Keri Mozingo Ms. Hollingsworth Senior Project 22 Oct. 2012 How Did it Go?

Hospital visits can be memorable, whether they be decent or regretful. Inevitably someone goes to the doctor, and he or she has a terrible experience and does not want to go back. Going to the doctor should not be a problem for people, but it seems that seeing a doctor is becoming a bigger problem than before. A major problem that still occurs in the medical field is bad bedside manner, but the aging Baby Boomer generation has a huge effect on the medical field creating staff shortages and health care insurance complications. Poor bedside manner seems to be increasing as the years go by. Patients strive for a better relationship with their doctors because some of their doctors have terrible bedside manner. Sometimes patients switch doctors due to their doctors lack of care. Richard M. Frankel, investigator at Regenstrief Institute of Indiana, states, Medical education today is outstanding at teaching the biological domain, but patients and their families expect more of their physicians than to be diagnosed and sent on their way. They want to have meaningful discussions with their health-care providers (qtd. in USA Today Magazine). Bad bedside manner stands to be one of the top problems in the medical field, and Frankels statements happen to be true because when patients experience bad bedside manner, they may feel that nurses are the same way. A patient who notices awful bedside manner should handle it. Numerous solutions for a doctor with unbearable bedside manner can be found. Many patients who experience a doctor with a bad bedside manner will never bring it up, but they can

Mozingo take action by sending the doctor an email, a letter, or phone call. When someone experiences a

doctor who shows shoddy care, he or she should take a stand, but that person may be afraid to do so, and therefore, he or she will keep having terrible doctor visits. Dr. James Hill, vice chief of staff for Northwestern Memorial Hospital and an orthopedic surgeon, responds to a situation where a patient was upset about her care, and he states the best way to address the situation: What works for me is, if they feel uncomfortable, to write me a letter. I can read the letter and digest it (qtd. in Paul). Dr. Hill gives a solution to get started on fixing the issue of dissatisfaction with a doctors manners, and if a patient cannot tell a doctor face-to-face how he or she feels, writing a letter would be a great solution. If something simple, such as writing a letter, can help improve doctor-patient relationships, then there should not be a reason why a patient should not take action and do this. Dismaying bedside manner may be a major problem in the medical field, but is relatively minor compared to the growing problems caused by aging Baby Boomers. As this generation ages, their need for healthcare creates a large demand for professionals in the field, a field that is struggling to keep up with the demand. Countless people think that nursing shortages do not affect them, but in reality it affects them greatly because they have to wait longer when they go to the doctor, and it also opens doors to job opportunities. As for hospitals that are experiencing nurse shortages, circumstances can get pretty chaotic and stressful. The RNbuilder website states that Seventy-two percent of hospitals currently claim not to have adequate nursing staff, which is in and of itself startling. However, in addition, the ratio of caregivers to those in need of health services is expected to decrease by 40 percent between 2010 and 2030. This means that the shortage of trained staff will rise between 2 and 6 percent each year, possibly reaching a deficit of more than a million registered nurses (RNs) by 2025 (Why There Arent Enough Nurses).

Mozingo With percentages like these happening, people can see exactly how devastating the low amount of nurses there are. The low number of nurses mean the more hours and double-shifts that the nurses will have to work, those nurses that are still working. Government leaders, being well aware of the issue, work hard to bring those percentages

down. Many states have hosted campaigns to bring in young people to work in the medical field. Younger nurses are needed more because numerous workers over forty years old need younger nurses to replace them. RNbuilders short piece titled Healthcare for Tomorrow, explains that overwhelmed, underpaid, and often forgotten in the bustle and hardships of the medical field, nurses remain some of the most caring professionals in the world. Hopefully, it is the caring persons that will draw young recruits and keep the profession going strong (Why There Arent Enough Nurses). If there are younger students becoming nurses, it will help the current nurses because they will not have to work so many hours a day. Having younger students join the medical field will bring the percentage of nurses up and hospitals will be better equipped in the amount of nurses it has. Although they are substantial, the most severe problems in the medical field are not careless bedside manner or staff shortages but insurance problems. Health-care insurance problems impact the society socially and economically due to the financial difficulties in America. Over the years, the percentage of Americans without insurance coverage has fluctuated drastically. Currently, the U.S. has many families, more specifically the lower and middle class families, needing health-care insurance. RNbuilder states, One of the primary difficulties in the health-care field is the aging Baby Boomer population. [] Overall, Baby Boomers present a two-fold problem: a) as they age, they will become more in need of hospital and nursing home services; and b) they currently make up the largest percentage of nursing staff (Why There

Mozingo Arent Enough Nurses). Baby Boomers, currently in their late sixties- early seventies, are in a

period in their lives when health-care insurance becomes essential due to having multiple trips to the hospital. The Baby Boomers help and hurt the economy because for one, they make up most of the nursing staff, but that hurts the economy because they are older which means they will be retiring soon, and two, because they are older, they need specialized attention from nurses. There is nothing people can do about the Baby Boomers, but people can do something about health-care insurance. Chronic diseases continue to be a major reason why patients make health-care insurance claims. A few years ago, over half of health-care spendings went to treating people with chronic diseases. The website healthcareproblems.org has a segment on chronic diseases, and it states Numerous studies have shown that when patients with chronic diseases focus on their health and get involved in their own care, their health improves and health expenses decrease (Health Care Statistics). Obviously not everyone with health-care insurance has a chronic disease, but if people who do can simply focus on their health and get involved in their own care, they can make less trips to the hospitals, and that will be a relief on the nurses. Also, their health-care will most likely improve just like the studies show on the health care problems website. Therefore, the little bit of effort that the patients put forth will decrease the rising costs of insurance. If someone truly cares about his or her health care expenses, he or she can show the care by asking a doctor for more information on health care and rehabilitation. Although bedside manner and staff shortages remain definite problems in the medical field, insurance problems, by far, are the worst issue faced in the medical field. Addressing the issues as soon as they occur can help the hospitals, staff, and patients better than letting the issues continue unnecessarily. By resolving the issues as soon as doctors, patients, and nurses

Mozingo become aware of them, hospitals and patients can feel a sense of relief and satisfaction when they know that their environment around them has improved. Word Count:1343

Mozingo Works Cited Health Care Statistics. HealthCareProblems. 2007. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. http://www.healthcareproblems.org/health-care-statistics.htm Paul, Marla. Bad bedside manners. Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2006. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. "Physicians Need Better Bedside Manners." USA Today Magazine 140.2801 (2012): 7. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. Why Arent There Enough Nurses? Nursing Shortage Crisis. 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. http://www.rnbuilder.com/article_nursing_shortage.htm