I am writing this letter in recognition of Alice Capace, LMSW.
I am a busy primary care physician, and several months ago had a challenging patient struggling with alcohol addiction and abuse. Such addictions manifested in the repeated use of the emergency room and hospital. I struggled with coordinating his care across primary care, addiction behavior health, emergency room and hospital services, and as such referred him to the Health Home team.
My patient was assigned to Ms. Capace under the management of Roberta Costanzo RN NP. Since becoming involved in my patient’s care, Alicia has gone above and beyond to communicate with the patient, myself and my office, the patient’s insurance company, the ER and hospital staff, outpatient treatment
A nurse is required to exercise appropriate clinical judgment and respond safely and quickly in order to effectively care for a patient. Substance abuse among nurses is an issue that compromises the delivery of quality care and professional standards of nursing. Many nurses are not recognized as having a problem until a patient has been endangered (Clark and Farnsworth, 2006). It has been estimated that 10-...
The medical secretary, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and physicians communicated consistently and appropriately so that all staff could effectively complete the actions required of their respective roles. I noted the strong relationship between the nurses and the physicians. The nurses held a heavy influence on the physician’s decisions regarding a situation, because the nurses were the ones conveying pertinent information related to the patient’s status. Based on the information provided, the physician would make recommendations and provide guidance to the nurses. The physician’s directions were then carried out by the nurse, influencing the nurse’s plan of care for his/her
care for patients and I felt she disregarded it. Dr. Abbasac was very controlling over the whole
Substance abuse in the medical field is a growing issue, and nurses are no exception to the stigma. The American Nurses Association (ANA) reports an estimated six to eight percent of nurses has a substance abuse issue that has directly impaired their practice (Alunni-Kinkle, 2015). This means that as many as one in every ten nurses is practicing with an unidentified or untreated substance abuse issue (Alunni-Kinkle, 2015). This paper will briefly discuss the many factors that contribute to substance abuse among nurses, as well as reporting and consequences associated with
Mona Counts is a Nurse Practitioner at her own primary care facility. Her clinic provides health care to over five thousand patients who live in the heart of Appalachia. Bob Wilkinson is a Pediatric Oncology Nurse. Bob takes care of very sick children and their families. Ardis Bush started as a Staff Nurse over 25 years ago and worked her way up to being Nurse Manager. These nurses establish a rapport with their patients and their patients’ families by talking to them like normal human beings, and not just as patients. These nurses relate and listen to their patients, which makes them feel comfortable. Both Mona and Ardis even make house visits to check up on patients and to see how they are doing.
Over the years, substance abuse in the United States has become a persistent issue affecting many individuals. In 2008, it was estimated that 17.8 million Americans over the age of 18 where substance dependent (Epstein, Burns, & Conlon, 2010). Many of these individuals being affected are nurses. Ponech (2000) stated that "approximately 10% of the nursing population has alcohol or drug abuse problems, and 6% has problems serious enough to interfere with their ability to practice" (as cited in Talbert, 2009, p.17). Studies show that nurses have a 50% higher rate of substance abuse compared to the rest of the public (Epstein et al., 2010). Among the many factors that contribute to the nurse’s issue of substance abuse, accessibility to drugs in the work environment has played a significant role. Substance abuse among nurses is an arising issue in need of attention, it is alarming to know that patient safety and care is in danger when a chemically impaired nurse is in the workplace.
Monroe, T., Pearson, F., & Kenaga, H. (2008). Procedures for handling cases of substance abuse among nurses: a comparison of disciplinary and alternative programs. Journal Of Addictions Nursing, 19(3), 156-161.
The chronic care model calls for an organizational change in the way individuals with illnesses are cared for, and the involvement of nurses, social workers and patients themselves. The challenge is moving in an effective way of improving quality from research carried out predominantly in health maintenance organizations to the mainstream of health care practice (Wielawski, 2006). Wagner’s explanation is to substitute the customary physician-centric office structure with one that supports clinical teamwork in association with the patient. The notion spreads outside the health care organization to collaborative associations in the community. Wagner et al. (2001) termed this approach the “chronic care model.” With this model, physicians, nurses, case managers, dieticians, and patient educators
On September 28th, 2016, I was assigned to a patient on the rehab floor. I looked up this residents information before hand in his chart. There I was about to see his past medical history which concluded: Cancer, MS, Hypertension, and a right upper lobectomy. I assisted with this
This clinical week started out very interesting as I had a patient who had a cardiac catheterization procedure schedules. I had the opportunity to gain insight on pre-procedure nursing tasks and interventions as well as post –procedure. The patient had been admitted due to chest pain and an Echo test conducted showed aortic vulvar insufficiency. This led to the need of cardiac catheterization a procedure performed to visualize heart structure and blood vessels under a fluoroscopy to further asses this condition. Before the procedure the nurse called the interpreter on the IPad to interpret the patient teaching regarding the procedure including asking about allergies to iodine or seafood and encouraged questions from the patient. The nurse then
A situation that involves nursing based on the family as a component of society includes a man, his wife, and two daughters. This man was admitted to the hospital for an alcohol problem that required treatment. The wife and daughters were suffering emotionally from this man’s illness and wanted him to seek help to better himself. As the nurse, I offered support to the family and provided information for community assistance along with resources regarding Alcoholic anonymous. According to Timco, C., Cronkite, R., Kaskutas, L., laudet, A., Roth, J., Moos, R. (2015.), Alcoholic Anonymous is used to create a better way of life with less stress. This is what this family needs in order to continue to function as a family. A few months later, I ran into this family and heard what a success their family has been due to the use of community resources. This family feels their lives are on the right track now and feel they have this man as a husband and father instead of the drunkard he used to
Sam was only assigned one patient, D.H., a 41-year-old male admitted on 11/7/16 for end-stage renal failure. The patient’s code status was not determined and there were no discharge plans. D.H. was an admission, therefore Sam was able to experience the admission process and how a patient might adjust to their first few hours in the hospital. She reported that he seemed to be slightly anxious and afraid of the whole process. Sam was administering medications on Tuesday and was able to push an IV med for the first time. Additionally, the patient was a dialysis patient, so she was able to accompany him to his peritoneal dialysis treatment that
After the handover, I was asked by my mentor to attend to a patient who is bed ridden to have her personal care done with the assistance of one of the health care assistant staff. The patient was recently admitted to the ward and she looks sc...
With limited resources, I saw dedicated medical professionals going the extra mile to ensure success. This reminded me that our greatest resources lie in the dedication and commitment of each team member. Whether we were treating pneumonia, working up a potential MI, managing cancer treatment or alleviating the symptoms of diarrhea, attention to detail was always important. Having built a great rapport with my team, I was afforded numerous opportunities to hone my clinical skills and to play critical roles in the management of patients under the supervision of my Brooklyn Hospital Center Clinical Preceptor, Dr Edwin