In The War Zone: Nurse Practitioners Providing Primary Care
An article in Advance For Nurse Practitioners features nurse practitioner and Army National Guard officer Tobin Hill discussing his work at the Ivory Combat Clinic near Kirkuk, Iraq.
Hill discusses the importance of primary care, even in a war zone.
Individuals of all ages require health education and disease management and prevention, and soldiers in the field are no exception. Hill points out that practicing good medicine requires taking a family history and advising people about their potential for developing diseases, as well as explaining the need for controlling issues such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels to prevent future health problems.
This article comes on the heels a conversation I had recently with an individual who had just learned that I am a nurse practitioner. He said, "I LOVE my nurse practitioner!" He then went on to express that he is allowed all the time he needs to discuss his concerns, that he feels "listened to" during his appointments, and that the nurse practitioner does a great job of helping him to understand his health concern and potential implications for his future health.
Research has supported his experience suggesting that many individuals prefer nurse practitioner care because they appreciate the feeling that they are listened to, and the sense they get that health care decisions are made in collaboration with their nurse practitioner provider.
Some weeks are like this; it all falls together and you feel great about what you do as a professional. So I salute Officer Hill who thinks preventive medicine is still important in the battlefield, and nurse practitioners everywhere for all that you are, and do, for those you care for.
Laurie
Related Links: Family History of Heart Disease: A Definition, Stroke Risk Often Runs in the Family, Many Patients Prefer Nurses to Doctors
Technorati Tags: iraq, war, war zone, medical care
Hill discusses the importance of primary care, even in a war zone.
Individuals of all ages require health education and disease management and prevention, and soldiers in the field are no exception. Hill points out that practicing good medicine requires taking a family history and advising people about their potential for developing diseases, as well as explaining the need for controlling issues such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels to prevent future health problems.
This article comes on the heels a conversation I had recently with an individual who had just learned that I am a nurse practitioner. He said, "I LOVE my nurse practitioner!" He then went on to express that he is allowed all the time he needs to discuss his concerns, that he feels "listened to" during his appointments, and that the nurse practitioner does a great job of helping him to understand his health concern and potential implications for his future health.
Research has supported his experience suggesting that many individuals prefer nurse practitioner care because they appreciate the feeling that they are listened to, and the sense they get that health care decisions are made in collaboration with their nurse practitioner provider.
Some weeks are like this; it all falls together and you feel great about what you do as a professional. So I salute Officer Hill who thinks preventive medicine is still important in the battlefield, and nurse practitioners everywhere for all that you are, and do, for those you care for.
Laurie
Related Links: Family History of Heart Disease: A Definition, Stroke Risk Often Runs in the Family, Many Patients Prefer Nurses to Doctors
Technorati Tags: iraq, war, war zone, medical care
2 Comments:
I don't. I have found nurse practitioners not taking in consideration my family history. Or any of my concers seriously.
The secret of being effective in any job , whether it be a NP or a doctor is to respect each other's roles and stick to a scope of practice while doing so. Nurse practitioners have a different role than GP's and that is understood, hopefully by the receiver of the care and the giver. I sense a sense of competition here which is not good for the patient coming from either direction.
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