Questions Can Improve Your Healthcare

Feb 10, 2012 by admin

Being a nurse I am often asked many questions about illnesses and treatments outside of the hospital. Most of the questions are from neighbors and friends asking how to handle various illnesses for their children, spouses, and relatives. I am happy to try and answer questions and always encourage them to seek their physicians advise in the end.

However, not all questions center around how to care for a sprained ankle or a bump on the head from a fall. Many times when listening I learn that it is not the questions they are asking me but the questions that they are not asking their care givers, whether a physician or other medical practitioner.

Take Paper

I always encourage my friends and family to take a piece of paper and while talking with me or thinking about their next visit to write down the questions that they really want answered. It’s so easy to get to the appointment and get “white” coat syndrome, or intimidated by the physician and forget everything that you wanted to ask. Tuck the paper in your purse or wallet and pull it out during your appointment.

I would venture to say that health care professionals want to send their patients and family members home feeling good about what they need to do to stay healthy and what steps they need to take to do this. Doctors are human beings just like their patients and are there to answer questions as long as necessary.

Ask Questions About Medications

Ask questions about your medications – how long do I have to take this, when is the best time to take this, should I take it with food etc. I recently found out that a medication that I had been taking for several weeks should have been taken at night right before bed. This increased the medications efficiency by 15% and significantly reduced some of the side effects.

Ask Questions About Activities

Ask questions about your activities, how long should I take it easy, how intense can I exercise. Can I drive? If no for how long? When can I drive again? Do I need to take any time off of work? May I have a note for my boss. If you go home needing care at home ask who and how often the help will be there, what will you need for home health care if anything.

Follow Up

There are so many questions that you can ask and you should never feel bad about asking about the care of your health. Like the age old saying, the only bad question is the question that is not asked. If you get home and think of more questions, make the call.  Your healthcare is there to help you.

Citations:

• Stehoscope photo by Jasleen Kaur

Stephanie has been a nurse since the wonderful 80′s. In addition to answering questions about healthcare in her spare time, she raises a family and husband. She enjoys time in the kitchen is constantly looking for healthy recipes and ways to save money in the kitchen.