Two Things You Must Know Before You See Your Doctor

Every year, lots of people die from medical mistakes. When I say “lots,” I mean “the equivalent of 390 jumbo jets full of people,” according to Dr. Samantha Collier. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should avoid medical treatment – that’s dangerous for sure – I’m just saying that if you find yourself checked into a hospital there are things that you can do to greatly decrease the chance that you’ll become a victim of the system.

Every year, lots of people die from medical mistakes. When I say “lots,” I mean “the equivalent of 390 jumbo jets full of people,”

I know, you’re thinking “WHAT?! How can I ever be happy with being hospitalized if I have to take responsibility for my own care?” and to that I say 1) you may have issues if you have expectations of being happily hospitalized and 2) get over it. You are always responsible for your own care whether you want to be or not and in any case you’re the expert on your body. I don’t mean that you know more about medicine than the doctors and nurses who care for you, I mean that you know what is normal for your body and what is not. It is always wise to be aware of your body’s idiosyncrasies.

For example, I know that my body temperature almost never rises above 99 degrees. When it does it means there is something very wrong (i.e. not just the flu), and I have to be very clear about that with medical professionals because usually a fever doesn’t always raise that many flags. If I share that important info with them they can diagnose a potentially serious illness much earlier than they might have otherwise. If your doctor doesn’t listen to you, you may want to shop around.

Another important factor to be aware of is that nurses work long shifts and are very busy.

Partially, this is because half of you dear readers relentlessly hit on them. As a result, sometimes medications are forgotten or given incorrectly, one patient gets mixed up with another, important information is not written down and is then forgotten with the shift change, or any number of other mistakes are made. Someone needs to be double checking a patient’s treatment. The doctors are definitely not doing it, and the nurses just don’t have time to double check everything, so that leaves you, the patient. Of course, sometimes a patient is not exactly lucid – for example just after surgery, or if you are heavily medicated – in which case it is wise to have a family member at your bedside to make sure you’re not being mistaken for Mr. Jones in the next room who’s scheduled for a rectal exam.

If your doctor doesn’t listen to you, you may want to shop around

The point is, don’t be afraid of the hospital, but be as cautious there as you would be anywhere else. If you can, make a list of your allergies and medications and keep it near the bed at the hospital or give a copy to a few friends or family members who can stay with you after a surgery or serious illness. And remember, be nice to the nurses even if you’re in pain. Usually they’re doing their best to help you stay comfortable and if they’re succeeding thank them and let them know that they’ve helped. You might get an extra cup of jell-o with your low sodium broth the next time the cart comes around!
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