A Nurse Practitioner's View

A NY Times article refers to a new study from the BMJ involving the prescribing of placebos to patients. Many ethical dilemmas are raised with this practice. The "placebos" referred to in this study weren't placebos at all, they were either vitamins or different classes of pain management medications. Wiki defines Placebo as: ... a substance or procedure a patient accepts as medicine or therapy, but which has no specific therapeutic activity. Any therapeutic effect is thought to be based on the power of suggestion . The word placebo is Latin for I will please. Prescribing placebos is only part of the game. There is also the ordering of expensive lab work and diagnostic tests that go hand in hand with the powers of suggestion. I try to be mindful of the tests that I order and explain the risks and benefits of such tests/treatments. Sure, there have been times when I've contemplated creating my own "S- Pak " in the hopes of creating a magic treatment. But ...

On October 24, NOW on PBS will explore a projected nursing shortage that could impact quality of and access to care for millions of patients. Be sure to tune in! Below is the press release: Show will highlight Innovative solutions in New York City and elsewhere NEW YORK, September 26 – A U.S. government study projects that by the year 2020, there will be a nationwide shortage of up to one million professional nurses . The nursing shortage is already placing strains on the entire medical system. On October 24, 2008, the Emmy Award-winning newsmagazine NOW on PBS will examine the root causes of this crisis, and innovative efforts to reverse the trend. Even though qualified nurses are in high demand and hospitals are offering attractive incentives, many are leaving the profession. Even more alarming: few are choosing to teach the next generation of professionals. As a result, tens of thousands of applicants are being turned away from the nation's nursing schools. The production is sup...

A New Jersey jury recently awarded $400,000 to a deaf patient because her physician refused to provide a sign language interpreter throughout their visits. The patient ultimately switched physicians since the steroids she was receiving caused facial edema. The new rheumatologist subsequently took her off steroids and was able to explain that the edema was a side effect of the steroids and not from her illness. This case presents many ethical dilemmas for the practicing clinician. I have seen other blog posts related to this case. The knee-jerk reaction talks about moral obligations and financial implications for the physician to hire an interpreter that would result in a net loss for the visits (the visits were reimbursed at $49 and the interpreter would cost about $150-200/hr). Those angles miss the point. Where is the culturally competent care? Cultural Competence is defined as: (via wiki) ... an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. Cultural competenc...

Here is an article about a drive through flu shot clinic in Pennsylvania. The service is targeted at Seniors and health officials devised a system regarding which lane you drive up to and other logistics regarding the vaccination. At first, I thought it was another gimmick. However the more that I thought about it, it does make sense. I've had a few requests over the years to vaccinate seniors in the drive-by fashion. This always put me in a difficult situation -- not because of the actual injection -- but what happens if there is a reaction and how can I ensure that they wait the recommended 20 minutes post vaccination without driving off into the sunset? From a public health perspective, it makes complete sense. High-risk patients should get the immunizations and we must examine new ways to make this happen. We certainly can't visit them all in their homes. As long as there is a well-thought out system with policies and procedures in place, ideas such as this will prompt us ...