Trailer
You Have the Power to Ask for the Care You Deserve
Well Said Health with Robin L. Shapiro
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Show notes
Someone you have never met is running your hospital stay. Do you know their name?
Most people have never heard the word "hospitalist," and that gap is costing us. In this episode, Robin sits down with Dr. Clark Coler, one of Seattle's first hospitalists, who has spent more than 30 years inside Swedish caring for patients at their most frightening moments. He explains who the hospitalist is, why your regular doctor isn't coming, and how to work the system instead of being worked by it.
You'll learn:
- Why the 7–8 a.m. and 7–8 p.m. shift changes are the worst times to call, and when to ask for a conversation instead
- The one thing every family can do that Clark says would erase most communication problems
- Why the day of the week you're admitted matters (hint: avoid Friday if you can)
- Why a new doctor every day is a free second opinion, not a failure
- Why discharge is where mistakes happen, and what to check before you leave
- The four exact questions to ask on day one
Plus Clark's three personal health hacks, and none of them are clinical.
Guest: Dr. Clark Coler, MD, is a hospitalist with Swedish Hospital Medicine in Seattle. Mayo Clinic–trained, he helped launch one of the country's first hospitalist programs in 1994.
