Many unknown

We admitted an elderly patient last night with a left hip fracture.

Many issues came to light with this particular admit...

First... the patient had been walking around on this fractured hip for over a week. The patient claims that they saw their naturopathic physician after a fall last week. The doc told them that all they needed to do was rest and take Tylenol if absolutely necessary. As you can see, the patient turned back to western medicine and brought themselves to the hospital when the pain was just too much to take.

Second... to get the patients pain under control we had to use Morphine, Valium, and Dilaudid. How the heck did the patient get by at home??

Third... my favorite, the allergy list. One form said "many unknown." WTF does that mean?? Another form said "almost all medications." I think the naturopathic physician filled the patients head with some really good ideas. Honestly... if you tell us you are allergic to almost all medications... guess we can't give them to you. Unless you, as the patient, cannot tell me when you had a certain medication and what your reaction to it was... guess we are going to test the medication out. You just took three narcs... trial and error??

**This is not meant to sway any opinions regarding naturopathic medicice or slander naturopathic medicine in any way. It is just a story. As a healthcare provider I respect all people and their practice and/ or beliefs. It is simply unfortunate that this patient lived in pain for over a week.**