Tuesday, March 30, 2021

The Changing Face of Hospitals

     Based partly on what I've read and also from personal experiences, it seems the concept of hospital care is undergoing a complete reformation.  And maybe it's about time that we relinquish our hold on the idea that the hospital is there at our disposal to render caring aid for those who enter its premises, with attentive doctors and nurses devoted to seeing that we the patients receive nurturing, personal attention for whatever our affliction is in our time of need. 

    The hospital, first and foremost, is a business, with bills to pay, and staff who are seeking to secure their own interests. Gone are  the days when a Hospital was considered one big family, devoted to helping the sick. Forget the myths still perpetuated by television shows where doctors and nurses discuss their patients' conditions and actively advocate on their behalf. 

  Some remember the folksy atmosphere of grocery stores, shoe stores, hardware stores, which were open to the wants of their customers, and would offer advice or services on a personal level. Except for a few quaint leftovers, those shops are gone, replaced by huge department stores or such. Think Walmart's, or, even more impersonal and also more efficient, Amazon.

   Today's hospitals  exist on the premise that hospital care is predicated on the treat and release concept--- deal with  medical condition with professional care and then have the patients move on and out. Why should they remain in a building just because a surgery or procedure was performed there. 

     I have no idea, for example, what instruction today's nursing students are receiving, what their manner of interaction with patients should be. I would hazard a guess that this standard patient greeting has  gone the way of the dinosaur:  "Hello Patient, My name is Lisa. I'm your nurse and I'll be taking care of you ."

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