August 29, 2025 • 43 mins
The healthcare system can be a maze of hidden dangers, but what if you had an insider's guide to navigating it safely? Dr. Julie Siemers pulls back the curtain on hospital risks in this eye-opening conversation that could save your life or the life of someone you love.
Drawing from 45 years as a nurse educator and author of "Surviving Your Hospital Stay," Dr. Siemers reveals shocking statistics about medication errors, misdiagnoses, and the alarming fact that only 9% of newly graduated nurses demonstrate competency for safe practice. She shares practical tools anyone can use to protect themselves, from checking hospital safety grades before procedures to knowing exactly what to say when facing medical gaslighting or unwanted treatments.
The conversation takes unexpected turns as host Antoinette Lee shares her traumatic experience of nearly being given morphine despite a documented deadly allergy – complete with armed guards preventing her from leaving. Dr. Siemers provides clarity on patient rights, explaining when you can refuse care and how to escalate concerns through proper channels when facing resistance.
You'll discover how to select physicians who treat you as a partner rather than a passive recipient
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
but hidden hospital risk costs you or a loved one
your life.
Today, on new normal, big life,dr julie seamers, a nurse
educator, author of survivingyour hospital stay and life beat
solutions founder with 45 yearsof experience, reveals how to
stay safe in healthcare, fromuncovering hidden
(00:25):
hospitalization dangers toempowering patients against
gaslighting or premature healthdecisions.
She'll answer how to choose asafe hospital, your rights to
refuse treatment, how familiescan advocate for a comatose
patient.
Plus, dr Seamus shares tools tonavigate hospitals confidently,
tune in to advocate foryourself and transfer healthcare
(00:49):
one voice at a time.
Hi friends, welcome to the NewNormal, big Life podcast.
We bring you natural news andstories about nature that we
hope will inspire you to getoutside and adventure, along
with a step-by-step plan to helpyou practice what you've
learned and create your own newnormal and live the biggest life
you can dream.
I'm your host, antoinette Lee,the wellness warrior.
(01:10):
Dr Julie Seamers is a nurseeducator and founder of LifeBeat
Solutions.
She's dedicated a 45-yearcareer to preventing harm in
healthcare.
Lifebeat Solutions offerstraining that empowers nurses
with clinical judgment tools,communication skills to advocate
for patients and systems thatprioritize safety as a practice,
(01:33):
not just a policy.
Her mission is to transformnurse education to improve
patient outcomes.
One course, one hospital, onevoice at a time.
She's going to drop someinsights that will change your
life as a patient forever, sostay tuned.
Good morning, dr Seamers.
Thank you for joining us on New, normal, big Life.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Thank you for having me a guest on your show.
I feel honored.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I'd like to tap into your 45 years of healthcare
education and have you talked tous about what are the biggest
concerns that we, as patientsgoing into a hospital, don't
even know that we should beconcerned about?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, you know, this has been, like you said, a long
journey for me, but I think itcame into my awareness that when
I started researching patientsafety for my master's degree in
my doctoral project, becauseagain, being at the bedside and
seeing the confusion on so manypatients' faces because it truly
(02:38):
is speak a different language.
They don't know our routines,they don't even know who's in
charge, and so it brought medown this path of writing my
book, which was really trying tocover those topics that I felt
were essential for people toknow again, to become informed,
(02:58):
educated and empowered in theirhealthcare journey empowered in
their healthcare journey.
So when we look at thestatistics of what happens in
the hospital that can go wrongwith patients, I guess I was
surprised myself, even thoughI'm in the industry as a nurse,
but I was surprised at how manymedication errors happen, how
(03:19):
many any misdiagnosis or latediagnosis occur, and that really
again propelled me to helppeople figure out this really
confusing journey of especiallythe acute care setting right.
So that's a few of them that Ifound.
(03:41):
We could start there, if youlike.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Well, I also wanted to mention your book Surviving
your Hospital Stay A NurseEducator's Guide to Staying Safe
and Living, to Tell About it.
Can you also tell us about howdo we select the best and safest
hospitals?
And also I've heard there'ssome, I guess, secret sauce to
(04:05):
choosing the right time to go toa hospital.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yes, that's a very good question.
I assumed, even as a nurse,that pretty much all hospitals
were created equal, and they'rereally not.
There is a website calledhospitalsafetygradeorg.
It is a free website sponsoredby a nonprofit organization with
(04:31):
real data that ranks hospitalsin 22 categories of safety main
categories and then theirsubcategories.
And if I were going to havesurgery or even to be prepared
in case of an emergency, I wouldput in my zip code in my city
(04:53):
and look at the hospitals in myarea and see what their rank is.
And they're ranked from an Athrough an F, just like high
school or college grades, right.
And so all of the safety scoresare easy to read for patients.
You don't have to understand,you know medical language to see
in one category whether it'sred, yellow or green.
(05:16):
Obviously red, they're notdoing well.
Yellow, they've got room forimprovement and so each of these
22 categories are then rankedto come up with the main
category of the grade, theletter grade for the hospital.
So that is the best place tostart, but I'll just go a step
(05:37):
further.
But it also gives the patientthe knowledge to say hey, dr
Jones, you're doing ahysterectomy on me next week.
I see that the hospital thatwe've chosen doesn't do very
well in a few post-opcomplication areas.
(05:58):
Let's just choose one, likeblood clots, for example.
So how are we going to worktogether to ensure that I have
the best outcome possible andthat I won't get a blood clot
and then hopefully the doctorwill say well, this is the
evidence-based practice that weuse.
We make sure you get up andwalk, we put the sequential
(06:20):
compression stockings on you tosqueeze your blood, you know,
from the legs so it gets back upto your heart, and we take
those precautions maybe even ablood thinner, depending on what
type of surgery to prevent thatblood clot.
And that kind of brings me toanother point in the book is
about how to choose yourphysician.
You should be able to have thistype of conversation with your
(06:44):
provider that you pick, and ifyou don't, I would probably
choose another one.
That's excellent advice.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
It sounds like that's a great strategy for a doctor
who's open to having aconversation with their patients
, but as someone who spent a lotof time around doctors, both as
a practitioner and as a patient, you get a lot who don't want
to have that conversation.
(07:11):
They don't treat you as a equalparticipant in your healthcare.
It's kind of an attitudesometimes of I know what I'm
doing, you just need to trust me, and what I have felt is quite
a bit of pushback from doctorswhen you ask them questions,
(07:31):
when you want to hear youroptions, when you tell them you
want to take a moment to do someresearch on your own and maybe
give your office a call back andtell you which direction I want
to go.
I've had a fair amount ofpushback personally and I know a
lot of people I've talked tohave experienced that too.
So what can a patient do whenthey have a doctor that doesn't
(07:54):
want to treat them like an equalparticipant in their healthcare
?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
That's a challenge.
It is one of our patient rightsto have all of the information,
to take time After all, it'sour body, right?
It's our life, and the samesolution isn't going to be a
good fit for all patients.
I think that's a gap in medicaleducation for these doctors.
(08:19):
But I think we, as the patientside of it, have to reset the
culture, and we do that by nottaking a passive role, but
taking an active role as aprovider.
I would think I'd want someonethat was engaged in their health
care, because that meansthey're probably going to do,
(08:41):
you know, the lifestyle changesif necessary, that we're going
to work together as partners,and I think you know the
hierarchy that exists in ourculture, for medicine is really
difficult because you know,unfortunately I think we've
placed doctors on this pedestal,that number one they can do no
(09:02):
harm that they always mean well.
Well, they're humans and soharm may happen.
But I think the perspective ofa healthy dose of skepticism is
the way that today we need tooperate in the health care
system.
We can't make assumptions.
We have to do thatinvestigative work, as you
(09:26):
mentioned.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I really like the way you phrased that a healthy dose
of skepticism.
And so how can we equippatients to have language on
hand that they could use whenthey kind of want to pause,
(09:47):
because a doctor may say this isthe course of treatment and
we're going to get started now,or we're going to get started
and here's your appointment,before a patient has decided
that this is the course oftreatment they want to accept.
So what kind of language, whatwords, phrases could I use so
that I'm not perceived, or apatient is not perceived, as
someone who's being difficult orcombative, because doctors will
(10:11):
gaslight you and call you crazywhen you say hold on one moment
.
I want to think about this.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yeah, you're exactly right.
I think always how we approachthings with politeness and
standing your ground is to notbe pushed around and I think our
gut intuition is so disregardedor we're not ever taught to
(10:40):
listen to our gut intuition.
But when you're feelinghesitancy, I, as a provider,
would want that patient to feelcomfortable and to be on board
with a plan that we createtogether.
One of my patient safety heroeshe mentioned that we should be
(11:01):
asking not what's the matterwith you, but what matters to
you when we have theseconversations with healthcare
providers.
So we may have to train ourhealthcare provider about how we
want to be treated andrespected, and I think it's
(11:21):
approaching that with thatpoliteness.
But affirm this is what I needto do for me and I would hope
you, as a provider, wouldrespect that.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Would the next step if your doctor is still
resistant?
Would the next step be to askto speak to the patient advocate
at the hospital?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Absolutely.
That's a great resource.
No-transcript.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
What can we do to prepare ourselves for advocating
for ourselves and our familymembers before we get to the
hospital?
Are there steps we should takebeforehand, conversations we
should have with each other?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Yeah, understanding your medications, understanding
your medical history andresearching that on your own.
So you have a clearunderstanding Because you know
physicians in the officenowadays I think the latest I
read was they're seeing apatient every six minutes.
That's not enough time tounderstand you, and we know
(12:47):
medical, you know healthcare.
It's so complex.
You and I could have the samediagnosis, but you may have a
couple other disease processesthat I don't.
So it's very individualized andunfortunately there's not a lot
of time taken in today's worldand so the better prepared you
(13:07):
can go in there into thedoctor's office or if you're in
the hospital and have thatsuccinct conversation.
So maybe choose the top threequestions that you have for the
physician and just say here'swhat I know about myself, here's
what's important about my pastand here's where you know we're
(13:29):
moving forward with this.
And that's where I need yourexpert help, dr Jones, or
whatever, to help guide methrough this for the best
outcome for my.
You know my situation.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
That sounds like excellent advice.
I wish I had known that acouple of years ago.
I'd like to talk about some asituation that happened to me
that I think could potentiallyhappen to anyone.
We all know that any humanbeing can make a mistake, and I
had a situation where I calledmy primary care physician.
(14:03):
They said you should go to theemergency room right now.
I think you're in renal failure, kidney failure which I did.
When I presented to theemergency room, I reminded them
that in my electronic recordthere is an allergy to morphine.
I'm deathly allergic tomorphine and any drug in that
(14:25):
class.
It's been in my medical recordsfor several years now and the
person checking me in said I seethat it's in your record, thank
you for telling me.
But they never gave me thebright neon, pink or green or
yellow bracelet that says hey,alert, there's something going
(14:45):
on with me that's different andyou should come check this out.
So I asked for the bracelet andshe never did provide it, but I
thought maybe they'll give itto me later.
It was let's see 2022 when thishappened.
So I went in.
(15:06):
The doctor came in briefly, toldhim my symptoms and what my
primary care physician said, andI was in moderate pain, but I
wasn't screaming, I wasn'tagitated, I was fairly calm and
sort of deep breathing throughthe pain.
The doctor came back with aneedle.
(15:34):
Well, I already had the salinedrip by then.
The doctor came back with aneedle and I asked what was in
the needle?
And he said morphine.
And I was shocked because Ijust told you I was allergic to
morphine.
Then he leaves.
A nurse comes in.
She has morphine.
She leaves After I objected tothe morphine.
A second doctor comes in.
He tries to give me morphine.
I objected.
(15:55):
He leaves.
A fourth person, another nursecomes in and starts yelling at
me about refusing health care.
What could I have donedifferently in this situation?
Because what they were about todo could have killed me, wow.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I would have thought that the first time you said,
hey, I'm allergic, somebodywould have checked your chart
and said, oh yes, change theorder and gave you an allergy
band.
So what I suggest is, any timeanyone in the hospital is having
any kind of challenge that thenurse is not paying attention or
(16:36):
listening or sometimes it caneven be the doctor escalate.
There's a chain of command, sothe charge nurse, and then
there's a house supervisor who'sover all of nursing.
There's one 24-7.
And then there's also anadministrator on call if it's
nights or weekends, and so thereis always someone that you can
(16:58):
escalate to.
And I would keep persisting andpushing until you got resolved,
because, heaven forbid had youbecame confused because of any
reason you know your oxygen'slow, you're becoming more
critical and you weren't able tospeak up then, yeah, that could
(17:20):
have been the end of you, asyou know.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Well, the second piece to this and this is
another question that's been onthe minds of a lot of my
listeners when is it our rightto get up and just leave the
hospital?
And here's why I asked In thissituation they put three armed
security guards outside my door.
(17:44):
Mind you, I'd never raised myvoice.
I wasn't agitated.
I really assumed it was amistake.
I come from a healthcarebackground.
I trusted the system, right, Ididn't think any.
I wasn't upset, I was scaredand I was never agitated.
(18:04):
But they put three armed guardsoutside my door.
The doctors, the nurses and theguards were constantly
whispering and looking at me andmade me very afraid and I was
afraid to leave.
I didn't know in that momentwhat my rights were about
leaving, especially on the heelsof COVID.
I didn't have COVID.
(18:26):
I haven't actually never hadCOVID.
I have a strong immune systembut I didn't have COVID.
But things kind of changedduring COVID.
They kicked family members out.
My family members did advocatefor me, but it went to deaf ears
.
And then they put armed guardsoutside our door and none of us
(18:46):
ever got agitated, never raisedvoice, never used foul language
or any of those things, finallyhad to say that I have the chief
of police on in my cell phoneand I'm going to call him, if
you don't allow me to leave, andtell him that I need an escort
(19:08):
out of the hospital.
What else if someone who's notempowered with the chief of
police's phone number, what canyou do when you feel you've been
made to feel like you're notallowed to leave?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Yeah, my understanding is that anyone can
leave AMA against medicaladvice.
They will just write in yourchart patient left against
medical advice.
The only way I think they canrestrain you from leaving is if
you've been deemedpsychologically unstable, which
obviously doesn't sound likethat was the case.
(19:40):
I think that's overkill andridiculous.
What happened to you?
I would ask for the nursingsupervisor again take it up the
chain of command.
But you're going to have toescalate pretty quickly up to
the administrator on call if youneed to go that far, if they
lay hands on you again.
This is what I was taught innursing school.
(20:00):
I don't think it's changed.
That's assault and battery, youknow so.
They're disregarding all ofyour patient rights.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
It was a very, very scary time for myself and for my
family.
We did leave, but again I hadto say, hey, I know this person
and I will even dial 911 if Ihave to, but I don't feel safe
leaving.
Imagine being in a hospital andthere's three people with guns
(20:34):
outside your door because you'retelling them that I'm allergic
to this drug that you wanted toadminister.
So it was very frightening andI'm still pretty traumatized by
it.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
I don't blame you.
That sounds like a horrificexperience.
I'm so sorry.
Healthcare is supposed to besafe.
You know we go to get treatedbecause something's wrong with
us treated because something'swrong with us and the healthcare
profession has been trained tohelp us.
So I don't understand thetransition that's been happening
(21:08):
the last few years.
That has made it even morescary, which is why I think
again, why informing andeducating ourselves is the most
powerful antidote to not gettinggood care.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Recently in the news there's been a lot of talk about
harvesting organs from patientswho are deemed brain dead and
family members who are pushingback and even recording
themselves being bullied andgaslit by hospital
administrators saying that youhave to talk to this
(21:48):
organization about donating yourfamily members organs, even
though the family is stillhoping their family member will
wake up and recover, will wakeup and recover, and they're
being not just pressured butbullied into it and telling them
that they have to have thisconversation at this moment and
(22:10):
that the hospital staff werevery combative with the videos
that I've seen.
What can we do to protectourselves and our family members
in the event that you areunresponsive, deemed brain dead
and you're being asked to donateorgans?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
news reports of patients that were not dead and
started moving on the way to theOR for the you know organ
retrieval, which is super scary.
I think they're unusualcircumstances but again, you
know, as a family member Iprobably would not leave their
bedside.
And if you have to get anattorney or threaten to get an
attorney to protect your rights,this is just insanity.
(23:05):
It feels like the world isturned upside down and inside
out as to you know, respect.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Right.
It seems like there's a bountyon human life human life and it
feels very frightening whenyou're counting on your
healthcare providers to save yousometimes and to save your
limbs and to save your life.
How do we know who is a goodhealthcare provider that well?
(23:36):
I think I understand that theyno longer give the Hippocratic
Oath in medical school, but Ithought I read that recently.
But how do we?
I guess intuition is probablythe answer, but how do you know
whom you can trust?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
I think, again, it has to be a conversation, and if
they're not willing to engagewith you in a conversation, that
I would choose another provider.
You know, it's really kind ofsad in this country too that the
health care insurance companieskind of hold us hostage and, no
, you can't go to anybody youwant.
Here's a couple of providersthat you can go to.
(24:15):
I just saw someone's a doctor'stick tock the other day that
was talking about.
You know, her suggestion isit's not right for everybody,
but to step back, pay for thingsout of pocket and have a
catastrophic medical care policy.
You know, and that is anotheroption to really choose your
(24:37):
provider and listens to you.
I know we're going back to thatand have that conversation.
(25:06):
So if I were planning anelective surgery let's just say
I had to have a total hipreplacement I would want to know
how many surgeries of that kindthat the doctor has done.
I would want to know theinfection rates at that hospital
, all of those things to takeinto account instead of just,
(25:29):
you know, blindly nodding ourhead and agreeing with
everything.
And again, that's the informedconsumer.
You know, just like I equate itto reading labels.
You know, on the on the jar.
Oh, this has got some chemicals.
I don't know how to say theirname.
Maybe I shouldn't be adjustingthis.
And it's kind of similar inchoosing a provider.
(25:51):
You know how easily are they.
Do they have a conversationwith you?
Do they get defensive?
Do they say things like you Dothey get defensive?
Do they say things like, well,I'm the best.
Well, really, maybe there's alittle ego there.
I would rather have a physiciansay I'm not sure.
Let's look it up together, orlet's explore together and
(26:14):
really partner with you.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I love those ideas.
Can you explain a little bitmore about concierge healthcare?
How does that work?
Speaker 2 (26:23):
to a certain physician that offers concierge
services, so they're going to bemore expensive, but they have a
(26:43):
lot less patients also, andthere's certain agreements.
I think that they agree withyou that they're going to come
see you in the hospital, whichmeans the hospitalist or the
hospital that hires the doctorthat works for them.
You have your own instead ofsomeone else assigned to you or
the hospital that hires thedoctor that works for them you
(27:05):
have your own instead of someoneelse assigned to you.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Wow, that sounds amazing.
I really liked that idea.
Especially if you have along-term or very serious
condition that you're in thehospital for, can we back up and
talk about just going in to seea specialist or your general
practitioner?
There I have been tospecialists a neurologist, for
(27:30):
example, who has a pet project,and at the time that pet project
research project was Botox, andBotox is botulism for the
listeners as aox for chronicmigraine, and that neurologist
gaslit me every way possible.
So first he told me as a personin my thirties at the time that
(28:01):
, oh well, it's like a facelift.
And I said, yeah, you can tryagain, because Botox injections
for neurological issues are notdelivered in the face, they're
delivered in around thecircumference of the head.
So I was an informed patientand I think that's very
important to be.
(28:23):
And then the next step was well,I'm going to tell your
insurance company that you'rerefusing care and they may drop
you as a patient.
And I said, if you do that,then I'm going to speed dial a
reporter that I have on my phoneand you'll be on the news on
the 11 o'clock news tonight.
(28:44):
So what can we do when we're ina doctor's office and we've
also seen doctors whose parentswho've recorded their doctors
telling them that if you don'taccept this medication that I'm
recommending for your childafter have seen them one time
(29:07):
ever for five minutes, have seenthem one time ever for five
minutes and I want you to putyour child on this medication.
When the parent says I want toget some tests run, I want to
get more information before Imake this decision, the doctor
said he'll call Child ProtectiveServices and have her children
taken away.
(29:27):
What can we do in that case?
I know a lot of doctors willtell you put your phone down,
you can't record me, but whatelse can we do to protect
ourselves?
Speaker 2 (29:37):
I think taking notes and following up with gosh.
That is so crazy.
There has been a long historyof physicians getting paid by
drug companies to promote drugsor medications, and I know that
the federal law cracked down onthat.
(29:59):
For a while the pharmaceuticalreps could bring in lunches and
you know they've they've cutdown or cracked down on that for
the sole purpose of preventingthe biases or whatever.
It's illegal, I believe.
I mean, I haven't researched itto that degree, but that's what
(30:22):
I would do as a parent and saywhat are my rights, and I
wouldn't just use Google,because I think Google is way
behind times and I think you getsome wonky results when you're
Googling something like that.
There is a, an AI product calledand I don't make any money from
(30:43):
it, of course, but I've used.
It's called perplexityai andwhat that will do is if you put
in the prompt that says I'm aconcerned parent, the doctor
wants to give my child thismedication, you know, you just
put the situation in there andyou say please provide me with
(31:06):
the research articles, becausethat's what perplexity is really
good at is research Findarticles from only the past five
years, because you want youknow the most recent and start
gathering all that data, you caneven say what are my rights as
a parent?
How would I protect myself thatCPS does not have jurisdiction
(31:28):
over?
What do I need to document?
I think a lot of people arescared of AI, but I also think
it's a great gift if utilizedproperly.
So does AI sometimes give wonkyadvice?
Yes, but if you ask for theresearch and it's gotten so much
better that you can say, ohwell, this medical journal
(31:49):
states this and arm yourselfAgain, get informed and get
educated.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Wow, you've given us so much great information, but
you've also developed LifeBeatsolutions that can help
healthcare providers providesafer treatment.
Tell us a little bit aboutLifeBeat.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Yeah, that project came about after I finished my
book to help patients and theirfamilies.
I still teach nursing studentsand I know I've been in the
industry for 16 years of nursingeducation and I know that
nursing schools are reallytrying.
But I also know that there'shuge gaps in education.
(32:29):
When the nurses get out, andmost of them will work in an
acute care facility that isunderstaffed I mean, that's
talked about all over the placeit's not just one hospital or
one state, whether it be thehospital trying to contain their
budget, you know, makes itreally difficult for the nurse
(32:53):
to take all the safety steps orto even think so twofold.
I wanted to fill the gaps.
What I thought were veryimportant from an educator
standpoint of this is whatnurses need to do on every
single patient, a lot of them.
What I've heard from my studentsout there in the clinical world
(33:13):
a lot of nurses skip anassessment.
They don't do a patientassessment.
I'm like, oh my gosh, that'sthe foundation of your daily
practice is a baselineassessment.
Breast sounds, what do thelungs sound?
Like?
Heart sounds, neurologicalstatus, all those things.
And like heart sounds, you know, neurological status, all those
things.
And so re-educating that's whatLifeBeat Solutions was for.
(33:35):
I've got 35 courses now andpromoting it to hospitals to say
you can't assume, because thenurse passed her NCLEX and now
has a nursing license, thatshe's safe.
Because the latest studythere's been three, but the
latest study, done in 2021, ofassessing new grads with a
(33:56):
nursing license over a five-hourexam and this was a huge study,
over 5,000 participants, 26different states and 141
different nursing schools foundthat only 9% of the new grads
are competent, safe and readyfor practice.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Wow, that's frightening.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
It is.
And again, that's why you know,I still, on my social media,
talk to patients and theirfamilies.
How can you partner with thenurse?
And you may get a nurse thatsays you know something not very
nice or whatever, maybe feelsthreatened.
But I'm trying to change theculture of healthcare and that's
(34:39):
why I did my TEDx talk on thattopic was patients and their
families.
What's your responsibility andhow can you own it?
And same with healthcareproviders.
Healthcare providers mustlisten, because who knows the
family better?
Hey, and same with healthcareproviders.
Healthcare providers mustlisten, because who knows the
family better?
Hey, something's wrong with myson.
I need you to.
I'm really concerned.
I need you to check him out,which is where you know.
(35:01):
I talk about the cuss words I'mconcerned, uncomfortable,
scared or there's a safety issue.
So I think we have to approachthis from different angles to
really take a spotlight on theproblem and how we can address
it.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
Dr Seamers, you have been a wealth of information
today.
I thank you so much.
I feel better educated as apatient, and I think my
listeners will too.
What else would you like totell us today?
Speaker 2 (35:31):
Yeah, I give a lot of tips on my social media every
day.
I'm actually building an appright now for patients and their
families, and you know how do I?
Nobody really wants to carryaround a book right and say, oh,
what did she say about tubes?
To help.
Also, my website.
I write blogs that are coveredon LinkedIn.
(35:53):
It's just.
For example, I wrote what is themost significant vital sign
that tells us the earliestindicator of patient
deterioration, and nurses don'teven know this it's respiratory
rate.
And nurses don't even know thisit's respiratory rate.
So 80% of nurses in researchsay, yeah, I don't count it, I
(36:17):
just write down a number.
And I'll confess, early in myyears I did not know why
respiratory rate was soimportant.
I did the same thing and nowagain trying to get the message
out.
There is to respiratory ratecan indicate that early.
You know failure of a patient,their clinical status.
(36:37):
One thing I learned in myresearch was those physiological
signs that point to clinicaldeterioration in a patient.
They happen six to 24 hoursprior to an unplanned cardiac
arrest.
So there's time for us asfamily members to say, if the
(36:58):
nurse didn't notice, hey, mydad's breathing is 24 times a
minute.
I know that's not normal.
Can you help figure out what'sgoing on?
Or my dad is confused, eventhough he's 70, this is not
normal for him and I know thatconfusion can be caused by
different physiological factors.
Can we figure that out?
Speaker 1 (37:20):
I love this.
Please go out and get a copy ofSurviving your Hospital Stay.
There will be links to all ofthe social media platforms,
websites and the book in theshow description.
Thank you for joining us today,dr Seamers.
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Thank you for having me.
I hope your audience learned athing or two and feel more
comfortable in using their voiceand speaking up.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
After this short break, we'll be back with more
from Dr Julie Seamers.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
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Speaker 1 (39:16):
Before we cover the next topic in this episode, I
want to introduce you to theadventure sports lifestyle with
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The adventure sports lifestyleand my deep connection to nature
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So here's the story.
It's flooding everywhere, allover the country.
There are floods, wildfires,all kinds of natural disasters
(39:40):
happening right now.
Are you prepared?
What if you wake up tomorrowand all of the stores are closed
, you don't have access tomedications you might need,
medical supplies you need andyour family's stuck at home,
let's say, for the next twoweeks?
Do you have enough food, water,shelter, safety, security and
(40:02):
an exit strategy if where youlive becomes unlivable for a
time?
In this episode of New, NormalBig Life, I want you to think
about preparedness and beingable to support yourself and
your family for two weeks.
Today we're talking about firstaid and we want you to consider
your healthcare needs during adisaster.
(40:23):
During a disaster, you mightnot have access to go to the
pharmacy, the doctor, and itdoesn't have to be a disaster,
it could just be social unrest,where it's just unsafe to leave
your home, or we can haveanother lockdown.
Do you have enough of themedical supplies that you need,
like hoses for your CPAP machineor any supplements that you
(40:45):
might take first aid materialslike antibacterial ointments and
bandages?
Talk to your doctor aboutgetting a three-month or 90-day
supply of medications to havethem on hand in case you can't
get out to get what you need orthere's no meal because you're
(41:05):
in a disaster situation.
Now's the time to prepare, notwhen some kind of natural
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You want to get prepared nowbecause everyone's preparing at
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Also, it's expensive to buyextra food and storable water
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(41:28):
so space those purchases outover time.
So start planning now.
What will you need from a firstaid basis and a natural health
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a time in the future?
I hope this inspires you tothink about preparedness and
start your 14 days ofpreparedness today and protect
(41:53):
yourself and those you love.
Now back to Dr Julie Seamerswith more incredible insights.
Until next time, friends, I'mAntoinette Lee, your wellness
noria here at the New Normal BigLife Podcast.
I hope one day to see you onthe river in the back country or
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(42:16):
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but hidden hospital risk costs you or a loved one
your life.
Today, on new normal, big life,dr julie seamers, a nurse
educator, author of survivingyour hospital stay and life beat
solutions founder with 45 yearsof experience, reveals how to
stay safe in healthcare, fromuncovering hidden
(00:25):
hospitalization dangers toempowering patients against
gaslighting or premature healthdecisions.
She'll answer how to choose asafe hospital, your rights to
refuse treatment, how familiescan advocate for a comatose
patient.
Plus, dr Seamus shares tools tonavigate hospitals confidently,
tune in to advocate foryourself and transfer healthcare
(00:49):
one voice at a time.
Hi friends, welcome to the NewNormal, big Life podcast.
We bring you natural news andstories about nature that we
hope will inspire you to getoutside and adventure, along
with a step-by-step plan to helpyou practice what you've
learned and create your own newnormal and live the biggest life
you can dream.
I'm your host, antoinette Lee,the wellness warrior.
(01:10):
Dr Julie Seamers is a nurseeducator and founder of LifeBeat
Solutions.
She's dedicated a 45-yearcareer to preventing harm in
healthcare.
Lifebeat Solutions offerstraining that empowers nurses
with clinical judgment tools,communication skills to advocate
for patients and systems thatprioritize safety as a practice,
(01:33):
not just a policy.
Her mission is to transformnurse education to improve
patient outcomes.
One course, one hospital, onevoice at a time.
She's going to drop someinsights that will change your
life as a patient forever, sostay tuned.
Good morning, dr Seamers.
Thank you for joining us on New, normal, big Life.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Thank you for having me a guest on your show.
I feel honored.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I'd like to tap into your 45 years of healthcare
education and have you talked tous about what are the biggest
concerns that we, as patientsgoing into a hospital, don't
even know that we should beconcerned about?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, you know, this has been, like you said, a long
journey for me, but I think itcame into my awareness that when
I started researching patientsafety for my master's degree in
my doctoral project, becauseagain, being at the bedside and
seeing the confusion on so manypatients' faces because it truly
(02:38):
is speak a different language.
They don't know our routines,they don't even know who's in
charge, and so it brought medown this path of writing my
book, which was really trying tocover those topics that I felt
were essential for people toknow again, to become informed,
(02:58):
educated and empowered in theirhealthcare journey empowered in
their healthcare journey.
So when we look at thestatistics of what happens in
the hospital that can go wrongwith patients, I guess I was
surprised myself, even thoughI'm in the industry as a nurse,
but I was surprised at how manymedication errors happen, how
(03:19):
many any misdiagnosis or latediagnosis occur, and that really
again propelled me to helppeople figure out this really
confusing journey of especiallythe acute care setting right.
So that's a few of them that Ifound.
(03:41):
We could start there, if youlike.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Well, I also wanted to mention your book Surviving
your Hospital Stay A NurseEducator's Guide to Staying Safe
and Living, to Tell About it.
Can you also tell us about howdo we select the best and safest
hospitals?
And also I've heard there'ssome, I guess, secret sauce to
(04:05):
choosing the right time to go toa hospital.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yes, that's a very good question.
I assumed, even as a nurse,that pretty much all hospitals
were created equal, and they'rereally not.
There is a website calledhospitalsafetygradeorg.
It is a free website sponsoredby a nonprofit organization with
(04:31):
real data that ranks hospitalsin 22 categories of safety main
categories and then theirsubcategories.
And if I were going to havesurgery or even to be prepared
in case of an emergency, I wouldput in my zip code in my city
(04:53):
and look at the hospitals in myarea and see what their rank is.
And they're ranked from an Athrough an F, just like high
school or college grades, right.
And so all of the safety scoresare easy to read for patients.
You don't have to understand,you know medical language to see
in one category whether it'sred, yellow or green.
(05:16):
Obviously red, they're notdoing well.
Yellow, they've got room forimprovement and so each of these
22 categories are then rankedto come up with the main
category of the grade, theletter grade for the hospital.
So that is the best place tostart, but I'll just go a step
(05:37):
further.
But it also gives the patientthe knowledge to say hey, dr
Jones, you're doing ahysterectomy on me next week.
I see that the hospital thatwe've chosen doesn't do very
well in a few post-opcomplication areas.
(05:58):
Let's just choose one, likeblood clots, for example.
So how are we going to worktogether to ensure that I have
the best outcome possible andthat I won't get a blood clot
and then hopefully the doctorwill say well, this is the
evidence-based practice that weuse.
We make sure you get up andwalk, we put the sequential
(06:20):
compression stockings on you tosqueeze your blood, you know,
from the legs so it gets back upto your heart, and we take
those precautions maybe even ablood thinner, depending on what
type of surgery to prevent thatblood clot.
And that kind of brings me toanother point in the book is
about how to choose yourphysician.
You should be able to have thistype of conversation with your
(06:44):
provider that you pick, and ifyou don't, I would probably
choose another one.
That's excellent advice.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
It sounds like that's a great strategy for a doctor
who's open to having aconversation with their patients
, but as someone who spent a lotof time around doctors, both as
a practitioner and as a patient, you get a lot who don't want
to have that conversation.
(07:11):
They don't treat you as a equalparticipant in your healthcare.
It's kind of an attitudesometimes of I know what I'm
doing, you just need to trust me, and what I have felt is quite
a bit of pushback from doctorswhen you ask them questions,
(07:31):
when you want to hear youroptions, when you tell them you
want to take a moment to do someresearch on your own and maybe
give your office a call back andtell you which direction I want
to go.
I've had a fair amount ofpushback personally and I know a
lot of people I've talked tohave experienced that too.
So what can a patient do whenthey have a doctor that doesn't
(07:54):
want to treat them like an equalparticipant in their healthcare
?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
That's a challenge.
It is one of our patient rightsto have all of the information,
to take time After all, it'sour body, right?
It's our life, and the samesolution isn't going to be a
good fit for all patients.
I think that's a gap in medicaleducation for these doctors.
(08:19):
But I think we, as the patientside of it, have to reset the
culture, and we do that by nottaking a passive role, but
taking an active role as aprovider.
I would think I'd want someonethat was engaged in their health
care, because that meansthey're probably going to do,
(08:41):
you know, the lifestyle changesif necessary, that we're going
to work together as partners,and I think you know the
hierarchy that exists in ourculture, for medicine is really
difficult because you know,unfortunately I think we've
placed doctors on this pedestal,that number one they can do no
(09:02):
harm that they always mean well.
Well, they're humans and soharm may happen.
But I think the perspective ofa healthy dose of skepticism is
the way that today we need tooperate in the health care
system.
We can't make assumptions.
We have to do thatinvestigative work, as you
(09:26):
mentioned.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I really like the way you phrased that a healthy dose
of skepticism.
And so how can we equippatients to have language on
hand that they could use whenthey kind of want to pause,
(09:47):
because a doctor may say this isthe course of treatment and
we're going to get started now,or we're going to get started
and here's your appointment,before a patient has decided
that this is the course oftreatment they want to accept.
So what kind of language, whatwords, phrases could I use so
that I'm not perceived, or apatient is not perceived, as
someone who's being difficult orcombative, because doctors will
(10:11):
gaslight you and call you crazywhen you say hold on one moment
.
I want to think about this.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yeah, you're exactly right.
I think always how we approachthings with politeness and
standing your ground is to notbe pushed around and I think our
gut intuition is so disregardedor we're not ever taught to
(10:40):
listen to our gut intuition.
But when you're feelinghesitancy, I, as a provider,
would want that patient to feelcomfortable and to be on board
with a plan that we createtogether.
One of my patient safety heroeshe mentioned that we should be
(11:01):
asking not what's the matterwith you, but what matters to
you when we have theseconversations with healthcare
providers.
So we may have to train ourhealthcare provider about how we
want to be treated andrespected, and I think it's
(11:21):
approaching that with thatpoliteness.
But affirm this is what I needto do for me and I would hope
you, as a provider, wouldrespect that.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Would the next step if your doctor is still
resistant?
Would the next step be to askto speak to the patient advocate
at the hospital?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Absolutely.
That's a great resource.
No-transcript.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
What can we do to prepare ourselves for advocating
for ourselves and our familymembers before we get to the
hospital?
Are there steps we should takebeforehand, conversations we
should have with each other?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Yeah, understanding your medications, understanding
your medical history andresearching that on your own.
So you have a clearunderstanding Because you know
physicians in the officenowadays I think the latest I
read was they're seeing apatient every six minutes.
That's not enough time tounderstand you, and we know
(12:47):
medical, you know healthcare.
It's so complex.
You and I could have the samediagnosis, but you may have a
couple other disease processesthat I don't.
So it's very individualized andunfortunately there's not a lot
of time taken in today's worldand so the better prepared you
(13:07):
can go in there into thedoctor's office or if you're in
the hospital and have thatsuccinct conversation.
So maybe choose the top threequestions that you have for the
physician and just say here'swhat I know about myself, here's
what's important about my pastand here's where you know we're
(13:29):
moving forward with this.
And that's where I need yourexpert help, dr Jones, or
whatever, to help guide methrough this for the best
outcome for my.
You know my situation.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
That sounds like excellent advice.
I wish I had known that acouple of years ago.
I'd like to talk about some asituation that happened to me
that I think could potentiallyhappen to anyone.
We all know that any humanbeing can make a mistake, and I
had a situation where I calledmy primary care physician.
(14:03):
They said you should go to theemergency room right now.
I think you're in renal failure, kidney failure which I did.
When I presented to theemergency room, I reminded them
that in my electronic recordthere is an allergy to morphine.
I'm deathly allergic tomorphine and any drug in that
(14:25):
class.
It's been in my medical recordsfor several years now and the
person checking me in said I seethat it's in your record, thank
you for telling me.
But they never gave me thebright neon, pink or green or
yellow bracelet that says hey,alert, there's something going
(14:45):
on with me that's different andyou should come check this out.
So I asked for the bracelet andshe never did provide it, but I
thought maybe they'll give itto me later.
It was let's see 2022 when thishappened.
So I went in.
(15:06):
The doctor came in briefly, toldhim my symptoms and what my
primary care physician said, andI was in moderate pain, but I
wasn't screaming, I wasn'tagitated, I was fairly calm and
sort of deep breathing throughthe pain.
The doctor came back with aneedle.
(15:34):
Well, I already had the salinedrip by then.
The doctor came back with aneedle and I asked what was in
the needle?
And he said morphine.
And I was shocked because Ijust told you I was allergic to
morphine.
Then he leaves.
A nurse comes in.
She has morphine.
She leaves After I objected tothe morphine.
A second doctor comes in.
He tries to give me morphine.
I objected.
(15:55):
He leaves.
A fourth person, another nursecomes in and starts yelling at
me about refusing health care.
What could I have donedifferently in this situation?
Because what they were about todo could have killed me, wow.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I would have thought that the first time you said,
hey, I'm allergic, somebodywould have checked your chart
and said, oh yes, change theorder and gave you an allergy
band.
So what I suggest is, any timeanyone in the hospital is having
any kind of challenge that thenurse is not paying attention or
(16:36):
listening or sometimes it caneven be the doctor escalate.
There's a chain of command, sothe charge nurse, and then
there's a house supervisor who'sover all of nursing.
There's one 24-7.
And then there's also anadministrator on call if it's
nights or weekends, and so thereis always someone that you can
(16:58):
escalate to.
And I would keep persisting andpushing until you got resolved,
because, heaven forbid had youbecame confused because of any
reason you know your oxygen'slow, you're becoming more
critical and you weren't able tospeak up then, yeah, that could
(17:20):
have been the end of you, asyou know.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Well, the second piece to this and this is
another question that's been onthe minds of a lot of my
listeners when is it our rightto get up and just leave the
hospital?
And here's why I asked In thissituation they put three armed
security guards outside my door.
(17:44):
Mind you, I'd never raised myvoice.
I wasn't agitated.
I really assumed it was amistake.
I come from a healthcarebackground.
I trusted the system, right, Ididn't think any.
I wasn't upset, I was scaredand I was never agitated.
(18:04):
But they put three armed guardsoutside my door.
The doctors, the nurses and theguards were constantly
whispering and looking at me andmade me very afraid and I was
afraid to leave.
I didn't know in that momentwhat my rights were about
leaving, especially on the heelsof COVID.
I didn't have COVID.
(18:26):
I haven't actually never hadCOVID.
I have a strong immune systembut I didn't have COVID.
But things kind of changedduring COVID.
They kicked family members out.
My family members did advocatefor me, but it went to deaf ears
.
And then they put armed guardsoutside our door and none of us
(18:46):
ever got agitated, never raisedvoice, never used foul language
or any of those things, finallyhad to say that I have the chief
of police on in my cell phoneand I'm going to call him, if
you don't allow me to leave, andtell him that I need an escort
(19:08):
out of the hospital.
What else if someone who's notempowered with the chief of
police's phone number, what canyou do when you feel you've been
made to feel like you're notallowed to leave?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Yeah, my understanding is that anyone can
leave AMA against medicaladvice.
They will just write in yourchart patient left against
medical advice.
The only way I think they canrestrain you from leaving is if
you've been deemedpsychologically unstable, which
obviously doesn't sound likethat was the case.
(19:40):
I think that's overkill andridiculous.
What happened to you?
I would ask for the nursingsupervisor again take it up the
chain of command.
But you're going to have toescalate pretty quickly up to
the administrator on call if youneed to go that far, if they
lay hands on you again.
This is what I was taught innursing school.
(20:00):
I don't think it's changed.
That's assault and battery, youknow so.
They're disregarding all ofyour patient rights.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
It was a very, very scary time for myself and for my
family.
We did leave, but again I hadto say, hey, I know this person
and I will even dial 911 if Ihave to, but I don't feel safe
leaving.
Imagine being in a hospital andthere's three people with guns
(20:34):
outside your door because you'retelling them that I'm allergic
to this drug that you wanted toadminister.
So it was very frightening andI'm still pretty traumatized by
it.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
I don't blame you.
That sounds like a horrificexperience.
I'm so sorry.
Healthcare is supposed to besafe.
You know we go to get treatedbecause something's wrong with
us treated because something'swrong with us and the healthcare
profession has been trained tohelp us.
So I don't understand thetransition that's been happening
(21:08):
the last few years.
That has made it even morescary, which is why I think
again, why informing andeducating ourselves is the most
powerful antidote to not gettinggood care.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Recently in the news there's been a lot of talk about
harvesting organs from patientswho are deemed brain dead and
family members who are pushingback and even recording
themselves being bullied andgaslit by hospital
administrators saying that youhave to talk to this
(21:48):
organization about donating yourfamily members organs, even
though the family is stillhoping their family member will
wake up and recover, will wakeup and recover, and they're
being not just pressured butbullied into it and telling them
that they have to have thisconversation at this moment and
(22:10):
that the hospital staff werevery combative with the videos
that I've seen.
What can we do to protectourselves and our family members
in the event that you areunresponsive, deemed brain dead
and you're being asked to donateorgans?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
news reports of patients that were not dead and
started moving on the way to theOR for the you know organ
retrieval, which is super scary.
I think they're unusualcircumstances but again, you
know, as a family member Iprobably would not leave their
bedside.
And if you have to get anattorney or threaten to get an
attorney to protect your rights,this is just insanity.
(23:05):
It feels like the world isturned upside down and inside
out as to you know, respect.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Right.
It seems like there's a bountyon human life human life and it
feels very frightening whenyou're counting on your
healthcare providers to save yousometimes and to save your
limbs and to save your life.
How do we know who is a goodhealthcare provider that well?
(23:36):
I think I understand that theyno longer give the Hippocratic
Oath in medical school, but Ithought I read that recently.
But how do we?
I guess intuition is probablythe answer, but how do you know
whom you can trust?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
I think, again, it has to be a conversation, and if
they're not willing to engagewith you in a conversation, that
I would choose another provider.
You know, it's really kind ofsad in this country too that the
health care insurance companieskind of hold us hostage and, no
, you can't go to anybody youwant.
Here's a couple of providersthat you can go to.
(24:15):
I just saw someone's a doctor'stick tock the other day that
was talking about.
You know, her suggestion isit's not right for everybody,
but to step back, pay for thingsout of pocket and have a
catastrophic medical care policy.
You know, and that is anotheroption to really choose your
(24:37):
provider and listens to you.
I know we're going back to thatand have that conversation.
(25:06):
So if I were planning anelective surgery let's just say
I had to have a total hipreplacement I would want to know
how many surgeries of that kindthat the doctor has done.
I would want to know theinfection rates at that hospital
, all of those things to takeinto account instead of just,
(25:29):
you know, blindly nodding ourhead and agreeing with
everything.
And again, that's the informedconsumer.
You know, just like I equate itto reading labels.
You know, on the on the jar.
Oh, this has got some chemicals.
I don't know how to say theirname.
Maybe I shouldn't be adjustingthis.
And it's kind of similar inchoosing a provider.
(25:51):
You know how easily are they.
Do they have a conversationwith you?
Do they get defensive?
Do they say things like you Dothey get defensive?
Do they say things like, well,I'm the best.
Well, really, maybe there's alittle ego there.
I would rather have a physiciansay I'm not sure.
Let's look it up together, orlet's explore together and
(26:14):
really partner with you.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I love those ideas.
Can you explain a little bitmore about concierge healthcare?
How does that work?
Speaker 2 (26:23):
to a certain physician that offers concierge
services, so they're going to bemore expensive, but they have a
(26:43):
lot less patients also, andthere's certain agreements.
I think that they agree withyou that they're going to come
see you in the hospital, whichmeans the hospitalist or the
hospital that hires the doctorthat works for them.
You have your own instead ofsomeone else assigned to you or
the hospital that hires thedoctor that works for them you
(27:05):
have your own instead of someoneelse assigned to you.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Wow, that sounds amazing.
I really liked that idea.
Especially if you have along-term or very serious
condition that you're in thehospital for, can we back up and
talk about just going in to seea specialist or your general
practitioner?
There I have been tospecialists a neurologist, for
(27:30):
example, who has a pet project,and at the time that pet project
research project was Botox, andBotox is botulism for the
listeners as aox for chronicmigraine, and that neurologist
gaslit me every way possible.
So first he told me as a personin my thirties at the time that
(28:01):
, oh well, it's like a facelift.
And I said, yeah, you can tryagain, because Botox injections
for neurological issues are notdelivered in the face, they're
delivered in around thecircumference of the head.
So I was an informed patientand I think that's very
important to be.
(28:23):
And then the next step was well,I'm going to tell your
insurance company that you'rerefusing care and they may drop
you as a patient.
And I said, if you do that,then I'm going to speed dial a
reporter that I have on my phoneand you'll be on the news on
the 11 o'clock news tonight.
(28:44):
So what can we do when we're ina doctor's office and we've
also seen doctors whose parentswho've recorded their doctors
telling them that if you don'taccept this medication that I'm
recommending for your childafter have seen them one time
(29:07):
ever for five minutes, have seenthem one time ever for five
minutes and I want you to putyour child on this medication.
When the parent says I want toget some tests run, I want to
get more information before Imake this decision, the doctor
said he'll call Child ProtectiveServices and have her children
taken away.
(29:27):
What can we do in that case?
I know a lot of doctors willtell you put your phone down,
you can't record me, but whatelse can we do to protect
ourselves?
Speaker 2 (29:37):
I think taking notes and following up with gosh.
That is so crazy.
There has been a long historyof physicians getting paid by
drug companies to promote drugsor medications, and I know that
the federal law cracked down onthat.
(29:59):
For a while the pharmaceuticalreps could bring in lunches and
you know they've they've cutdown or cracked down on that for
the sole purpose of preventingthe biases or whatever.
It's illegal, I believe.
I mean, I haven't researched itto that degree, but that's what
(30:22):
I would do as a parent and saywhat are my rights, and I
wouldn't just use Google,because I think Google is way
behind times and I think you getsome wonky results when you're
Googling something like that.
There is a, an AI product calledand I don't make any money from
(30:43):
it, of course, but I've used.
It's called perplexityai andwhat that will do is if you put
in the prompt that says I'm aconcerned parent, the doctor
wants to give my child thismedication, you know, you just
put the situation in there andyou say please provide me with
(31:06):
the research articles, becausethat's what perplexity is really
good at is research Findarticles from only the past five
years, because you want youknow the most recent and start
gathering all that data, you caneven say what are my rights as
a parent?
How would I protect myself thatCPS does not have jurisdiction
(31:28):
over?
What do I need to document?
I think a lot of people arescared of AI, but I also think
it's a great gift if utilizedproperly.
So does AI sometimes give wonkyadvice?
Yes, but if you ask for theresearch and it's gotten so much
better that you can say, ohwell, this medical journal
(31:49):
states this and arm yourselfAgain, get informed and get
educated.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Wow, you've given us so much great information, but
you've also developed LifeBeatsolutions that can help
healthcare providers providesafer treatment.
Tell us a little bit aboutLifeBeat.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Yeah, that project came about after I finished my
book to help patients and theirfamilies.
I still teach nursing studentsand I know I've been in the
industry for 16 years of nursingeducation and I know that
nursing schools are reallytrying.
But I also know that there'shuge gaps in education.
(32:29):
When the nurses get out, andmost of them will work in an
acute care facility that isunderstaffed I mean, that's
talked about all over the placeit's not just one hospital or
one state, whether it be thehospital trying to contain their
budget, you know, makes itreally difficult for the nurse
(32:53):
to take all the safety steps orto even think so twofold.
I wanted to fill the gaps.
What I thought were veryimportant from an educator
standpoint of this is whatnurses need to do on every
single patient, a lot of them.
What I've heard from my studentsout there in the clinical world
(33:13):
a lot of nurses skip anassessment.
They don't do a patientassessment.
I'm like, oh my gosh, that'sthe foundation of your daily
practice is a baselineassessment.
Breast sounds, what do thelungs sound?
Like?
Heart sounds, neurologicalstatus, all those things.
And like heart sounds, you know, neurological status, all those
things.
And so re-educating that's whatLifeBeat Solutions was for.
(33:35):
I've got 35 courses now andpromoting it to hospitals to say
you can't assume, because thenurse passed her NCLEX and now
has a nursing license, thatshe's safe.
Because the latest studythere's been three, but the
latest study, done in 2021, ofassessing new grads with a
(33:56):
nursing license over a five-hourexam and this was a huge study,
over 5,000 participants, 26different states and 141
different nursing schools foundthat only 9% of the new grads
are competent, safe and readyfor practice.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Wow, that's frightening.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
It is.
And again, that's why you know,I still, on my social media,
talk to patients and theirfamilies.
How can you partner with thenurse?
And you may get a nurse thatsays you know something not very
nice or whatever, maybe feelsthreatened.
But I'm trying to change theculture of healthcare and that's
(34:39):
why I did my TEDx talk on thattopic was patients and their
families.
What's your responsibility andhow can you own it?
And same with healthcareproviders.
Healthcare providers mustlisten, because who knows the
family better?
Hey, and same with healthcareproviders.
Healthcare providers mustlisten, because who knows the
family better?
Hey, something's wrong with myson.
I need you to.
I'm really concerned.
I need you to check him out,which is where you know.
(35:01):
I talk about the cuss words I'mconcerned, uncomfortable,
scared or there's a safety issue.
So I think we have to approachthis from different angles to
really take a spotlight on theproblem and how we can address
it.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
Dr Seamers, you have been a wealth of information
today.
I thank you so much.
I feel better educated as apatient, and I think my
listeners will too.
What else would you like totell us today?
Speaker 2 (35:31):
Yeah, I give a lot of tips on my social media every
day.
I'm actually building an appright now for patients and their
families, and you know how do I?
Nobody really wants to carryaround a book right and say, oh,
what did she say about tubes?
To help.
Also, my website.
I write blogs that are coveredon LinkedIn.
(35:53):
It's just.
For example, I wrote what is themost significant vital sign
that tells us the earliestindicator of patient
deterioration, and nurses don'teven know this it's respiratory
rate.
And nurses don't even know thisit's respiratory rate.
So 80% of nurses in researchsay, yeah, I don't count it, I
(36:17):
just write down a number.
And I'll confess, early in myyears I did not know why
respiratory rate was soimportant.
I did the same thing and nowagain trying to get the message
out.
There is to respiratory ratecan indicate that early.
You know failure of a patient,their clinical status.
(36:37):
One thing I learned in myresearch was those physiological
signs that point to clinicaldeterioration in a patient.
They happen six to 24 hoursprior to an unplanned cardiac
arrest.
So there's time for us asfamily members to say, if the
(36:58):
nurse didn't notice, hey, mydad's breathing is 24 times a
minute.
I know that's not normal.
Can you help figure out what'sgoing on?
Or my dad is confused, eventhough he's 70, this is not
normal for him and I know thatconfusion can be caused by
different physiological factors.
Can we figure that out?
Speaker 1 (37:20):
I love this.
Please go out and get a copy ofSurviving your Hospital Stay.
There will be links to all ofthe social media platforms,
websites and the book in theshow description.
Thank you for joining us today,dr Seamers.
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Thank you for having me.
I hope your audience learned athing or two and feel more
comfortable in using their voiceand speaking up.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
After this short break, we'll be back with more
from Dr Julie Seamers.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
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some very painful lessonsWithout warning.
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Speaker 1 (39:16):
Before we cover the next topic in this episode, I
want to introduce you to theadventure sports lifestyle with
what I like to call a microstory about an adventure that
I've had.
The adventure sports lifestyleand my deep connection to nature
is essential to my good health.
So here's the story.
It's flooding everywhere, allover the country.
There are floods, wildfires,all kinds of natural disasters
(39:40):
happening right now.
Are you prepared?
What if you wake up tomorrowand all of the stores are closed
, you don't have access tomedications you might need,
medical supplies you need andyour family's stuck at home,
let's say, for the next twoweeks?
Do you have enough food, water,shelter, safety, security and
(40:02):
an exit strategy if where youlive becomes unlivable for a
time?
In this episode of New, NormalBig Life, I want you to think
about preparedness and beingable to support yourself and
your family for two weeks.
Today we're talking about firstaid and we want you to consider
your healthcare needs during adisaster.
(40:23):
During a disaster, you mightnot have access to go to the
pharmacy, the doctor, and itdoesn't have to be a disaster,
it could just be social unrest,where it's just unsafe to leave
your home, or we can haveanother lockdown.
Do you have enough of themedical supplies that you need,
like hoses for your CPAP machineor any supplements that you
(40:45):
might take first aid materialslike antibacterial ointments and
bandages?
Talk to your doctor aboutgetting a three-month or 90-day
supply of medications to havethem on hand in case you can't
get out to get what you need orthere's no meal because you're
(41:05):
in a disaster situation.
Now's the time to prepare, notwhen some kind of natural
disaster or civil unrest hasbeen announced.
You want to get prepared nowbecause everyone's preparing at
that time.
Also, it's expensive to buyextra food and storable water
and medication and healthcaresupplements and first aid needs,
(41:28):
so space those purchases outover time.
So start planning now.
What will you need from a firstaid basis and a natural health
basis to have on hand in caseyou can't get what you need for
a time in the future?
I hope this inspires you tothink about preparedness and
start your 14 days ofpreparedness today and protect
(41:53):
yourself and those you love.
Now back to Dr Julie Seamerswith more incredible insights.
Until next time, friends, I'mAntoinette Lee, your wellness
noria here at the New Normal BigLife Podcast.
I hope one day to see you onthe river in the back country or
in the horse barn, living yourbest life Struggling with health
(42:16):
problems or seeking naturalhealth solutions.
Don't miss our latest podcastepisodes, exclusive blog posts
and free eBooks packed withlife-changing wellness tips.
Join our newsletter at nnblblogto unlock this bonus content
and start living your best lifetoday, Since 2012,.
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