Know Care Team Routines

Parents are urged to make it a point to meet the nurses who are assigned to care for their child. Nurses change shifts twice a day at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. During these times, the oncoming nurse will stop by to meet patients and their families. Make it a point to find out when physicians do rounds on each unit, so you are available to ask questions.

The entire health care team, including nurses, technicians, child life specialists and the child’s physician(s) are all people who will routinely interact with patients and their families. Other hospital staff who may enter the hospital room include housekeeping personnel, laboratory and dietary staff and volunteers who deliver flowers and assist with the patient’s discharge. If you’re unfamiliar with people who enter the room or if for some reason feel they’re suspicious, contact the nurse’s station using the call light.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask

In support of patient and family centered care, Miller Children’s encourages parents to partner with their health care team and accompany their child to any of their tests, procedures or other appointments. Parents should feel comfortable asking questions about their child’s care plans or where their child will be taken around the hospital during the patient’s stay.

Miller Children’s uses the “double-identifier” rule, before moving any child around the hospital. The member of the care team, who needs to move the child to another area of the hospital for an X-Ray or an MRI, will check both the name on the name band and the medical record number to ensure they match, before moving the child.