Prescription for Admission

Prescription for Admission is a short, comprehensive book about being in the hospital, either as a planned or emergency admission. It explains day by day what to expect from the “average” hospital stay of five days. While I think that many hospital stays are shorter than five days, the information provided about the various medical personnel encountered while in the hospital is useful, because being in the hospital can be both stressful and confusing for even the savviest patient.

The book resonated for me as I recalled the five days I spent in the hospital after falling and breaking my ankle in my backyard, and being transported to the emergency room via ambulance. What transpired in the ER, from x-rays to having my ankle reduced and splinted, was exactly as described in the book. I did spend almost a week in the hospital: I needed surgery and could not go home by myself before that happened, and, because elective surgery had just resumed after the pandemic and the surgeon I needed and wanted was extremely busy, it was not until two days after the accident that I was able to have surgery.

I wish I had had this book during this hospital stay, because after another four days in the hospital I was sent to inpatient rehabilitation, where I stayed for about ten days. I frankly don’t remember hardly any discussion at all about this - I just sort of found out that that was the plan and wasn’t really well prepared for what to expect. It was only after reading the post operative notes that I noticed a notation saying that I was to be released to intensive inpatient rehabilitation. (I could write my own book about that experience!)

In retrospect, one thing the book highly recommended was naming a friend or family member to be my liaison with the hospital, the surgeon, and the rehab facility. I was in a great deal of pain and quite frankly very traumatized by what had happened to me and was so overwhelmed by all the people talking at me that I was only able to communicate with my family, who are not local, and local friends was almost exclusively by text message. I learned later that my sisters were quite frantic and had I had the presence of mind, or this handy guide to help me, I would have made a point of creating a point person for myself.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would recommend this straightforward, common sense guide to my friends and family.

Prescription for Admission
A Doctor's Guide for Navigating the Hospital, Advocating for Yourself, and Having a Better Hospitalization
by: Monique Nugent
Charm Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association (BPA), Members' Titles
Health, Mind and Body, Nonfiction (Adult)

This book is a valuable resource for anyone who is facing a hospital stay now or perhaps in the future. The author Dr. Nugent describes what to expect during the stay and gives tips on communication throughout the stay and during discharge. The well-organized book and user-friendly book is divided into six sections covering many aspects of hospital stays and health planning.

Thank you to Net Galley and Charm Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association (BPA), Members' Titles for the advance reader's copy. My review is my own.