Wellness

[software]

Had a health event, found myself in the emergency department at my hospital.   Interrogated by what seemed liked every employee there for a couple of hours, off & on.   When it's determined I needed surgery, the doctor came in & started the same interrogation all over again.  By then I was exhausted & even I was surprised how difficult it became to answer all the questions he was asking me.    He was snapping at me, barely giving me time to answer.  I suggested he call my daughter & he turned, stomped off saying I'll just talk to her.

I know how important it is to communicate with the doctor, with all health professionals.   I did the best I could under the circumstances.

After surgery I was admitted & discovered I was labeled confused & a fall risk.  There was a walker in my room, which I never touched.  And everyone who walked in the room had to ask me ALL the questions like do you know where you are, what year is it, who's the president, on & on.  Every time!

Anyway, I'm home & better.    Any follow up can be done out patient but what an experience.

[sweetee2]

They were just trying to get as much information as fast and accurate as they could. Like you said Emergency. They didn't know how serious it was and you said you had surgery so it must have been.  I'm glad your home and the worst is over. 

[CalminHeart]

It sounds like doctors, nurses, and staff were very thorough. Be thankful. They can't read your mind or know what tests you need without all the details.

[50Mickey]

The were just doing their job. Would you rather have had them rush you into surgery without having all the facts? Also asking you to repeat several times why you were there and your history prevents mistakes being made. 

As far as the post op care that your received there are reasons for the questions and the concern for falling. It sounds like you were well looked after. You got home safely and are on the road to recovery.  

[kaydee50]

@software  You don't say how old you are but maybe you were confused and the repetitive questions were just to make sure they had the correct information.  As others have said, seems like they all were doing a thorough job.

[jubilant]

I agree that, in situations like yours, they need to be very thorough but I see no need for a Dr. to snap at an ill patient.

That happened to my mother in an emergency room situation and she was  about the sweetest person you would want to know.  As he walked down the hall, I mentioned (loud enough for him to hear) that there was no reason for his attitude. I was there. Mom said nothing that would have upset anyone. I was there the whole time. He came back and apologized.  I'll give him that!

Glad you are home and doing better.

[On It]

If medical staff suspect a patient is confused, they are going to be doubly concerned. They do not know if the information they are receiving from the patient is reliable.

An acquaintance of ours had an emergency. From interviews the physician determined he was not capable of making medical decisions. The social worker tracked down his sister in another part of the country. She was named some type of advocate and made the decisions concerning his treatment. In fact, the physician said he did not believe a word the patient said. They are trained to recognize confusion.

All of these precautions are for the safety and well-being of the patient. On the other hand some precautions like asking the patient for a birthdate before administering medications are to prevent mistakes, not to interrogate the patient.

[CelticCrafter]

Any person you interact with in a hospital setting asks the same questions over and over again even though you answered them less than an hour ago, age doesn't matter.

As far as being a fall risk, if you under general anesthesia that seems to be automatic, again age doesn't matter.

My daughter just had gallbladder surgery and she had the fall risk bracelet put on her and she's only 33 years old.

[Group 5 minus 1]

Medical staff afraid of being sued. Health event? You sound like a marketing person.

[matty liz]

spot on!  There is no need for the attitude the medical profession shows.  Yes, patient is in a strainge surrounding, hurting, scared yet if listened to and repeated back what is said, Dr. will gain information they want.  Being too busy in this situation is hurtful