Dartmouth General Hospital

the last time i visited this particular hospital, i arrived with my sister. she was my support that night… basically she was there to keep me from falling out of my seat when gravity and back pain wouldn’t allow me to do it myself. after visiting triage and registering, i finally claimed what would turn out to be MY CHAIR for the next 7 hours. i was there due to killer back pain (brought on by an assault from some years ago that has been continuously deteriorating my spine *yay me)… just when my patience (i really am limited in that regard) was on E, nurse finally called my name. with the aid of my sister, i half hobbled/​half crawled/​and with her help, was half drug into the bed area. as soon as both nurse and sister helped me into the bed, nurse smiled and said doctor will be in soon. [4 HOURS LATER…] doogie effinhowser he was not waltzed in and presented me a regular strength tylenol… *INSERT ANGRY EYE TWITCH HERE*
weeks later, i relayed my tale of horror to my cousin’s wife… they did the same thing to her. and they do that to all people they think are faking hell for drugs.
my recommendation to you, if you are in pain, and i mean EXCRUCIATING BLOODY PAIN THAT KEEPS YOU BED BOUND FOR DAYS ON END, find an Asian doctor.

No one actually WANTS to go to a hospital, so how do you rate it?
Cleanness: poor boarding on disgusting for a medical facility
Staff: awesome
Navigation: easy to get around, staff will help if you get lost
Parking: pay inside machine a good idea, $ 2 for the 1^st hour. Tip, there is a $ 2 ALL DAY lot next door if you are staying a long time, and it’s the same distance as many of the hospital parking lot spots.
The gift shop is volunteer run (so the hours are irratic), and there is no café inside. A few vending machines for soda and water.

Four stars for the ER crew!
Let me start by saying I really have nothing to compare these guys to as thankfully my ER experience is minimal. In fact this has been *knock on wood* my only ER experience to date. I’m sure I’ve just jinxed myself.
After spending the day unable to move from being in more pain than I’ve ever felt in my life, and seemed to be getting worse, I loaded myself and my roommate up in a taxi and off we went to the Dartmouth General ER.
I got there and went in to the triage nurse explaining my issue. I then went to get myself registered and braced myself for a lengthy wait as the waiting room was pretty busy. Because, you know, sitting in a hospital waiting room while you’re experiencing some pretty major pain sounds like a fun time, no?
My butt was only in the seat for not even a minute when I got called in. And subsequently got death stares from everyone else who had been waiting ahead of me. A little surprised I questioned the nurse who explained they tend to take major head pain seriously. Bonus in my favor, I guess.
From here on everything went as well as it could for an ER visit. My nurses were efficient and friendly. My doctor was the same. The lady who did my CT scan was a little less on the friendly but given that isn’t really what you’re there for, it really wasn’t a major issue.
After about 5 hours total I was finally discharged after being given some pain management.
Let’s be honest: no one really wants to spend any amount of time in the ER for any reason. However, this particular experience was a good as it could get. I had heard some not so great things about the ER crew at the Dartmouth General, however I found none of it to be true. They’re there to look after people’s health, they’re not there to razzle and dazzle you with niceties.
All in all, they’re a solid 4 stars.

I’ve been to this hospital a few times over the last 6 months or so, to the ER, and for day surgery, and I have to say, as hospital experiences (which, let’s face it, are never what you would call enjoyable at the best of times) go, my run-​ins with this instution and it’s staff have been pretty decent overall. The wait times seem to be much shorter in this ER than I’ve found them to be in Halifax, and the all of the nurses and doctors, with one notable exception (seriously, how is it okay to tell a person who is having a gallbladder attack so severe that she can barely move, and so the staff have kept her overnight and have had to administer her 3 separate doses of morphine to dull the pain, that she should just «pop a tylenol 3 and go to work»?), have been very capable, professional, and pleasant
I had my gall bladder removed here a few weeks ago (different doctor than the one mentioned above), and the entire experience went very smoothly. My surgeon was very easy to talk to and happy to answer all of my questions, as were the nurses who cared for me before and after the procedure. I felt like a person, not just a bed filler, which is always appreciated when you’re in a vulnerable situation like that.

Step one: break finger in embarrassing dodgeball accident.
Step two: arrive at the Dartmouth General at 10pm.
Step three: wander aimlessly through the hospital looking for any sight of people, directions, instructions, or signage pointing me toward civilization.
Step four: get told I have to leave the building to get to the emergency entrance.
Step five: have registration lady roll her eyes when I assumed registering would be my first step. Apparently not.
Step six: visit triage nurse, be thankful I wasn’t the guy ahead of me whose finger was brought in separately.
Step seven: visit registration lady again who suddenly became much nicer. Maybe she just likes rules.
Step eight: wait for an hour or so.
Step nine: get sent to my curtained off bed area. Wait for 30 minutes.
Step ten: explain embarrassing injury to doctor, get told to wait for x-​ray.
Step eleven: Wait for 20 minutes, follow really friendly x-​ray staff, struggle to not look like a baby whilst choking back pinky finger pain, get sent back to bed.
Step twelve: Wait for 45 minutes or so for the doctor.
Step thirteen: Get the final verdict, a quick splint, and am on my way.
All in all, a complicated but not that painful process of navigating the health system. Everyone was efficient, professional, and ready to help. Sure, it might not be clear what you’re supposed to do as a patient when you arrive, but folks will point you in the right direction.

The x-​ray and scan department runs better than the ER. Same white halls, same uncomfortable chairs, but the staff is much better. Every nurse or technician I encountered during my visit were professional and cheery. When I blanched at the surprise IV news, the nurse was very reassuring, even though she’s probably seen hundreds of blubbering wusses during her career. I don’t want to have to go back there, but I know that if I do, at least the staff won’t make it any worse than it needs to be.