I can't tell you how many freaking times I triage someone or take care of someone that decides to tell me how awful the hospital I work at is and how crappy their care is every time they come and so on and so forth until they tell me the whole saga or I find a way to leave the room. Most of the people complaining are here for complaints they could have seen their own doctor about an average of three weeks ago, but I digress.
Now, a little about Hood Hospital- it's not like we stand alone for miles or anything. Granted, we are the closest ER for most of the population we serve, but if our care really sucks that bad or if we're really the hospital that "kills people", you would have go all of 5 minutes to be seen somewhere else. But alas, despite the fact that we have allegedly nearly threatened the life and limb of these patients on multiple occasions and universally treated them like shit, they continue to return. This puzzles the hell out of me. Virtually all of these people have cars and the bus system here is rad, so it's not even like being in walking distance is an issue.
One of our housekeepers who lives near the hospital put it best the other day when she was complaining about her neighbors. "All these people complain to me about this place like I'm taking care of patients, and they all act like y'all are out in the street with motherfuckin' guns or something rounding folks up and making 'em come to the ER! Shit, if you don't like it, there's ten other hospitals right around here that y'all can go to! Nobody's making you go there! Just go down the street, damn!"
Seriously.
But WTF. Are people just really slow learners, or do they just want something to complain about?
The second one. People are seriously ridiculous. Plus it's a case of one bad story gets to 100 people while 1 good story gets to 5 or something like that, lol. I live in a small town and we only have one hospital, and I'm 100% sure that while they have saved MANY a persons life from this town, they still get a bad rap. EVERYONE says how they wouldn't go to this hospital, how terrible they are, how all the doctors there suck, but we all know that can't be true, but yet when you go to the town 20 miles away which also only has one hospital the people that live there will tell you the same thing, that their hospital sucks. Isn't that weird? I don't know what causes this, but I see it all the time.
ReplyDeleteGoing to another hospital is a step into the "unknown." They would rather go to a place that they know and complain about than go to another place that's new.
ReplyDeleteThis phenomenon also occurs in grocery stores and restaurants. "I'm never coming back here again!" "See you next week!"
until the past year, i was a frequent emergency department flier, of the self-harm/suicidal behavior variety. in other words, a great big borderline pain in the ass. i wasn't belligerent or whiny or anything, but it can't have been fun to see me week after week.
ReplyDeletei had two bad experiences at the hospital in my town, so i stopped going there. i live near a larger city, and i'd much rather be seen at the inner city teaching hospital nearby, even though it's slightly farther away-- like thirty minutes instead of fifteen.
to me, everything is better there-- the doctors see everything, all the time, so nothing surprises or stumps them. the nurses deal with all kinds of shit, so if you are reasonably respectful, they treat you with the utmost dignity and respect. even the "babysitters" are relatively reasonable and kind there.
with the help of dbt, i haven't been seen in an emergency room for nearly a year, but if something did happen, i know where i'd go. and i know going there, i'd be treated with respect and be well taken care of. it's also where i'd send my family in case of emergency, in a heartbeat.
hood nurse-- people keep coming to your hospital, because they know in their hearts that you have their back. they might be ridiculous in their complaints, but in the end, they know you are there if they need you.
i never thanked the emergency department staff at the other hospital. thanks for reminding me that thanking them might be a good idea; i don't plan on seeing them for a while (thank GOD for great treatment), so i guess i'll send a letter :-).
I think complaining has become an epidemic in our society. Not just about hospitals, but about everything. It seems like a vast majority of people have this "entitled" feeling, where everyone and everything surrounding them exists to serve them. I can't figure out what happened to common courtesy and kindness. Sure, everyone gets bad service occasionally, or has a bad experience with someone or something. But the extent that I've seen it from patients and families lately is just ridiculous! We currently have issues in our unit with the family of a patient. They insist on staying in the room 24/7, and stand right over your shoulder whenever you do anything (and I mean anything) with the patient. They get all defensive, saying the nurses don't want to take care of their son, because of his type of injury. The truth is that we nurses don't have any problem at all with the patient; we're tired of being yelled at, harassed, called names, and being treated rudely by the family! A number of nurses, including myself, have refused to care for the kid, just because of the family issues.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I don't know the cause of the problems, or the solution. I think it just became popular to dump on the health care system, and by result, on the staff. We have nothing to do with the costs, really don't care why the person is there, and just want to do the best we can. I guess the public doesn't realize that the hospitals are bending over backwards to kiss their asses with all the discharge surveys, 'what can we do to make your stay better', unlimited visiting, rooming in for what seems like entire families with any patient, etc., etc.
Better stop, I'm getting carried away again.
10 years or less till retirement!
This is an uncontrollable urge, many people simply lack filters. They MUST tell you how the last 3 nurses/techs absolutely fu*ed up trying to draw blood or start an IV. They simply HAVE to tell you how they were prescribed the most awful medicine by the bad doctor that made them puke for a week. Every visit. They CANNOT keep mum about their pregnancy horror stories when they are talking to an obviously pregnant person. Worst of all THEY HURT MY FEELINGS AND I'M GONNA SUE AND I HATE IT HERE!. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteI thought all those people only came to my hospital????
ReplyDeleteThey've got every right to complain, because they're DYING of their chronic complaint and YOU didn't give them something to instamediately fix it. Can you actually expect them to pull themselves together and take some responsibility? Get over yourself, Hood Nurse. Geez.
ReplyDeleteI think people just like to complain.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is when patients get all huffy and are like "Eff y'all, I'm going to [other less ghetto hospital]!" as if it's some kind of threat. Whatevs, here's your AMA form, please sign here. Peace out, see ya in a few days!
ReplyDeleteI think Liz had it right above. They come back because deep down they know you're there for them. Have fun at that less ghetto hospital, but that ED is huge and a new resident will probably be taking care of you and you'll never see the same face twice among the monstrously large staff there. You'll be a tiny fish in a big pond, and if you need any care outside the ED they probably won't refer your ass anywhere because you don't have insurance. If you work in a safety-net hospital, you know those frequent fliers will be back because ghetto or not, you're the only hospital that will reliably take care of them.
I just wish the patients wouldn't be such douches about it!
I love complainers! And I hear his all the time about our hospital; Im not even a nurse nor do I care where they go to get help. I dont ask for this information, they just volunteer it to me while in my chair (I am a dental hygienist). Im with you on the WTF!
ReplyDeleteI guess there's the complainers in every other side of the world and we attract all of them who are in our side into our hospital :D
ReplyDeleteI was going to school to be a Medical Assistant (was a nurses aide before) but I am taking some time off. (health issues and such) and I try not to be a pain in the ass patient. I will say that for the most part, the hospital near me sucks. They do have their good Doctors and good nurses, but they have not so good ones either. If I have to go there, I pray that I get one certain doctor because the woman is on the ball. Any time I have seen her, she's always figured out what the problem is. I ended up in that ER 5 times and they always said it was viral gastroenteritis. 6th time I ended up there, I saw her. I told her my symptoms (always the same) and first thing she says is "It sounds like you have gallstones". She orders and ultrasound and low and behold, I do. One of them was huge. I ended up having surgery to have my gallbladder out. My biggest issue is people who cannot get an IV/ Draw blood correctly. I had no problem letting classmates draw blood on me because I have excellent veins. There is no reason I should go home with 2 bruised arms and 2 bruised hands because someone can't start an iv right.
ReplyDeleteMy PCP is in another hospital system, so I try to go to that hospital if at all possible. It keeps my medical records in their system, and he knows whats going on.
I'm a fan of walking into the rooms of disgruntled patients with an AMA form and IV removal supplies. "Oh, you didn't really want to leave?"
ReplyDelete