Discharge day: What to expect

At the end of your hospital inpatient stay you will be "discharged" from our oncology floor. Unfortunately, the whole discharge process generally takes several hours.

On your discharge day, you will need to be seen by your physician to plan for any follow-up tests, treatment, or MD visits; and to make sure your physician writes you any prescriptions you may need for any old or new medications.

Your physician will review with you what medications and dosages you usually take and what medications you will need to continue at home. It’s at this point our patients most often mistakenly think they are ready to leave the hospital. However, the nurse is required to enter into the computer any changes the physician has made to the home medications and add any new ones that the patient is expected to take.

Then the nurse reviews what medications have already been given that day and what time your next doses are due, preparing you for your care away from the hospital. In addition, the nurse must prepare you for discharge.

Additional Nurse Responsibilities
You are continually healing, which means we may need to educate you on specific processes that will need to occur at home. We may also ask you to repeat your care plan back to us, so that we can ensure we communicated it properly to you. Any additional social services or help from outside services (like physical therapy or oxygen companies) are also arranged during this time. At all times while you are in the hospital we are responsible for your care. After all, your healing is our most important priority.

You might also like:

• Your Inpatient Admission: What to expect
• Your Inpatient Stay: What to expect

Comments

[Susan Hile]

This was a wonderful article. My husband was discharged at a different hospital but it all rings true no matter where. My favorite tropical fruit is pineapple.