Hospital Survival Guide for Friends and Family

Nurses General Nursing

Published

On the same note as the thread "what would you bring to the hospital."

What would you tell family to prepare for a hospital stay?

What would you tell them to say or not to say?

What would you tell them to avoid?

What would you recommend for someone wanting to cut her/his stay in half?

What would you tell them is the worst thing they could ever do to prolong their stay?

How would you like them to treat you while you're at work on the same unit as a loved one?

If you ask, a lot of places have geri or cardiac chairs that will semi recline.

Ah. I was hoping I could snag a geri-chair!

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
So tomorrow my husband goes in for a TUrP and will be stayingg overnight.

Is it all right if I want to stay in the room with him? Help me here, experienced med/surg folks! He's another Angie WHineybutt, but I love him, anyway, just like Angie's DH loves her. ;)

I want to be near him.

TURP? Owie. Honey, that is not a pleasant procedure, and yes, if they let you, you can do a valuable service by staying, IMO.

*In our hospital, only a family member of the same gender can stay with a patient in a semi-private room.*

I cannot tell you how many times I wished someone could keep an eye on my postop TURP patient, even if to tell me that the CBI bag was running low or that my patient needed a B&O suppository to stop the cramping.

My recommendations: Bring your laptop, a sweater, a neck pillow, a thermos for some coffee, and some slipper socks.

My thoughts and prayers are with you both today. Take care and let us know how it goes, ok?

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Specializes in Emergency.

be nice, don't ask for food or beverages, stay out of the way. ask questions when they have them. that's about it.

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At the facility I work in, no overnight visitors of either gender are allowed in semi-private rooms. I am not certain, but I believe this may be a JHACO issue. I hope you are able to stay with him in this instance, but if not, PLEASE don't give the nurse telling you no a difficult time. That used to happen often on my old unit, til we moved to a new floor with only private rooms.

Now we have family spending the night more often than not, and I wish there were a graceful way to tell some of them, "No. Really. You should really go home, you are driving the patient and everyone else nuts." And other family are almost a joy to have around.

Hope the surgery goes well! Good Luck!

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OOOh! Not a fun procedure. You should do whatever you need to for him. Many people hate hospitals, and it may help him if you are with him the whole time. I am still a NS, but i have had many family members in the hospital, and i know that being there is VERY stressful for anyone. The only thing i remember patients saying on the regular is.......i just want to go home! I have heard it from family members that are seriously ill, and some that are not so serious and I hope I will remember this throughout my nursing career b/c i think it's soo important. We have to think about these people in a caring way. I mean, i really can't imagine having to be taken care of like that. Maybe I am too independent.

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Oncology.

Keep your kids on a leash! :p

All joking aside, please supervise your kids. This is not a playground and the staff is not responsible for the kiddies, you are. Also, if you're bringing kids to visit, please keep your visits short. There's just not a lot for them to do. It's not fair to expect them to sit around for a few hours. That's when they start looking for stuff to do and wind up running into problems.

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Keep your kids on a leash! :p

All joking aside, please supervise your kids. This is not a playground and the staff is not responsible for the kiddies, you are. Also, if you're bringing kids to visit, please keep your visits short. There's just not a lot for them to do. It's not fair to expect them to sit around for a few hours. That's when they start looking for stuff to do and wind up running into problems.

.

Also if you do visit with small children, please, please, please, do not let them sit on the floor and play with their toys. Ick, yuck, not a clean place. Yes it looks clean and shiny but we all know what dripped their before it was mopped up!!! Also, the nurse doesn't have time to wait for you to get your reluctant child off the floor and move the toys out of the way.

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Oncology.

Blech! :barf01: I hear ya there. I had a family member letting a barely toddling (still mostly crawling) 13 month old (you know, the stage where there still putting their hands and everything else in their mouths) play and crawl all over the floor of her mother's room. Pt was in iso precautions for c-diff AND chemo precautions. :eek:

Best part was that said family member was suppossedly a nurse. :rolleyes:

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Specializes in CT ,ICU,CCU,Tele,ED,Hospice.
Thanks, jojo.

Yeah, he wants me around 24/7. I respond the opposite way - I'd rather he leave me alone, thankyouverymuch.

Not a private room.

I do know to stay out of their way and to get gone when they need the space.

Thanks!

when i worked med/surg if pt was in private room staying 24/7 ok .but if semi my floor did not allow it .ie the family member could not stay in room overnoc .they could stay 24/7 but at night found somewhere in hospital to stay till am .it was courtesy to other pt in room trying to sleep overnoc .during day family member able to come and go except when bathing going on .you have to know when to leave the room be considerate

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Specializes in Case Management, Acute Care, Missions.

We just started allowing any family member to stay the night - doesn't matter what gender - and we have double rooms (one triple). According to our administration we are trying to catch up with other US hospitals in providing family centered care.

We have been told that it is still up to the nurses discretion to decide what will be best for all involved (including roommate) - still working out the bugs but so far so good and Suesquatch... from what you have told me I would let you stay as long as the roommate was ok with it... definately seems like it would be a benefit for your husband to be there.

We are also going to be giving report at the bedside with family/patient present... this is med/surg... I have no idea how that is going to work with our primary patient population... "42y/o male, in for cellulitis LLE, hx of ETOH, IVDA, admitted 4 days ago and found smoking crack in the BR yesterday." - I am sure that would go over really well.... :uhoh21:

Lori

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Specializes in all things maternity.

Thank goodness my hospital gives employees and their spouses private rooms at no extra cost so this is not a problem. I stayed most of the time when my hubby had emergency surgery last year.

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.
We just started allowing any family member to stay the night - doesn't matter what gender - and we have double rooms (one triple). According to our administration we are trying to catch up with other US hospitals in providing family centered care.

Lori

If I were a patient in a semiprivate room and another patient's male SO were staying I'd pitch a fit. Sorry, but I don't even want mine there, no way do I want a stranger there. I'm one of those "just leave me alone and let me die quietly" types.

As far as family members staying or even visiting: yes, stay out of the way. Yes, leave the kiddies at home. "Back in the day" we really didn't allow small children to visit. If grandpa was able, someone could put him in a wheelchair and roll him down to the lobby to visit a few minutes with the grandkids- it worked just fine. If the patient can't do that, then a short visit with the kiddos might be a good thing, provided it is short and they stay out of the way and off the floor.

Aside from that: ask before you bring the patient anything to eat or drink. No, you aren't helping if you sneak in something that the patient is not supposed to have. If the patient is NPO, then do not bring your own food or drink into the room!!!

On the other hand, food for the staff is always appreciated.

There is a public bathroom available. I'd suggest you use that one and not the one in your family member's room. I've embarassed myself and a family member whipping into the room and whipping that bathroom door open to check the urine hat. No, I didn't think to knock; I saw the room's occupant sitting there in the bed, so nobody was in the bathroom, right???

Don't wander up and down the hallways, looking into other patient's rooms and listening in on conversations. Don't make the nurse uncomfortable by asking about other patients. If the patient or his or her family member tells you every detail of their medical history, fine. The nurse can't and won't.

The nurse really does not know when the doctor will be in and has no control over that at all. Asking a dozen times won't help. Even when the doctor "usually" comes in at a certain time, that's no guarantee. The doctor can be delayed in the office, in surgery, with an emergency, etc. Once again, the nurse on the floor has no control over any of that!

Save your name-dropping for your next social occasion. Knowing that Dr. So-and-So is your neighbor isn't going to make any difference in your mother's care- or it shouldn't.

Remember that you are there for the person who is the patient. You aren't the patient. The staff doesn't have the time to discuss all your medical issues, meds, surgical history, and so forth. When you are the patient, then it is your turn.

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