A Nurse Practitioner's View

The systematic review that my colleagues and I have been working on (for what seems like forever!) was finally published in the Joanna Briggs Library of Systematic Reviews! It is very gratifying to have an official peer-reviewed publication under my belt. The title of our Review is, "The effectiveness of group medical visits on diabetes mellitus type 2 (dm2) specific outcomes in adults: A systematic review." The work that we studied on group medical visits (GMV) is truly interesting and can serve as a viable model to aide in type 2 diabetes management. Graduation is just over a week away and we just have one more presentation standing in our way. I will be posting some of my reflections on the program and on the DNP in the weeks to come. For now, I will enjoy this moment!

It's been a while since I last posted and it's because I've been somewhat bogged down with the last few projects for school. To briefly update: We completed our systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of group medical visits for patients with type 2 diabetes (specifically the ABCs: Hemoglobin A1c, Blood Pressure and Cholesterol[LDL]). We have received peer-review feedback and have edited and resubmitted and are anxiously awaiting their response. We implemented an actual group medical visit model in our clinical agency site and are gathering data and tweaking accordingly via the PDSA cycle. Plus, I am trying to get motivated to work on the last individual paper which must be submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal (rough draft is due this Friday and I don't have much thus far - which completely explains why I am blogging right now!) Finally, we are working on our final presentation for the group medical visit project. Whew! We are also get...

Just wanted to update anyone following me as I am finishing up the DNP (graduation is May 2011!) The work is intense. Trying to juggle school, work and family life, is a challenge. However I know that it is already worth it. My perspective on my practice has changed for the better and I now incorporate evidence-based practice and culturally competent care in all of my interactions. My group of four are knee deep into the data analysis/synthesis of our systematic review. The statistical portion is mind numbing after looking at all of these clinical trials and trying to synthesize them into something that will make sense. We are also incorporating non randomized controlled trials (RCTs) into our write up which brings additional challenges in answering our clinical question (focused on diabetes and group medical visits). We have been busy reading and re-reading clinical studies, crunching numbers, e-mailing study authors (many who don't actually write back to you), making forest plot...