This book is a wake up call to the prospective hospital patient and a roadmap to protecting yourself from harm in the hospital. There are few experiences in life more traumatic and stressful than being a patient in the hospital. Everything from the antiseptic smell to the staff's scrub type uniforms remind you that you are in a place that you always wanted to avoid. Even more traumatic is being injured or killed by the people, tools, and technologies in the hospital that are supposed to heal or cure you. Those people, tools, and technologies are now very sophisticated and powerful, but their increase in potency over the years has not necessarily made the hospital a safer place to be. The author uses examples from his own experience as a large hospital insider to illustrate the types of harm that can come your way and a strategy to avoid being at risk. The examples show patients suffering from several types of hospital errors, and each example is followed by a discussion of the type of problem and of strategies, working with your patient advocate, to avoid injury and to protect yourself. After you read this book, you will never go alone or send your friend or relative alone for hospital care or surgery. You need an advocate with you in the hospital to make sure that you are protected from harm. The author includes a detailed checklist to use in planning, and in safely and successfully completing your hospital stay for illness or operation. A list of additional resources to use in preparing for your hospital stay or your role as a patient advocate is also included.