm not saying let them make the decision but I can't tell you how many times my mom has been in the hospital and the doc comes first thing in the morning for rounds, says "Oh yeah you can go home today" and then poof, he disappears (gets called to emergency surgery, etc) and there you sit for another eight hours waiting for him to come back just because he has to sign the paper. Once he (or she) has said you can go the charge nurse should be able to complete the paperwork.
This happened when my ex was in the hospital. Didn't want to pay for another day just because the dr. never came back so I wandered around the hospital till I found him and made him come sign the discharge papers so we could leave.
Load More Replies... Brazilian here and as a former nurse I can say that many of these issues happen here too. I was considered to be a very boring and stupid nurse because I cared about patients like I wanted to be cared if I was in their place. I heard many inappropriated comments due my behavior mainly during the night shifts when I asked my co-workers to avoid making noise and allow the patients to get some sleep. I got into much unnecessary arguments due this "silly" request. Anyway.... Today I'm a proud teacher and I have no intentions to work as a nurse anymore. I also feel sorry for USA's citizens about their healthcare system not being for free. This is outrageous. I have some Americans friends and this is the number 1 complaint when I talk to them about healthcare.
This isn't the 1980s. Trans people have more rights now days than any other group of people.
Load More Replies... Ugh almost all of this. I don't know why society decided to glorify and sanctify doctors in the 21st century. They are not all created equal and they do have their own prejudices. For many it's just a career and a paycheck.
Jerry Mathers The 1 problem at a time will not be solved by a universal heath care system. Canada has universal health care and they still insist on 1 problem per visit because they can only charge the patient per visit OHIP pays per visit. I inquired about this to see if it was legal I was told until OHIP can get around this situation is is legal but not ethical so it it legality vs ethics which does your doctor prefer. In Canada the doctors can also slap you with a time limit. (One doctor is 3-4 min.) then she is buzzed! Many docs. overbook also. I think the trouble with doctors is that most of them are healthy- they have not had surgery, a chronic disease or chronic pain. I know that is not their fault but they should treat people like they have had theses problems. In Canada I don't know about other places but the docs. have notices in the treatment rooms stating the way patients must treat the Doctors - nothing about the way they must treat us! I had a Dr. refuse to wear
I have scoliosis and sometimes if they don’t have rooms available they have me change into a gown and then wait for my X-ray in the waiting room with other people who are fully clothed because they’re just getting their arm X-rayed or something (I also really hate the gowns)
I've a list... Drs not admitting when they don't know something. I have a couple of very rare conditions for which I take rare medicines.. and I hate it when drs pretend to know when clearly they don't. I much prefer it when they say they don't know, or ask me to explain Drawing curtains around the bed does not stop everyone outside the curtain being able to hear what is being said inside. I don't want other patients in the bay to know my medical condition or history Consultants acting like God and blaming their junior drs or nursing staff for mistakes or things not getting done
Yep. My best wishes to you both. I know this because I've been living it for 3+ years, so I can empathize with what you're going through, and I'm so sorry
I am going to play devils advocate here. People need to stop expecting doctors to be perfect and never make mistakes. People need to "let go" when a friend or relative is circling the drain. Every hour of ICU you waste for a patient circling the drain, is an hour not available to someone with a fighting chance, awaiting triage. Demanding heroic efforts for someone whose quality of life will suck, is selfish and wasteful. Patients also need to shoulder the responsibility of poor life choices they made.
a mask during COVID when he did it gaped all over and under his nose I told him off using the verbs of the day! I got a note from him saying I abused him! (he did get COVID but survived) and I abused him - go figure!
One of the reasons health insurance is so overpriced is due to the prices doctors charge for their services. When I had good insurance I was sent to a specialist my doctor recommended for the pain I was having in my back. That specialist ran test after test ( including a chest xray). In the end, he gave me a vague diagnosis and put me on a large amount of pain killers..indefinatley. I saw him every other month like clockwork for a year. Then I lost my health insurance. I got the bill for the final appointment I had with him. He had been charging my insurance 560.00 per visit. I would see him 5-10 min each visit. I was shocked. I was even more shocked when I was able to receive medicaid and it took 1 steroid shot to my spine to cure me of the back pain. I've been pain and pill free for 9 years. And that procedure cost less than 200$. No one is worth 5600.00$ per hour. But some doctors seem to think they are.
