Hospitals,Aides and Nurses. Are they lacking?
By celestos
@celestos (814)
United States
June 28, 2009 3:42am CST
I have had a loved one in and out of the hospital lately. I noticed when he was in ICU the staff for the most part were really supportive and friendly. We did have one or two that were inconsiderate and rude but for the most part it was a greatly staffed floor. When my loved one was moved to the general part of the hospital I was shocked at how inexpirenced and rude the staff were. One in particular aide had no consideration for the patients around us. She was very rough when it came to drawing blood and spoke to people as if they were five years old. This aide may have been twenty years old herself and she in my opinion would have been better working at a fast food restaurant. I understand that everyone has bad days but she had the same attitude for a the few days we were in the general part of the hospital. She left my loved one alone after promising to bring him a cup of ice water. I had went downstairs to get dinner from the cafeteria and then to return and eat in the room and she still had not returned with the water. This is a very small example of some how of the staff acted during our stay. As for the hospital where I was raised I have never had to pay for the use of a TV or phone during a stay in the hospital. Maybe this is something they do in larger cities or something new but I was stunned by it. We had a nurse come in an inform us that to use the television it would be five dollars a day and the phone was three a day. What made me mad about this was the hospital has flat screen televisions on the walls of all of their hallways. TVs in every lobby, near every food court, all over. but if you are a patient in a room you have to pay to watch it? there are also phones located in the lobby that people can make local phone calls for free?? But a patient has to pay to use the phone? I don't agree nor understand it. My question is should nurses and aides have to go through a sensitivity class as part of their training. Also do you think that hospitals charging for the use of televisions is ridiculous?
2 people like this
3 responses
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
28 Jun 09
I heard that the medical profession is short of nurses this is because there are not enough nursing teachers to teach the students. There is about a 2 year wait to get into nursing school for those 2 years the students take the prerequisites classes at a 2 years college that they need and then hope there is an opening for them in the nursing courses. I have not seen where they charge for television but it does not surprise me that some of them do. When my son was in the hospital I needed and itemized bill for my insurance to cover and I could not believe some of the prices they charge for things like for a band-aide I could have brought a whole box for the price of one just an example. I guess it was just a matter of time before this was done.
1 person likes this
@celestos (814)
• United States
29 Jun 09
Oh I understand what you mean by charging ungodly prices for items in the hospital. My stepfather was in a coma a few years back and was hospitalized for over a month. His brother in law works in the medical field and after my stepfather was released his brother in law told him to get an itemized bill. He almost fainted when he saw all the things they charged him for that he indeed never used. Three meals a day,soap,shampoo,toothpaste,aspirin,you name it. Realize he was in a coma and he never used any of this stuff nor did he have any meals obviously. After going over the list with his brother in law they had the hospital remove over a quarter of a million dollars in things that were never recieved or used.
1 person likes this
@celestos (814)
• United States
29 Jun 09
Oh I understand what you mean by charging ungodly prices for items in the hospital. My stepfather was ina coma a few years back and was hospitalized for over a month. His brother in law works in the medical field and after my stepfather was released he told my stepfather to get an itemized bill. He almost fainted when he saw all of the things that they charged him for that he indeed never used. three meals a day,soap,shampoo,aspirin, you name it. As I said he was ina coma and never used any of these things nor did he have meals obviously. After going over the list with his brother in law they had the hospital billing remove near a quarter of a million dollars worth of that were never recieved or used.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
28 Jun 09
I didn't think of that--during my recent hospital stay I didn't think to ask if they were charging me for the TV or the phone. I rarely watch tv and wouldn't be willing to pay for it.
Hospital workers are underpaid and overworked and it takes a very special person to be pleasant and encouraging under those circumstances. Lucky for me, I'm in a very small city and the hospital staff was great but I know in the bigger cities they are much busier. Did you get the name of the aide? You should talk to her supervisor or better yet, let her know how her attitude affects people. When my sister in law was in the hospital, I took care of getting her water and stuff so the nurses wouldn't have to do it they were so overworked.
Everyone is understaffing these days, too. I hope your loved one is well now and won't have to go back to that hospital!
1 person likes this
@celestos (814)
• United States
29 Jun 09
Thank you for your reply. The television was already on in the room when my loved one was hospitialized so we did not think anything about it. After two days we were told that we were being charged for the use of the television and that the telephone if it was used would be charged to our home phone bill. What ticks me off about this is that some people maybe older people wouldn't think about being charged either. I mean when you are stuck in a hospital room and you have no visitors I think its ridiculous to charge patients for the only entertainment available while they are sick. What I mean by older people is an elderly person who may have to spend a two weeks in the hospital and never being told they are being charged. Imagine recieving a bill in the mail for $70.00 just for having the tv on in your room knowing the entire hospital is constantly providing free television throughout their hallways.
2 people like this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
29 Jun 09
That's definitely not right and I would fight it. If there is nothing in plain sight announcing the charges, that is deception and you shouldn't have to pay for it. I'll examine my hospital bill carefully!
@michaeldadona (5684)
• Malaysia
29 Jun 09
hahaha!...I almost ROFL on reading your ranting on this part "she in my opinion would have been better working at a fast food restaurant." I can imagine she will be getting free-thumb-slaps 100 times in a day by customers...hahaha!, your nice idea, actually.
OK - let me back to your main two (2) question marks for;
1. Should nurses and aides have to go through a sensitivity class as part of their training?. Also
2. Do you think that hospitals charging for the use of televisions is ridiculous?
My turn to answer and let us go one-by-one;
1. Should nurses and aides have to go through a sensitivity class as part of their training?.
Yes, surely I do agree with your suggested point in your question. Just one more to add, they must take their training session how to treat venomous animals in the National Zoo to make them more polite when render their service to patients in the hospital.
2. Do you think that hospitals charging for the use of televisions is ridiculous?
For this one, I have to back up hospital because its provision already categorized under extra service with terms of use. In fact, its operating system is an option. Whereby, client or patient given an option to accept or reject. So it's not ridiculous but marvelous.
The best way is, hospital management provides internal TV Media Library Viewing Channel offers to patient where they can select their related channel to their disease which tells the whole story of one disease from its sources to treatments and all stuff related to it.
1 person likes this
@celestos (814)
• United States
29 Jun 09
Thank you for your great reply. It doesn't suprise me that they charge for television as most places anymore will squeeze the last dime from you anyways. I think though not letting people know they are being charged for a service that anyone and I do mean anyone can walk in from the street and sit down an enjoy is ridiculous. I saw tons of people who were panhandling in front of the hospital come in behind me from the street, sit down at one of the benches in the hallway and watch television. We were not informed that my loved one had been being charged for tv until literally the last day he was there. I do like what you said about the Media Library with relating channels to diseases however. I do not know if that is an option in some hospitals now or not? They did not offer that where we were.
