Consulting the hive mind: hospital behavior

[gyzki]

So I was sitting in the Ambulatory Surgery waiting room at Lahey Clinic yesterday, watching quite a few different patients get admitted (many of whom had checked in after I did, I note), and I noticed a range of attitudes among accompanying family/friends as to just how closely they were "accompanying

Comments

[cvirtue]

I don't believe I could give a cultural norm for this, because it will vary by: severity of procedure, rationality/emotional baggage of the patient, rationality of the companion, and time pressures of the companion.

That's too many human variables to account for.

[soteltie]

>reasonable level of involvement
For me, it depends on the scariness of the procedure or if the outcome might be bad news, how long the patient is expected to be fully "out of it", and also whether there's a convenient destination. We don't have cell phones--maybe that would make a difference.

Tom is much more of a "call me when he's ready to come home" person. I'm usually back long before the patient would be waking up.

If it is close to home and I know the person is going to be totally out of it, I go home for a few hours, but I don't wait to be called. I'm comfortable hanging out in a waiting room or coffeeshop, if driving somewhere else and coming back/parking might be a pain or I'm too distracted/worried to go off and do random errands. If I have a lot of nervous energy, I just powerwalk the halls or around the outside of the building.

[umbran]

I've only had to deal with such a thing myself once, when my wife was having knee surgery.

That being said, I don't believe there is a cultural norm. I think the level of involvement really depends on the people, the relationship between them, the health problem involved and the process at the care facility.

If someone is expecting to rely on me for support I personally would prefer to stay on-site. But, that's me, and I work in a job that would easily allow it.

I note that in veterinary medicine, dropping an animal off and coming back later seems to be the norm. While people aren't animals, that suggests to me that there's generally no real medical reason for me to be there - nothing I could do on-site that cannot be done over the phone. So, if I am there, it is for the person I'm supporting, and it is an issue of their person-needs, not their medical needs.

[dreda]

I think the norm is pretty variable, but if I'm the dropper-off, I'll bring something to read and take care of the patient's stuff. I don't want them to have to worry about it, and I'd like to be nearby if something changes about The Plan. Also, it's the level that I want for me - there is something very subconsciously comforting about knowing that someone is waiting for me.

(We just had someone we know go in for major cancer-related surgery while we were away, and he was totally solo throughout, including going home. It's continuing to give me the shivers.)

[jducoeur]

My personal norm for same-day has proven to be:

* Drive in;
* Stay together until the anaesthesia, more or less;
* Go downstairs and make sure the hospital has my cell number;
* Go to Starbucks for a little while;
* Come back and wait in the waiting room until called in.

There have been a few exceptions, including going to work for a little while in the middle, but generally I'm more comfortable being on-site for the bulk of the time...