Staying in the hospital, even for a few days can be unsettling. It's not your own bed, you're away from your loved ones, and when you wake each morning nothing in the room looks remotely familiar. In addition, some hospital procedures and rules can be a source of frustration if you're unprepared for them.
Pamela McLaughlin, MSN, RN, OCN, joins the show to offer tips that can help you avoid surprises and make your time with us more comfortable.
Selected Podcast
Important Tips For Your Hospital Stay
Featured Speaker:
Pamela McLaughlin, MSN, RN, OCN
Pamela McLaughlin, RN, BSN, is the Assistant Magnet Coordinator for Nursing at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Transcription:
Important Tips For Your Hospital Stay
Bill Klaproth (Host): Staying in the hospital, even for a few days can be unsettling, whether you are inpatient stay is short-term or longer. Pamela McLaughlin, a registered nurse and assistant Magnet Coordinator at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, is here to share tips to avoid surprises and make your time in the hospital more comfortable. Pamela, thank you for your time. So. How should someone prepare? What should they bring and what are they allowed to bring?
Pamela McLaughlin, MSN, RN, OCN (Guest): So, some of the things that you want to bring when you are going to stay inpatient at the hospital is you want things to help make you feel a little more comfortable in your hospital room, especially if it is going to be a long stay. We would like you to bring some of your own pajamas if you are comfortable. If they can button up in the front, that would be even easier for us. You can bring a robe. Also, if it can open in the front just makes you more comfortable and sometimes it can get a little cold in the rooms. The temperature fluctuates frequently, so it is good to have things that keep you warm and comfy while you are sitting in your bed. You can bring some loose-fitting shirts. It is always nice to have your – as many of your own things as possible to help keep you comfortable in the hospital. We are going to want you to get up and walk around quite a bit because that helps your treatment along, so bring some good solid shoes or slippers with a hard bottom on them so you can make your laps around the hallways. I have a whole list of several other things to bring, but something we don’t want you to bring is and you can let your family members and loved ones know also is we can’t except fresh flowers or plants on most of our units. It just does not help when you don’t have an immune system, we don’t want to have live plants around.
Bill: And what about soap and bathing? Should they bring shampoo and body wash and those types of things?
Pamela: We would prefer you to use the soap and bathing supplies that we provide. The soap that we use will give you 24-hour protection from some of the organisms that live on your skin already and from others, so we would prefer you to use the soap that we provide to give you that extra protection that you don’t get from your really good smelly soaps at home.
Bill: Got you. And you were talking about fresh flowers, how you shouldn’t bring those. What are other things people should know about as they stay in the hospital? What about interruptions during the night? I have heard don’t flush the toilet because you may want to look to see. What are other things they need to know?
Pamela: Sure. So, a couple of the things you had mentioned, don’t bring flowers. Another item you might not want to bring with you is your wallet. You don’t have a safe place to store it in your room so if you can leave that at home with your loved ones, it is one less thing for you to worry about. And you shouldn’t need any cash while you are here anyway, so you can leave that right at home. You will get interrupted quite a bit during your stay. We are in your room consistently checking your vital signs. You mentioned not to flush the toilet after you go to the bathroom because us nurses want to see everything that goes in you and everything that comes out of you and we measure all of it. So, if you flush it away, we don’t know how much came out of you and we could medicate improperly if we don’t know what is going in and if it is coming out of you properly. So, those are a couple of things that are pretty important to us. I had mentioned earlier the room temperature fluctuates, so if you have some blankets you want to bring from home, you can bring a blanket. If you have a pillow that you like, you can bring a pillow, but we try to refrain from down pillows, so it could also harm your immune system since you don’t have the proper immune system, down pillows can not be beneficial to you.
Bill: Got you. And you mentioned before, bring some loose-fitting clothing and shoes – sturdy shoes and slippers with the hard rubber bottom because they are going to be – you want them up and moving. Now before someone gets up, do you recommend calling the nurses station first?
Pamela: All the time. So, we want – while we want you to get up and keep moving around, we want you to call for help. This is a very important piece for us. It is really for your safety. And this is for the loved ones also. If you see the patient getting up and they have not asked for help, let us know. It is not a burden to us to come and help you out. The reason we do this is because we give the patients so many medications that can make them feel lightheaded or dizzy or have to go to the bathroom so suddenly you have to run to the bathroom, don’t hop out of bed and run to the bathroom. We give our patients so many medications that can make them feel off kilter; we want to help you get into the bathroom. It really is for your safety and that really is what we are here for is to help you out.
Bill: And overall, what should they know about that we haven’t talked about, some things they may not be aware of? Are there certain things they absolutely must bring, shouldn’t bring or anything else that we haven’t mentioned?
Pamela: So, I have a couple other, I will call them fluffy things, but things to help you feel a little bit more comfortable. Earbuds or headphones. If you have your own earbuds that you like, bring them because you can plug them into the call bell, so you can hear the TV right from the call bell, so you don’t have to hear all of the other outside noise. We also have on our television stations, we have I believe it is 50 different stations with music. So, if there is a particular music you like to drown out all the rest of the noise going on around you, you can flip through those and listen to that on your earbuds or earphones. Bring a phone charger if you bring your phone. Another piece is crossword puzzles, books, something to distract you. You are going to be sitting in your bed and you are probably not used to that for a long period of time, have something to distract you from everything else that is going on and all the chaos of being in the hospital and having visitors. One last piece I want to say is for your family members, you can purchase tickets for $5 from the cafeteria which allows you to eat a meal in the room with the patients. So, you purchase the ticket in the cafeteria and you can use that to get a tray just like the patient gets brought up.
Bill: Those are great tips. And speaking of caregivers, since you brought it up; do you have any other advice for caregivers and family members?
Pamela: I do have a couple of things. So, we don’t have any set visiting hours. You can come in and leave as you please, just be aware that we – overnight we try to let them get some rest, even though we are in and out of the room often. So, you can come and go, also, the patient needs to pick a password. The password is so that if your family member calls in to see how you are doing at nighttime, they know what to say to the nurses in order to get information about you.
Bill: Really important information there. What other tips do you have if there is any, just to make their stay as comfortable as possible?
Pamela: If you have a hoodie or a sweatshirt or a light house jacket for when it gets cold. The air filtration in most of our rooms where patients get chemotherapy and surgery, the air can blow on them and the doors need to stay closed to keep the filters working properly so it can get cold and it can get warm. You want to be able to have some layers. Bring some photographs of your family members. That’s another piece.
Bill: Pam, those are all great suggestions. And lastly, can you tell us about the Compassionate Care for inpatients at Roswell Park Cancer Institute?
Pamela: Sure. Compassionate Care is really what our nurses look to do every day. It has become a part of their nursing practice. We want to do everything we can to make sure you are safe and that you also feel emotionally cared for. So, we want to be there for you for the medicine, the side effects, but we also want to be there to help you through the process of the entire chemotherapy or the surgery. We are there to be your champion. We are there to push you along. We are there to encourage you. But it’s a whole lot more than just the medicine and the side effects. There is a whole emotional and a heart piece to what we try to offer at Roswell Park.
Bill: That is so important. Well Pamela, thank you so much for your time today. For more information, you can visit www.roswellpark.org .That’s www.roswellpark.org . You’re listening to Cancer Talk with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.
Important Tips For Your Hospital Stay
Bill Klaproth (Host): Staying in the hospital, even for a few days can be unsettling, whether you are inpatient stay is short-term or longer. Pamela McLaughlin, a registered nurse and assistant Magnet Coordinator at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, is here to share tips to avoid surprises and make your time in the hospital more comfortable. Pamela, thank you for your time. So. How should someone prepare? What should they bring and what are they allowed to bring?
Pamela McLaughlin, MSN, RN, OCN (Guest): So, some of the things that you want to bring when you are going to stay inpatient at the hospital is you want things to help make you feel a little more comfortable in your hospital room, especially if it is going to be a long stay. We would like you to bring some of your own pajamas if you are comfortable. If they can button up in the front, that would be even easier for us. You can bring a robe. Also, if it can open in the front just makes you more comfortable and sometimes it can get a little cold in the rooms. The temperature fluctuates frequently, so it is good to have things that keep you warm and comfy while you are sitting in your bed. You can bring some loose-fitting shirts. It is always nice to have your – as many of your own things as possible to help keep you comfortable in the hospital. We are going to want you to get up and walk around quite a bit because that helps your treatment along, so bring some good solid shoes or slippers with a hard bottom on them so you can make your laps around the hallways. I have a whole list of several other things to bring, but something we don’t want you to bring is and you can let your family members and loved ones know also is we can’t except fresh flowers or plants on most of our units. It just does not help when you don’t have an immune system, we don’t want to have live plants around.
Bill: And what about soap and bathing? Should they bring shampoo and body wash and those types of things?
Pamela: We would prefer you to use the soap and bathing supplies that we provide. The soap that we use will give you 24-hour protection from some of the organisms that live on your skin already and from others, so we would prefer you to use the soap that we provide to give you that extra protection that you don’t get from your really good smelly soaps at home.
Bill: Got you. And you were talking about fresh flowers, how you shouldn’t bring those. What are other things people should know about as they stay in the hospital? What about interruptions during the night? I have heard don’t flush the toilet because you may want to look to see. What are other things they need to know?
Pamela: Sure. So, a couple of the things you had mentioned, don’t bring flowers. Another item you might not want to bring with you is your wallet. You don’t have a safe place to store it in your room so if you can leave that at home with your loved ones, it is one less thing for you to worry about. And you shouldn’t need any cash while you are here anyway, so you can leave that right at home. You will get interrupted quite a bit during your stay. We are in your room consistently checking your vital signs. You mentioned not to flush the toilet after you go to the bathroom because us nurses want to see everything that goes in you and everything that comes out of you and we measure all of it. So, if you flush it away, we don’t know how much came out of you and we could medicate improperly if we don’t know what is going in and if it is coming out of you properly. So, those are a couple of things that are pretty important to us. I had mentioned earlier the room temperature fluctuates, so if you have some blankets you want to bring from home, you can bring a blanket. If you have a pillow that you like, you can bring a pillow, but we try to refrain from down pillows, so it could also harm your immune system since you don’t have the proper immune system, down pillows can not be beneficial to you.
Bill: Got you. And you mentioned before, bring some loose-fitting clothing and shoes – sturdy shoes and slippers with the hard rubber bottom because they are going to be – you want them up and moving. Now before someone gets up, do you recommend calling the nurses station first?
Pamela: All the time. So, we want – while we want you to get up and keep moving around, we want you to call for help. This is a very important piece for us. It is really for your safety. And this is for the loved ones also. If you see the patient getting up and they have not asked for help, let us know. It is not a burden to us to come and help you out. The reason we do this is because we give the patients so many medications that can make them feel lightheaded or dizzy or have to go to the bathroom so suddenly you have to run to the bathroom, don’t hop out of bed and run to the bathroom. We give our patients so many medications that can make them feel off kilter; we want to help you get into the bathroom. It really is for your safety and that really is what we are here for is to help you out.
Bill: And overall, what should they know about that we haven’t talked about, some things they may not be aware of? Are there certain things they absolutely must bring, shouldn’t bring or anything else that we haven’t mentioned?
Pamela: So, I have a couple other, I will call them fluffy things, but things to help you feel a little bit more comfortable. Earbuds or headphones. If you have your own earbuds that you like, bring them because you can plug them into the call bell, so you can hear the TV right from the call bell, so you don’t have to hear all of the other outside noise. We also have on our television stations, we have I believe it is 50 different stations with music. So, if there is a particular music you like to drown out all the rest of the noise going on around you, you can flip through those and listen to that on your earbuds or earphones. Bring a phone charger if you bring your phone. Another piece is crossword puzzles, books, something to distract you. You are going to be sitting in your bed and you are probably not used to that for a long period of time, have something to distract you from everything else that is going on and all the chaos of being in the hospital and having visitors. One last piece I want to say is for your family members, you can purchase tickets for $5 from the cafeteria which allows you to eat a meal in the room with the patients. So, you purchase the ticket in the cafeteria and you can use that to get a tray just like the patient gets brought up.
Bill: Those are great tips. And speaking of caregivers, since you brought it up; do you have any other advice for caregivers and family members?
Pamela: I do have a couple of things. So, we don’t have any set visiting hours. You can come in and leave as you please, just be aware that we – overnight we try to let them get some rest, even though we are in and out of the room often. So, you can come and go, also, the patient needs to pick a password. The password is so that if your family member calls in to see how you are doing at nighttime, they know what to say to the nurses in order to get information about you.
Bill: Really important information there. What other tips do you have if there is any, just to make their stay as comfortable as possible?
Pamela: If you have a hoodie or a sweatshirt or a light house jacket for when it gets cold. The air filtration in most of our rooms where patients get chemotherapy and surgery, the air can blow on them and the doors need to stay closed to keep the filters working properly so it can get cold and it can get warm. You want to be able to have some layers. Bring some photographs of your family members. That’s another piece.
Bill: Pam, those are all great suggestions. And lastly, can you tell us about the Compassionate Care for inpatients at Roswell Park Cancer Institute?
Pamela: Sure. Compassionate Care is really what our nurses look to do every day. It has become a part of their nursing practice. We want to do everything we can to make sure you are safe and that you also feel emotionally cared for. So, we want to be there for you for the medicine, the side effects, but we also want to be there to help you through the process of the entire chemotherapy or the surgery. We are there to be your champion. We are there to push you along. We are there to encourage you. But it’s a whole lot more than just the medicine and the side effects. There is a whole emotional and a heart piece to what we try to offer at Roswell Park.
Bill: That is so important. Well Pamela, thank you so much for your time today. For more information, you can visit www.roswellpark.org .That’s www.roswellpark.org . You’re listening to Cancer Talk with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.