Blog

Death is an inevitable part of the life cycle- from plants to animals to humans- it surrounds us. Once you are born, you are doomed for a certain death. There is truth to the adage, “Only two things in life are certain: death and taxes.”  It is a topic many prefer not to anticipate or discuss. We don’t like to think about it, particularly the death of a beloved one. We may avoid discussing it, even as the elephant is undeniably in the room. We may avoid discussing it with a family member whose mortality may be creeping in, because we don’t want to disturb or upset them. But it is likely they are thinking about it very much.

 I’d heard of a birth and pregnancy doula, one who accompanies the birthing mother through the process, providing encouragement and support- filli

As a nurse practitioner providing health care and education in the home, I’ve
never had a person tell me outright that they have a low literacy level or are poor
readers. Today, I had a woman whose highest education level was 3 rd grade. She
had been born with a congenital defect, was ridiculed by her fellow students, and
ultimately stayed home to raise her younger siblings. Consequently, she was
nearly illiterate.

It is the responsibility of the provider to assess for low literacy when first meeting
a patient. In my experience, patients are reluctant to reveal they are poor readers
because they are embarrassed to do so. However, if asked about this during the
visit they will readily admit their deficiency within the confines of a tru

Have you recently diagnosed a patient with diabetes? Do you know their literacy level? I see many patients out in the field who are diabetics, and most have not had diabetes education with a certified diabetes educator. In the population of patients who have low literacy levels it is imperative they receive some degree of diabetes education. Perhaps bringing in a diabetes educator at regular intervals to your practice for a collective appointment could be beneficial to your practice and patients. In these days of value-based care, and meeting HEDIS guidelines, providing on-site diabetes education is a win-win! Most patients I’ve seen out in the field have never been offered educational classes on any of their chronic diseases, and this leads to a gap in care. Hand

Nobody wants to be a complainer, or that patient who stalls the start of a procedure because of last-minute concerns. Especially those patients who happen to work in healthcare or have a close relative that does. We strive to be the perfect patient, the perfect caregiver with a head-nod directed toward the provider, indicating we agree and understand everything. We dispense grace and justification when something is not clear, or we regrettably overlook inappropriate statements that are overheard when the provider believes they are out of earshot. Maybe this is not you. Maybe you are a strong self-advocate who asks questions and takes an extra 10 minutes with your provider even when you know there is an operating room full of staff waiting for you, or that the d