One Patient’s Story of how a Patient Advocate Nurse Navigator helps her patient

How a nurse navigator helps patient Judith Nakamura after her breast-cancer diagnosis:

Illustrations by Jason Schneider

Explanation
The nurse navigator walks through the diagnosis again with pictures and charts, answering questions Ms. Nakamura didn’t think to ask the doctor when she first got the news.

Scheduling
The nurse navigator sets up oncology, surgery and radiation appointments for Ms. Nakamura, working around her job schedule. ‘She gets you in to see your doctors,’ Ms. Nakamura says.

Information
The nurse navigator tracks down Ms. Nakamura after doctors learn that a first surgery hadn’t cleared her cancer and she would need a second operation.

Advice
Ms. Nakamura’s nurse navigator provides tips on how to treat burns from radiation, when and where to purchase a wig after chemotherapy and other suggestions related to her treatment.

Support
After both of Ms. Nakamura’s surgeries, the nurse navigator is waiting in the recovery room. Ms. Nakamura says she was ‘the only one I felt comfortable sharing my fears with.’

From the Wall Street Journal

by Laura Landro

SOURCE:  online.wsj.com

Click here to read the Wall Street Journal Article

Sometimes it pays to be a “bad” patient.   Being empowered with good information is a good thing.

Remember these three golden rules of being a “bad” patient.

1. Ask lots of questions. If you don’t understand something, ask for clarification, and if you still don’t understand, ask again. The doctor or nurse might be visibly annoyed, but that shouldn’t stop you. Remember, your health depends on your ability to comprehend what the doctor is telling you.

2. Don’t worry whether your doctor likes you. If you hesitate to do anything that might upset the doctor, such as asking lots of questions, you’re putting your health in jeopardy. While it’s a natural inclination to want to be liked, your health comes first and your popularity second.

3. Remember that this is a business transaction. You’re paying the doctor for a service; you’re not in a popularity contest. Of course, you’re respectful of the doctor, just as you’re respectful to a waitress or your car mechanic, but you don’t owe it to your doctor to be the perfect patient.

SOURCE:  www.cnn.com

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Tips on How to Care for your Elderly Parent

Be inquisitive. Do not hesitate to ask questions. Do not be embarrassed that you do not know certain medical terms or definitions. Have the doctor explain to you in plain English what exactly caused your parent’s chest pain rather than just taking a prescription and leaving.

Keep records. Every time you talk to a doctor, or even a nurse, have a notepad handy and take notes or use a voice-activated recorder. Make sure you record the exact term for that diagnosis, or specific instructions on what to do at home. When you are in a stressed state as you bring your parent for a doctor’s visit it is very easy to forget some important details when relaying this information to others who will be helping with the care.

Do research. Try to find out as much information on your parent’s condition as possible. Make sure you understand what it is caused by and what the long-term consequences are, so that when you talk to the doctor you are not immediately overwhelmed by the TMI syndrome (Too Much Information).
Souce: www.eldercareresidentialservices.com
From ezinearticles.com
Click here to read the article

Yipes! Why can’t they all work together. 93 year old patient in a board and care home has a UTI. She needs a Urine Culture done. She is on Vitas Hospice. Elderly patients do not tolerate a UTI and it can cause sudden onset of dementia and other behavioral issues as well as pain and discomfort. This patient becomes confused and combative. The staff notifies Hospice. The family notifies her primary care physician. He orders a Urine Culture and another blood test. The patient is weak and can’t go to the lab to get the tests done. Home Health will not come to her house because she is a Hospice patient. The patient continues to suffer, and it takes a week to get her on antibiotics. The family is still trying to get her lab work done via home health. Although, the last time home health finally obtained her specimens, they lost them.Kaiser had no clue what happened. Political medicine just does not work!
Finally the patient gets on antibiotics, and with in 14 hours she is no longer combative, feels much better and is no longer confused.
Diagnosis: Sudden onset dementia cause by a UTI.
Prognosis: Good Recovery with the correct antibiotics.
We treat our animals better that we treat our seniors! Sad Commentary on HMO Health Care.
What should have happended in a perfect world:
Board and Care notifies Hospice, of patients condition
Hospice RN makes an assessment of the patient and gets the test done to confirm the infectious process.
Doctor orders the antibiotics, and the patient is on her way to recovery with in 24 to 48 hours…. instead of
7 days of suffering with a UTI.

Stress: How It Affects Your Body, and How You Can Stay Healthier

By Elizabeth Scott, M.S., About.com

Stress and Health: Implications of Chronic Stress

When faced with chronic stress and an overactivated autonomic nervous system, people begin to see physical symptoms. The first symptoms are relatively mild, like chronic headaches and increased susceptibility to colds. With more exposure to chronic stress, however, more serious health problems may develop. These stress-influenced conditions include, but are not limited to:

• depression
• diabetes
• hair loss
• heart disease
• hyperthyroidism
• obesity
• obsessive-compulsive or anxiety disorder
• sexual dysfunction
• tooth and gum disease
• ulcers
• cancer (possibly)

In fact, most it’s been estimated that as many as 90% of doctor’s visits are for symptoms that are at least partially stress-related!
More Info

CDC Latest Update on What is going on with the Flu.
Yes people are still getting sick from the flu. No it does not seem as bad as was reported reported.
YES, STILL WASH YOUR HANDS to avoid getting any illness.
Do I practice what I preach? Yes! and I still managed to catch the cold type virus de jour that is going around our area. Scratchy throat,loss of runny nose, and feeling “Yucky” ( a medical term!) Bummer!
More Info on the H1N1