September has always been a time of change for me. As I look back on my career, September was the month that I made substantial changes in my career. In this week’s post, I share some of the meaningful projects that I will be working on. As a healthcare...
Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to witness patient engagement in action through friends. In this post, I wanted to share how people are taking an active role in their own health and healthcare. I also have three friends who are caregivers for their...
Achieving certification in case management is a goal many healthcare professionals strive to attain to demonstrate their expertise. The big question that arises when professionals think about certification is ‘which one is best for me’? The answer to this question has...
Water is an essential resource we take for granted, yet it is one of the most important substances on earth. All plants and animals must have water to survive. Apart from drinking it to survive, people have many other uses for water. I have always loved the water. I...
Welcome to my 2018 Summer Reading List. I started this list in 2016 as a way to gather interesting books to read at the beach or the pool. My Summer Reading list has become an annual event that I look forward to putting together each year and sharing with friends,...
The 28th Annual Case Management Society of America Annual Conference is in the Books! Between June 18th and June, 23rd over 2000 professionals involved in the practice of case management came to Chicago IL to learn, network and reunite with friends and...
I was working on a theme for my weekly Blog Post when a post on the Healthcare Writers Network Facebook page caught my eye. It was an invitation to write an article on the challenge of finding information on clinical trials. A link in the post took me to Clara Health...
May 6-12th was Peripheral Neuropathy (PN) Awareness week. As a nurse, I am aware of PN but always associated with a complication of diabetes. It was not until I received harsh chemotherapy for the treatment of a brain tumor that I learned PN could be one of the side...
National Nurses Week is a time for nurses to celebrate the profession of nursing and the vital work they do each day. As I prepared for Nurses Week, I took time to review my 40-year career as a registered nurse. As I looked back on my career I am proud of my...
As a digital journalist and nurse blogger, I look for events that explore the challenges we face in today’s complex work of healthcare and offer innovative solutions by leading organizations. This March, I had the opportunity to attend the 18th Annual Population...
Recently, a close friend died after a complex hospital stay after a fall where she broke her hip. The story is complicated and I don’t have all of the details, but the experience raises several questions that point to challenges people face when thrust into the...
On November 24, 2014, I was diagnosed with a central nervous system lymphoma brain tumor. Having no symptoms leading up to this diagnosis, I was shocked to learn my fate. After a year of strong chemo and close contract with my hematologist/oncologist, I was told that...
Case management is an integral part of the healthcare delivery system. Today, case managers are in every sector of the healthcare system. Their work ensures people have access to appropriate care, contain healthcare costs and work to make sure those they are called to...
I was reading my Facebook page when I saw a post from a friend that said: “I won’t be able to get my MRI until the end of next week. I’m pissed.” This message alerted me to call a friend who needed a Patient Advocate. Some Background My friend was diagnosed with...
You can’t pick up a paper or listen to a news show without hearing a piece on the challenges taking place in our healthcare system today. This attention is warranted, as according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid healthcare spending in the U.S. is at $3.3 trillion...
Transitions of Care occur when a patient moves from one setting to the next. Transitions are the riskiest times when patients can fall through the cracks of the healthcare system and cause setbacks It is important to take the time to identify barriers before the...
It is said that if you have your health, you have everything. Yet, according to a study of 501 men ages 45 to 65 conducted by Men’s Health Network in 2014, men care more about their cars than their bodies. Almost 70% of men surveyed considered it easier to keep their...
As a brain tumor survivor, I know I have a high chance of reoccurrence. When I completed active treatment, I asked Dr. Lossos, my hematologist/oncologist, how long I would have to see him going forward. He said, “we are going to have a long relationship’. Well, that...
