Topic Overview

Hospitals can be big, confusing places, especially if you've never been a patient in one before.

But by taking the time to learn about how hospitals work and what you can expect, you may be able to lower your stress and concentrate on what's important: feeling better.

Before You Go

There is much you can do ahead of time to make your hospital experience go more smoothly.

• Preparing for Your Hospital Stay
• Preparing Your Child for the Hospital

Learn how to manage stress

• Stress Management
• Stress in Children and Teenagers
• Stop Negative Thoughts: Choosing a Healthier Way of Thinking
• Tapping the Power of Optimism

Fill out important forms

• Advance Care Planning
• Choosing a Substitute Decision-Maker

What to Expect

How the hospital works

• At the Hospital: Checking In
• Medical Specialists
• Hospital Isolation Rooms

Being an active patient

• Making Wise Health Decisions
• Hospital Patient Advocates
• Work Closely With Your Doctor
• Working With More Than One Doctor

Your treatment

• Surgery: What to Expect
• Anesthesia
• Health Problems and Risks of Anesthesia

Making decisions about your treatment

• Smart Decisions: Know Your Options
• Medical Tests: Questions to Ask the Doctor
• Monitoring Your Medicines in the Hospital

Preventing problems

• Prevent Medical Errors
• Keeping Track of Medicines
• Hospital Staph Infections (MRSA)
• Avoiding Infections in the Hospital
• Preventing Falls in the Hospital

Your child in the hospital

• NICU: Communicating With the Staff About Your Baby
• Ways to Comfort a Baby in the Hospital
• Preparing Your Child for the Hospital

When—and After—You Leave

As a smart patient, you want to find out exactly what you need to do after you leave the hospital to stay as healthy as possible.

Taking charge of your health after you're home is one of the best ways to prevent a return trip to the hospital.

• Leaving the Hospital
• Hospital Discharge Checklist
• Organizing Your Medical Records
• Living With More Than One Health Problem