As a nurse who has been in practice since 1973, I have witnessed many of the successes of our healthcare system and many of the failures. The most challenging has been how we manage pain in our country. It seems we went from one side of the pendulum where we...
As I sat down to write for this week’s blog post, I thought of nothing but Hurricane Ian. The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for the region on Monday evening, indicating hurricane conditions are expected in the next 24 to 36 hours....
I usually start my day scanning various e-letters and reading articles that are of interest to me. From time to time I hit the the comment button to leave a comment as the article struct a cord with me . In addition to the content in the article, I find the comment...
One of the most important things that patients want to believe is that their healthcare team coordinates their care. Unfortunately, care coordination does not always happen as it should. As a result, patients are frustrated; care is delayed, time is wasted, and the...
As we close the month of August and September comes into view, many of us look at ways of reset our lives. I guess my feelings are related to summer ending and school starting when I was growing up. As I look at pushing the reset bottom, I like to reflect on my...
Last week I had a colonoscopy at Cleveland Clinic Florida Outpatient Department. I am glad to report that the System Worked and I had a good experience! Here are the highlights! After I registered and waited for 20 minutes, I was brought back to the back by Kathleen,...
Last week, I moderated a continuing education webinar for the All Florida Case Management Network. The webinar’s title was Exercise Interventions Targeting Obesity in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury. The speaker was Dr. David Gater, an expert in this area. He...
Over the past few weeks, I have been working with a client who is in a skilled care facility/nursing home for rehab. I have gone to the facility at various times to see my patient and talk to the staff. It is clean and the staff is friendly. The rehab team works with...
Marc Berlin is a guest blogger who is going to talk about Medical Identity Cards. Marc is an up-and-coming Board-Certified Patient Advocate. His company’s name is On the Marc Patient Advocacy Services. Marc provides guidance, navigation, home health referrals and...
As a Case Manager/Nurse Advocate, I am a disruptor in today’s healthcare system. My role is to use my clinical and assessment skills to help the patient, the family, and the healthcare team address challenges and issues that might hinder/derail the plan of care. Once...
Hoping you and your family had had a Happy 4th of July. I am excited to share the 2022 Summer Reading List. I started writing my annual summer reading list in 2016. I do this each year for you, the readers of Nurse Advocate. I also do it for me, so when I needed a...
Question of the week: What are your Superpowers? The Case Management Society of America, Standard of Practice for Case Managers were recently updated. In reviewing them, I came across one of the guiding principles that caught my eye. It was that case managers...
Many ask, “should I take a prep course before I set for a case management certification exam? The answer is ‘it depends’. This article provides ten reasons why people take a prep course to help them prepare for their certification exam or any national...
Last weekend, I attended my 50th High School reunion. I went to Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia. I was excited to attend and reconnect with friends, many of whom I had not seen for 50 years! It was interesting to talk to people and learn how they...
Being a case manager is not easy. We must go against the grain and stand up for our patients and their families. When everyone is saying no – we say why not. Most times, we can work things out and meet the needs of the patient, their family, the payer, and the...
After two years of virtual conferences, I am so excited to be attending in-person the Case Management Society Annual Conference on June 1 – 4, 2022. The CMSA Annual Conference is the conference that I look most forward to each year as it is the one conference that...
There is a saying that a case manager’s role is to work ourselves out of a job. This post will show how a long term patient is helping this case manager work herself our of a job – and I am so proud! Many of you who read this blog regularly are familiar...
The 2022 Professional Reading List I am starting this year’s Professional reading list with two quotes that are appropriate for today’s time. The first is “The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” Herbert Spencer. The second is Change is the end result...
