SIGHTS
Pale walls, plug-ins for equipment, florescent lighting, a whiteboard with specific patient information (the name of the nurse on shift, food allergies or diet restrictions, tests to be performed) written on it, boxes of gloves in holders on the wall, a large window with blinds, a bathroom (a small sink area, a shower with safety bars and a toilet), an adjustable hospital bed with a plastic cover, side rails and hospital sheets, a television set on the wall, a metal IV stand with saline bags, an LED heart monitor, a pressure cuff, a rolling table, a nightstand with drawers, a small closet for personal items, an antibacterial sink station, a garbage can, a plastic disposal for syringes, an array of get well cards and flower arrangements, a plastic cup with a straw, a well-worn visitor’s chair, extra pillows, the patient’s chart held in a slot on the wall, a curtain surrounding the bed or separating beds in a semi-private room, a hospital robe hanging from a peg on the bathroom door, a patient in bed with IV or chest tubes, monitoring wires leading to machines, an automatic finger clip to check a patient’s pulse, nurses and doctors making the rounds, support staff cleaning and delivering meals, visiting family members who stop in, volunteers reading to patients or talking with them
SOUNDS
People being paged over the intercom, the whoosh of automatic doors between hospital wings, slippers whispering over floors as a patient takes his IV stand for a walk, the beep of a heart monitor, an alarm dinging when a medicine or saline bag needs to be checked or if a heart rate monitor falls off the patient’s finger, the soft breaths of someone sleeping or snoring, laugh tracks on the television, the scrape of a fork through soggy peas and mashed potatoes, an empty water glass rattling as a patient slurps up the last of the water, the rubber snap of gloves being pulled on, the nurse asking questions while checking a patient’s IV site or reading vitals, family members trying to keep the conversation positive and upbeat, the whir of the bed being adjusted, the snap of side rails locking into place, muffled creaks as the patient adjusts position in bed, running water, the automated hum as sanitizer is dispensed from a machine, the metallic slide of a curtain being pulled along its rod, a tray of unappealing food being shoved across a surface
SMELLS
Cleaning supplies, astringent hand sanitizer, soap, latex gloves, the unidentifiable odor of bland food, fresh flowers, coffee or tea, over-bleached towels, robes and sheets
TASTES
Chalky pills or plastic capsules, tasteless hospital food (fish fillets, applesauce, dry toast, hard meat loaf, mushy vegetables, fruit cups, chicken and rice, hard buns), water, weak coffee and tea, juice, fortified vitamin and mineral drinks, gelatin deserts or fruit cups
TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS
The soft give of a hospital pillow and mattress, muscles aching at restricted movement, pain or sensations that are specific to the patient’s injury or illness, the cool brush of an alcohol swab, the painful pinch of an IV needle going in, tape being pulled away from the skin, the poke of a straw as one guides it toward one’s mouth, the rough feel of chapped lips, sweat-soaked hair sticking to one’s forehead and neck, the cold metal of the IV stand as one pulls it closer, shakiness in the limbs as one walks across the floor in thick socks, the soft touch of a nurse pressing her finger against the wrist or inner elbow for a pulse read, the cold shock of a stethoscope against the skin, a cool breeze alerting the patient that his gown has come open in the back, grogginess from pain medication
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONFLICT
Medication making a patient paranoid or violent
Having a reaction to a medication
Misdiagnoses
Picking up a staph infection
Being given the wrong medication
Becoming exhausted by nonstop visitors in the room
An emergency that causes a hospital-wide evacuation
A catheter that slips out
A loud or obnoxious roommate that makes it difficult to get rest
Having to share a room with another patient with a large family and no personal space boundaries
PEOPLE COMMONLY FOUND HERE
Cleaning staff, doctors, family members and friends, maintenance employees, medical students, nurses, patients, specialists, visiting pastors
RELATED SETTINGS THAT MAY TIE IN WITH THIS ONE
Ambulance, elevator, emergency room
SETTING NOTES AND TIPS
Hospital rooms will vary depending on the type of room (standard, semi-private, or private) as well as its purpose (a maternity birthing room, an intensive care bed, general recovery, etc.). Rooms used for a specific purpose will have monitoring equipment tailored to the type of care needed.
SETTING DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
Leda woke, squinting at the bright light overhead. Someone was rubbing something cool on the back of her hand, but the slickness quickly turned to a jab of pain. She flinched and turned her head. A nurse was securing an IV into her hand with tape. An IV? She was in the hospital? Pain slithered between her temples, fogging her thoughts, and the bleach smell wafting off the sheets turned her stomach. The last thing she remembered was dropping Caren off at her house after the basketball game. Then, nothing.
Techniques and Devices Used: Multisensory descriptions
Resulting Effects: Hinting at backstory, passage of time, reinforcing emotion, tension and conflict