Things I'm learning in nursing school that I wish I'd known as a patient, an ongoing thread:

(Most of these are probably going to be common sense reassurances, but I'm an anxious patient, and it would have helped me to hear this stuff from a nurse/nursing student.)

If you think you/some part of your care may have been forgotten, speak up! Yes, nurses are super busy, but it's exactly because nurses are super busy that some things slip through the cracks! No one will think you're rude or needy, we want to give you good care! Reminders help!

If you're in pain, tell someone! Don't just suffer in silence because you don't want to be a bother, or think someone will see you as weak. Nurses want their patients to be comfortable! Let us help you!

If you have some specific worry that you think might be dismissed by a doctor, tell a nurse! Part of our job is patient advocacy.

(That's not to say that every nurse out there is living up to this, but in general, the nurses I have met take patient advocacy really seriously.)

Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions to your doctor/nurse/medical tech/etc., and to even come with a paper of pre-written questions. It's honestly really nice and encouraging when people show deep interest in their health! Teaching is part of our job!

It can be embarrassing to use a bedpan, or adult briefs, or bedside commode, but to your nurse, this is the most mundane thing ever. We really, really, really don't think anything of it.

If you think any part of your care is going to be embarrassing for you, or you're getting lots of anxiety about it, tell your nurse! Maybe we can make some accommodations to make it less bad, or at the very least we can tell you how common it is & that your feelings are v normal.

Don't feel bad or like your care is too much work for your health team. We signed up to care for you. Working conditions for nurses do need to improve, but that should not be your concern when you're healing in a hospital. Your job is to recover!

If u ask for a pillow/water/whatev & whoever told u they'd get it isn't back in 10-15 mins, tell someone else or remind the original person when u see them again. They're probably just gonna be like "omg sorry I got distracted with xyz, lemme get that for you right away!" Nbd!

If you just got a med, and you're feeling some strange effects that you're not sure if you're supposed to feel or not, say something! If it is a negative reaction, then we can help! If it's expected, then at least you will have the reassurance that nothing bad is happening.

That's all for now, I'll add more later. I know they're basically all the same thing (speak up for yourself, relax, no one's judging you), but my anxiety brain would have wanted to hear this stuff as a patient. Since starting nursing school, I'm way more chill as a patient, haha.