George Washington U. Hospital Info

Madam Blue

New Member
Anyone have any experience with GWU hospital, either as a patient or work there? I may be going in for an operation and looking for first hand info.

Thanks...
 

Weems

New Member
I've had multiple surgeries done there.

The one thing that shocks lots of people I know that have gone there is that it is a teaching hospital and as such you often get seen by lots of students/residents. Often they are young and that's off-putting to some, as we tend to think of our physicians as older and wise, not just learning. This often leads to being asked the same set of questions over and over again and having to answer them seemingly ad infinitum.

The surgery facilities are fine. What really matters is your surgeon whom I imagine you've vetted at this point. There are lots of surgeons there across a wide range of specialities.
 

Bird Dog

Bird Dog
PREMO Member
Anyone have any experience with GWU hospital, either as a patient or work there? I may be going in for an operation and looking for first hand info.

Thanks...

Just had surgery two months ago...staff, doctors/residents all first class. I chose GWUH because of the surgeon that was doing my procedure and the advice of my Primary Care Doc. It is a teaching hospital so you will see a lot of students. You can't be shy......

I did get a hospital bug there, but that can happen anywhere. It was handled in my opinion, very well, but I wish that had not happened, but I'm still alive to tell about it.

Parking is convenient, but if you have family staying, hotels are pricey.
I recommend One Washington Circle or the Fairmont. Have your family bring in food...the hospital food is hospital food...awful.

Your nursing staff will be totally multicultural...but fun to get to know.
The students are great.

Any other questions PM me.
 

littlelady

God bless the USA
Just had surgery two months ago...staff, doctors/residents all first class. I chose GWUH because of the surgeon that was doing my procedure and the advice of my Primary Care Doc. It is a teaching hospital so you will see a lot of students. You can't be shy......

I did get a hospital bug there, but that can happen anywhere. It was handled in my opinion, very well, but I wish that had not happened, but I'm still alive to tell about it.

Parking is convenient, but if you have family staying, hotels are pricey.
I recommend One Washington Circle or the Fairmont. Have your family bring in food...the hospital food is hospital food...awful.

Your nursing staff will be totally multicultural...but fun to get to know.
The students are great.

Any other questions PM me.

Glad you did well, and thanks for the info because dot has been referred there for her MS diagnosis. She is scared, which is understandable, and I am, too.

What is interesting is when a woman with MS is preg, her symptoms go away. So, dot is feeling pretty good right now. Her MS showed it's angry head about 3 months after her first was born. It seems to be linked to exhaustion and stress (people have it within their body, but may never show; depending). It is amazing how life works. We decided to move to be closer to fam, even before we knew dot had MS. God works in mysterious ways, and I thank Him for that.
 
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LightRoasted

If I may ...
If I may ...

I've had multiple surgeries done there.

The one thing that shocks lots of people I know that have gone there is that it is a teaching hospital and as such you often get seen by lots of students/residents.

Doesn't really make one feel in good hands when the newbies are constantly looking at, and referencing, the repair manual. Well .... I guess it's better than being seen by gross anatomy students.
 

Weems

New Member
If I may ...



Doesn't really make one feel in good hands when the newbies are constantly looking at, and referencing, the repair manual. Well .... I guess it's better than being seen by gross anatomy students.

Chilton's for the human body, LOL.

It's a dynamic situation. On the one hand, young residents are still hungry and eager to learn. On the other, they may not have the experience more seasoned docs will have. But then every new resident you meet wants to start at birth with your health history. That's because they very well could be required to start at layer 0 because it's part of the training regimen. There's a chance they may be more up-to-date on some emerging research. In reality it's been a mixed bag for me - I've seen older, seasoned docs ranging from terrible to fantastic and the same is true with younger, ostensibly more eager young residents.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
If I may ...



Doesn't really make one feel in good hands when the newbies are constantly looking at, and referencing, the repair manual. Well .... I guess it's better than being seen by gross anatomy students.

When I was stuck in UM Baltimore shock trauma (another "teaching hosptital" albeit one of the best ICUs and shock trauma centers on the planet) I was in a Striker frame. It was always the worst times of each day when a doc, with a batch of students in tow, would commence with "and this is how we deal with a patient in a Striker frame"...;-p Many a pinched bed sheet and, worse, hands or toes...
 

RareBreed

Throwing the deuces
When I was stuck in UM Baltimore shock trauma (another "teaching hosptital" albeit one of the best ICUs and shock trauma centers on the planet) I was in a Striker frame. It was always the worst times of each day when a doc, with a batch of students in tow, would commence with "and this is how we deal with a patient in a Striker frame"...;-p Many a pinched bed sheet and, worse, hands or toes...

When my youngest was 7, he was taken to Georgetown University Hospital for a ruptured appendix. We only dealt with one "student" during the week we were there. He came in to take my son's blood pressure. Not only did he have no clue how to do it but we had to break his dead eyed stare on my son by saying something to him. The stare lasted several minutes without this guy saying a word and it began to get really really creepy.
 

Madam Blue

New Member
Thanks for all the replies. I am scheduled to have some CTA/cat scans done next week and, depending on results, pending surgery. I had my consultation last week with the cardiac surgeon, Dr. Najam. Parking in that part of D.C. is terrible. Hopefully, the parking at the hospital is better. I will post, hopefully, with results both positive and negative after my surgery.
 
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