Ask a Nurse The ExCS site has teamed with a registered nurse and paramedic with a background in healthcare education and public health. Married to a former-CS, the Nurse would like to share their experience with the healthcare system, and answer any questions former-CS may have! The Nurse will NOT get involved in diagnosing or giving medical advice, but if there are questions folks have related to going to a doctor, explaining medical terminology, how to advocate for yourself in healthcare, and so on, they might have a perspective that can help.
Navigating the intricacies of the healthcare world can be difficult, and that’s for those of us who work in the healthcare system! For people who aren’t employed in healthcare but have a fundamental understanding of the system, especially in the US, it can still be daunting. For those folks who may have never interacted with, (or worse, been made to fear), the healthcare world, it can be downright overwhelming. I’m a registered nurse and paramedic, though I didn’t grow up in CS, I’m married to someone who did. As we dated and eventually married, I discovered just how ill-informed and unfamiliar she was with the healthcare world. Ironically, the healthcare world is very ill-informed and unfamiliar with CS. In nursing and paramedic school I learned all about Jehovah’s Witnesses, but I had never even heard of Christian Scientists until I met my wife, at which point I had been working in healthcare for nearly a decade. When I would ask friends and colleagues if they had ever heard of Christian Science, many of them would say, “Of course! Isn’t Tom Cruise a Christian Scientist?”
I’m hoping to use this forum to bridge this knowledge gap and provide a conduit for ex-CS’ers to have a safe space to ask healthcare related questions and get accurate and reliable answers. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’m experienced in the healthcare field, I understand the lingo, and I definitely have access to experts. One thing I can’t do is diagnose or give much medical advice beyond telling you to go see a doctor. That said, I can help with terminology, how to speak with medical providers, and help you find your way through this crazy system.
As a new contributor, I want to make this as useful and relevant as I can. In addition to being a nurse and paramedic, I also have a master’s degree in nursing with a focus on public health. Having met several ex-CS folks and having read several books and articles on Christian Science, I realized the value of having someone who can help guide those less familiar through the healthcare system. Questions posted through the site will be routed to me and I’ll answer them. Of course, this is not a rapid system, if you have a healthcare concern you think requires immediate assistance, go to the hospital or call 911, speaking of, what happens when you call 911?
What to expect when calling 911
Calling an ambulance can bring on a fair amount of anxiety. With rare exceptions, most people don’t call an ambulance very often in their lives. When they do, it’s because they need emergency care for themselves, or a loved one. Now when you dial those three numbers, like you’ve probably seen on TV, someone answers the line asking “911 what’s your emergency?” After ascertaining the nature of the emergency, other dispatchers will begin to direct the appropriate ambulance to your location. Once the ambulance arrives, the responders will begin asking you questions. Most will be pretty easy to answer. Obviously, they are going to ask why you called 911, they’ll ask for your name, date of birth/age, and, (now we get into the tricky part), if you have any medical history (which you may or may not know). They’re also going to ask if you have allergies to any foods or medicines (which again, you may or may not know). They’re going to ask if you take any medicines routinely. As you’re already in a vulnerable state, a ton of emotions are probably flowing through you. Fear, pain, embarrassment, & shame are all possible emotions and feelings you may have. You also may not want to get into the intricacies of CS and Mary Baker Eddy. So, if you don’t know your medical history, the easiest thing to do is tell the EMS providers that you grew up in a family that didn’t use medicine, and you either don’t know or are unsure of your medical history or allergies. They might raise an eyebrow for a second, but believe me, we’ve encountered stranger things (I won’t mention the guy I picked up once, with the thing, in the place, it shouldn’t be), so not knowing your medical history won’t shock us.
There are some patients that believe calling an ambulance will speed up the process to see a doctor. I can tell you for a fact, this isn’t true. I have definitely brought patients into an ER, via my ambulance, and been told to bring those patients to a chair in the waiting room. Others may believe if they call 911 for a loved one, the ambulance has to take them to the hospital, also not true. If you call an ambulance for a loved one, and the person is over 18 years of age and of sound mind, if they tell the EMS providers they don’t want to go to the hospital, they can’t take them. They may be bleeding out all over the street, but if they say they don’t want to go, and EMS takes them against their will, that’s kidnapping. Legally, the EMS providers can be arrested and charged. Now, this isn’t to discourage you from calling 911 if you need it. You should absolutely call 911 if you think you need help.
Point is, most of us who got into healthcare did so because we genuinely want to help people. So, when you tell us you’re not sure of your medical history, most healthcare providers are simply going to note that fact, and continue treating you. One thing to never do, is be afraid to ask questions. If a provider is saying something that doesn’t make sense or is unclear, ask them to clarify. Tell them to explain it to you like you’re a 5th grader. We throw around jargon almost as badly as the military (the first time I worked in an ER someone had written next to the patient’s name “SOB,” which I thought was a bad attempt to warn staff of a difficult patient, actually it means “short of breath”).
As intimidating as it might be, do your best to get clarification if you don’t understand something. Providers may get frustrated, especially if they believe they already clarified something, but as I tell my wife, push the person to give you an answer that you understand. Some ex-CS’ers I know never attended biology class or sex education in high school or college. There may be things we in healthcare assume everyone knows, but if you haven’t even taken a high school biology class, you may have a severe blind spot.
Truth is, even though you’ve called 911 for an emergency, rarely is something such an emergency that providers don’t have time to answer questions. I once treated a patient who was CS, and was as close to dead as you can get while still alive. The patient’s spouse allowed me to treat their loved one, and despite how sick this person was, I was still able to provide the necessary care while explaining everything to the spouse and ensuring they were comfortable with the treatment I was providing.
In any case, calling EMS can provoke some anxiety, but it’s better to call them and find out later you didn’t need to, than to not call them, but realize later you should have. To quickly summarize:
- Understand the EMS provider may be a little thrown when you mention your background.
- Despite that, they should still treat you respectfully and with compassion.
- Get clarification and ask questions.
I hope this quick snapshot was helpful. If it was, leave a comment and feel free to ask me questions. Like I said in the beginning, I want to make this as relevant and helpful as I can for you; so, if there are questions or specific topics you’d like to be covered, let me know.
