I am comfortable with the idea of my son being a patient at either the peds hospital where I used to work, or on the peds floor of the HMO hospital that our current insurance covers (and where I did both my adult med/surg and peds rotations when in nursing school).
However, if he's ever hospitalized anywhere, no matter how much I trust the facility, I would still try to be at his bedside as much as possible. I know that nurses can't be everywhere, and I would want to be able to alert them immediately if there was any kind of problem -- and yes, I would be watching all staff like a hawk any time they came into the room (but hopefully not in a way that would totally drive them nuts!).
I would also be comfortable being a patient myself at the same HMO hospital, but again I would ask lots of questions and want to know exactly what meds or treatments I was getting when, and why (but that's how I was even before I went to nursing school). If I wasn't A&O enough to follow it myself, ideally I would want another family member there -- not due to lack of trust, but knowledge that nurses can't be everywhere.
Yes, I'd feel fine being a patient or having a family member/friend getting care under most circumstances. I know of one RN I don't trust, but that's because she's as dumb as a sack of hair. She gives good bed baths though, lol. If I had a critically ill loved one in her care, no, I wouldn't leave. Otherwise I'm good to go.
I do not trust the hospital I work in. It is not because the staff doesn't try. It's just the bean counters have made it so supplies run out, equipment breaks down, and there just aren't enough people to do what has to be done. We know what corners we have to cut to try and make it through a shift. We file grievance after grievance over the unsafe staffing. It doesn't help. I keep copies of the grievances/complaints. Someone will die as a result and I want to make sure when I get called into court I can say I told the management over and over that someone would die as a result of their bonuses for cutting.
keechiesan....allergies written on every sheet was just a TINY example, and our physicians and the policy our facility says it has to be done! yet, the secretaries forget. But, they also forget to tell us about stat orders and brand new admissions who've been in their room for 2 hours and no one knows because we've been running around.
And to the person who said I was MELODRAMATIC:rolleyes: with my capatilizations.....well, I WISH I didn't care so much about patients, I've just seen too many potential life-threatening errors .... Believe me, I would LOVE to be uncaring and lazy like some other people, I really would!!!
I watched my father like a hawk in several different institutions, with several separate problems. These hospitals all have excellent reputations in my large metropolitan area.
I am appalled at some of the things I have seen. I managed to intervene in time several times.
The last so-called hospital finally managed to kill him.
He had eviscerated after bowel surgery, was not taken to OR for 14 hours, and died from septic shock.
People don't get better because of what we do, but in spite of what we do.
Mistakes happen. I'm aware. We are human, nurses, Dr's, pharmacists, everyone. I can't let it scare me too much. Accidents happen in cars, but I drive to work everyday. I trust my fellow healthcare professionals. Sure, there are some nurses who I probably wouldn't let me touch me, same for some Dr's, but most I trust fully.
I love my OB.GYN dearly. I traveled far for him during my pregnancy. I drove him nutty during my C-section, telling him I think i have a PE because my chest felt heavy and it was hard to breathe (it ws the epidural) I told him to make sure he massages my uterus..i was a PIA during my C-section. But I trusted him fully.
If we didn't tryst these people, we would not go to see Dr's,we would refuse care and probably end up way worse than what a med error could ahve cost us. So I weigh the pros and the cons.
I've been a pt at my hospital twice, youngest son was at our system's peds hospital when he was two months old, and my Mom had two week-long stays at one of our sister hospitals over the last year. We all received excellent care.
Yeah, there's a few nurses that I wouldn't want taking care of loved ones, but overall system wide I'd have no problems.
several years ago my hubby got a liver transplant. He nearly died and almost lost the transplant viability due to nursing errors and I have to say if I hadn't been there I would have lost him. We had gotten the call and we went in I was at work across town working at another hospital and he was admitted without me. When I got there he was in a room with a patient in with sepsis. I told the nurse he needed a private room d/t immunosupressin and the family coming in. She told me if I needed to leave I told her no and then she said "If you and your husband don't like it you can always leave and forget about the transplant" Have you ever been so freakin mad that going to jail for something sounded like a good thing? I left the floor and went to find the house supervisor and put a call in to our transplant cordinator. Hubby was moved to a private room immediately but we still had the same nurse. We had already had 3 dry runs for his transplant so we knew what to expect and we had all kinds of inservices for this. she refuse to start an IV, give him enemas. draw lab. at shift change she gave report and called me every name in the book to the oncoming nurse loud! I went out and asked the oncoming nurse that I wanted to speak to the unit manager and administration. the nurse came into our room and ask what happened We told her and within 15 minutes the manager came in she got the lowdown and then administration and the director of the transpolant came in and got hubby ready to go with only an hour to spare on viability of his new liver.
I always go with him when he has to go in the hospital and I stay until he is dicharged. I am his caretaker and will be forever. The sad thing is as a nurse I know how many mistakes can happen. This all happened on Christmas eve day.
When he came out of ICU he went to the same floor I told mthenm that we didn't want that nurse. They told us she had been fired by the head of transplant services, and had security escort her to her car.
I trust my floor, know my co-workers and their habits. I know who I would trust and who I wouldn't. That said, I would still be right there with my family member. We are a teaching hospital and some of the interns are downright frightening!!
Now, other hospitals I worry about....when my mom was ill I had all kinds of problems with the hospital. She insisted on being at the local, little county hospital. The differences are huge! I jokingly called it the band-aid station in the cornfield, but could not convince her to come to the big med center until she had a AAA they could not handle.
I didn't care so much about patients, I've just seen too many potential life-threatening errors .... Believe me, I would LOVE to be uncaring and lazy like some other people, I really would!!!
noahsmama
827 Posts
I am comfortable with the idea of my son being a patient at either the peds hospital where I used to work, or on the peds floor of the HMO hospital that our current insurance covers (and where I did both my adult med/surg and peds rotations when in nursing school).
However, if he's ever hospitalized anywhere, no matter how much I trust the facility, I would still try to be at his bedside as much as possible. I know that nurses can't be everywhere, and I would want to be able to alert them immediately if there was any kind of problem -- and yes, I would be watching all staff like a hawk any time they came into the room (but hopefully not in a way that would totally drive them nuts!).
I would also be comfortable being a patient myself at the same HMO hospital, but again I would ask lots of questions and want to know exactly what meds or treatments I was getting when, and why (but that's how I was even before I went to nursing school). If I wasn't A&O enough to follow it myself, ideally I would want another family member there -- not due to lack of trust, but knowledge that nurses can't be everywhere.