Shocking Truth About Difficult Patients and Their Families

 

Working as a unit secretary in a hospital can be challenging. One of the biggest challenges is dealing with difficult patients and their families. While many patients and families are grateful and easy to work with, others can sometimes be incredibly demanding and aggressive. 

As a unit secretary, it's important to remember that these difficult behaviors aren't necessarily personal. Patients and families may be stressed and anxious due to their medical situations, leading to challenging interactions. 

Nonetheless, it's crucial to maintain a professional and compassionate approach when dealing with these situations. By staying calm, communicating clearly and empathetically, and seeking help from supervisors when necessary, unit secretaries can navigate the challenges of difficult patients and their families with grace and integrity.

What Unit Secretaries Do (Video)

As a medical secretary at the hospital, you're used to answering calls from patients in their rooms, scared witless by upcoming procedures. 

You spend your days filing paperwork, keeping track of patients scheduled for surgeries, and even checking charts when called upon. The process is tedious work but undeniably critical, so if you thrive on routine, this might be just your type of job!

Patient Interactions as a Unit Secretary (Video)

As a Unit Secretary, there are a lot of times when we do interact with the patients.

Some examples include:

• Feeding the patient (make sure the patient is not an aspiration precaution).
• Raise and lower the Head of the Bed (check with the nurse first to make sure that there are no orders for it to remain at a certain degree).
• If the patient is sitting in a recliner, you can raise the feet part (check with the nurse first to make sure that there are no orders for the patient to remain in a certain position).
• Wheel the patient down when they are discharged.
• Take blankets, pillowcases, juice, ice to the patient when they call on the call light.
• Sometimes, the patient does not want to be alone and just wants someone in the room with them. If you can spare a few minutes, just sit and talk with them.