Man, I'm only semester one of nursing and already, drilled into our brains: The doctors will not tell the patients what is going on with them, what they need, and keep on top of any medications they may have. It is YOUR JOB to explain things to them [and to assess what they need explained], and to connect them to resources they need.
Unfortunately, with a nursing crisis adding to the fact that [at least in '94, I'm sure the situation hasn't improved that much] 1 doctor for 1,700 persons in the US - nobody gets the time to explain anything to anyone.