A long-time friend had surgery recently on her hip. I knew the hospital was excellent, but had some concerns about the young orthopedic surgeon. Having been married to one who gave outstanding care to his patients I had some real concern about what was ahead for my friend. My concerns proved to be true. The surgery went well, so technically the surgeon was good. However, she visited my friend just twice after the surgery. I would have expected a visit in the morning and one in the afternoon. Care was left to the nurses and a young intern. I always visited my patients in the hospital twice a day. A lot can go wrong in eight hours and patients need to feel safe and comfortable that they are getting the best of care.
Not only did the surgeon leave the care to others, which was wrong, but she also could not be reached by telephone. That is unacceptable. I spent a lot of time on the telephone with my friend both while she was in the hospital and on her return home. She had a real problem with constipation which happens often when a patient is bed-ridden. This is true for both children and adults. No discharge instructions were given in writing and some of the oral instructions were contradicted by different individuals. A hospitalist was both rude and ineffective.
My friend is to see the orthopedist in about two weeks and I hope she will be very frank about all the problems she has had. The orthopedist is what my favorite medical school professor would say is a "technician", not a doctor. Fortunately, my friend with my coaching, was able to be very assertive, so together we were able to get several problems resolved.
I am glad I was able to help and she was very grateful.
