Expectations

So many families seem to have unrealistic expectations of their hospital stay.  While it is annoying, I have to concede that perhaps no one  has told them what to expect.  So, I feel the need to do myself and my fellow staff a favor and provide an education.

1. You can expect to see a doctor once a day. Unless you are in the ICU, or something changes with the child, once is likely all you're gonna get.  We have lots of patients to care for as well as our own families.  So, don't be offended when the doctor isn't available on four seconds' notice at 2 am, or if he sounds groggy and exhausted if he does come in.

2. You may or may not see your regular doctor.  Many practices rotate which doctor sees hospital patients.  Whichever doc is assigned to hospital rounding while you are there is the one you will see.  In other places, hospital specialists (creatively called "hospitalists") see all admitted patients.  They don't have office practices, and you will follow up with your regular doctor.  If the doc who comes in isn't your regular one, feel free to ask if he or she will be coming in.

3. Your doctor's rounding time may or may not be consistent.  Most of us try to round at *about* the same time every day.  However, when you hear that your doc usually rounds around 8, don't take that as an 8 am appointment.  Rounds may be early if the doc has a busy day ahead.  Anything from traffic to personal issues to emergencies with other patients can make them late.  I once got yelled at by parents for being late to round on their child; what I could not ethically tell them is that I was late because I was attempting to resuscitate another child.  A friend of mine got his ass chewed for being later than expected when his wife was getting an emergency, preterm c-section.  His partner was out of town so he had to see the hospital patients himself.  He had no idea if his wife or child was going to survive, but went in because he had to.  So, please, remember that you don't have any way to know what is happening.

4. You will probably be expected to help care for your own baby.  Just because your baby is in the hospital doesn't mean you can kick back and do nothing.  Hospitals are employing fewer people these days, in order to keep spending under control.  Also, the role of nurses has expanded greatly.  Long gone are the days when nurses just fluffed pillows and handed out meds.  Today's nursing staff is way too busy assessing patients, making sure the doc didn't do something dumb and charting endlessly to do the fluffy pillow thing.  Want to piss off a peds nurse? Call out to ask one of them to change your baby's diaper while you sit there texting.

5. This is  not a hotel. A hospital's first priority is the medical care of its patients.  We will do our best to make parents comfortable, but there are limits.  We don't have Memory Foam mattresses or room service.  Sorry.

There are more but this damn post is too long.