After having the full battery of tests performed and getting her checked into a room, her temperature started to come down and the pain started to subside to the point that she started to critique the bedside manner of the nurses attending her.  THAT’s when the fun began!

Now, being a nurse and a patient at the same time is a double-edged sword.  On the plus side, you have ample medical knowledge and experience so you usually know what your body’s doing.  You also tend to have a pretty good network of medical professionals as well as access to all the medical “back channels.”  For example, Teri called and left a message for her doctor and the guy actually called her back!  

On the negative side, you can’t help but compare what everyone is doing, or not doing, with how you would have done it.  I got an earful of which nurse knew what they were doing and which one(s) didn’t have a clue.  After a while, I started to get an idea of how a hospital ward functions.

It turns out that there are nurses with two different nursing “styles.”  The first is hands on and proactive.  At the beginning of each shift, the nurse is supposed to make their rounds going to each patient, introducing themselves, and putting their hands physically on the patient as they check pulse, listen to their breathing, check their IV, and so on.  It doesn’t sound like much but an experienced nurse can tell a lot from this – like whether or not the patient is lucid and responsive, for example.  Being proactive and looking for potential problems before they occur is how Teri was taught so she expected the same kind of treatment.

The second nursing “style” is reactive.  This type of nurse clocks in and sits at the front desk and watches the board or does paperwork.  They assume that if a patient is having a problem, they’ll push the call button.  Then the nurse will get up and go see what the problem is and deal with it.  If no one calls with a problem, they won’t go looking for one.  This kind of nurse drives Teri bats, and after unsuccessfully waiting close to an hour after shift change for the nurse to show up, Teri finally went out to the Nurses Station looking for her.  She told me later that they had “had words.”

Why the difference I wondered?  One answer is the shortage of qualified nurses.  One blog post titled “The American Nurse, our New Endangered Species,” put it this way:

It’s the year 2020 and you’re in the hospital for a minor elective procedure that requires an overnight stay.  Lying in your bed, you try to call for a nurse.  You send your Tweet to the nurses desk.  No nurse.  You Tweet again, and again, and again.  Where is the nurse????  The nurse never comes, because there are no nurses.

A bit farfetched, but the American health system has a problem brewing that has nothing to do with the current healthcare reform legislation.  According to Marla Salmon, Dean of the University of Washington School Of Nursing, “We’re actually at a crisis point in terms of the shortage of nurses.” 

So add being short staffed and overworked to the already overloaded US medical system.   However, this post isn’t about what’s wrong with the healthcare system.  I wanted to pass along some advice on how best to deal with it.

So what can you do if you’re a patient?  Do the same thing Teri did – get out of bed (if you can, of course) and track down to the Nurses Station and ask who your nurse is.  Ask how long their shift is.  Ask what your treatment regimen is.  Ask what instructions (if any) the doctor left.  These are all things the nurse should have come and told you when they began their shift.  If they didn’t – if it’s starting to look like they’re not the proactive type – then YOU need to be the one that’s proactive.  

Some people just don’t want to be a bother.  However, you can NOT take that attitude when you’re in the hospital.  You’ve got to be like Teri – a “squeaky wheel” that keeps calling until they get what they’re supposed to be getting, when they’re supposed to be getting it.  If your doctor prescribes a type of medication every 4 hours (like an antibiotic), you need to have it every 4 hours – not whenever the nurse gets around to it.

When I went to check Teri out of the hospital, most of the other nurses were glad to see her go.  However, she left healthy – which was the whole point of the hospital stay in the first place!

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and
Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S. Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.” This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – for a limited time.  Just click on the title to be taken to the download page.  Enjoy!

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Although a case of the flu isn’t that big a deal for most healthy adults, this disease tends to hit children and the elderly the hardest with over 150 dead in Mexico alone.  As a result, many countries are issuing travel restrictions as well as more closely screening people crossing their borders.

With all the fear and confusion creating numerous conflicting stories in the media, it’s difficult to know which information to trust.  However, there are a couple of simple, common-sense things that you can do to protect yourself and your family from the flu.

First, understand what you’re fighting. What is “the flu,” or more specifically, the “swine” flu?  Swine flu is the name given to the most recent outbreak of the flu virus.  It’s a type of flu that’s not been seen before.  It contains parts of some of the strains of flu that we’ve dealt with in the past including American Swine and avian, or bird flu.

This strain of flu virus is spread like any other flu virus:  primarily from airborne transmission but also from surface transmission as well.  In other words, the virus spreads from infected people sneezing or coughing which pumps the virus into the air where healthy people breath it in.  It spreads by surface transmission when infected people wipe their runny nose, for example, and then touch a door knob, phone, or other surface.  If a healthy person touches the contaminated surface and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth, they become infected also.

The symptoms are those of the common flu: headache, fever, sneezing, coughing, runny nose, and muscle aches.  In the vast majority of cases, most people recover without any problems.  However, special care should be taken for those that are most at risk for complications – infants, people with existing respiratory problems, and the elderly.

Second, cleanliness is your best defense. Since the virus spreads through surface transmission, your best defense is to frequently clean common areas at home as well as at the office with a sanitizing cleanser.  You should also carry a bunch of pre-moistened wipes or a tube of hand sanitizer and wash your hands often.  Make sure your kids get into the habit of frequently washing their hands with soap and/or a hand sanitizer also.  This one suggestion is probably the most effective thing you can to do prevent your family from coming down with the flu.

So what about airborne transmission?  Is a surgical mask effective?  Well, yes and no.  The flu is a virus, something so small that a surgical mask isn’t going to stop it.  However, in most cases, the virus is spread by someone coughing or sneezing so the virus isn’t going to be coming out in single units.  They’re going to be in clumps clinging to the droplets of water or mucous that’s part of every sneeze.  In these cases, the “clumps” may be large enough to be trapped by the surgical mask.

You’ll find conflicting reports about the effectiveness of surgical masks.  They’re probably most effective in preventing infected people from sneezing on you, something that’s likely to happen in crowded situations like a subway or sporting event.

Third, keep yourself and your family healthy. This means making sure that you and your family is eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of fluids, getting moderate exercise, and getting plenty of sleep.  You want to make sure that your immune system is in peak condition and ready to fight off any attacks.  I don’t advocate taking mega-doses of vitamin C or anything else but a good multivitamin wouldn’t hurt.

Fourth, if all else fails. If all else fails and you or a member of your family gets sick, make them as comfortable as you can.  There’s no real “cure” for the flu but there are all sorts of over-the-counter medications for the symptoms.  If you or your family member is part of the high risk group (infants, elderly, or existing respiratory problems), then keep a very close watch and get medical attention if their condition appears to worsen.

If you’re the one that’s sick, stay home, drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest.  Most people recover within 5-7 days.  If it lasts longer than this, see your doctor.

Finally, this flu is really no more serious (or any less serious) than the other strains of flu we’ve experienced so the precautions are pretty much the same.  The best advice is to maximize your chances of warding off the disease by keeping common surfaces clean, washing your hands often, and by practicing good health habits (eating right, exercise, staying hydrated, getting plenty of sleep).

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

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