Category Archives: Nursing

Improving treatment adherence with evidence-based approaches

Over the last 25 years, researchers have documented the broad impact of behavioral interventions on a range of psychological and physical health outcomes. Despite the promise of evidence-based treatments, a common challenge for practitioners is ensuring treatment adherence to maximize benefits. This is especially challenging for most chronic conditions. Integrating research and recommendations from medication… Read More »

Supporting Front-line Workers with Resiliency Training

By | September 15, 2021

Front-line workers are always at risk. It’s in the name. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this reality more salient for everyone. Risks of sickness from COVID-19 include death and morbidity. Front-line workers may also have lost more friends and co-workers than the average person. Healthcare workers have also been subject to violence and see the… Read More »

COVID-19 & Violence Against Healthcare Workers

By | July 13, 2020

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the pandemic has spotlighted the heroic efforts of our nation’s healthcare workers. Healthcare workers are providing much needed front-line patient care. However, in doing so, they also place themselves at risk of exposure to infectious disease, psychological distress, and burnout. But as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, another concern for… Read More »

End-of-Life Care and the Opioid Crisis: Potential Implications and Unintended Consequences

Reactions to the opioid crisis are affecting patients in need of hospice and end-of-life care in the United States. Hospice providers have been largely exempt from the increasing regulation of opioid and narcotic prescriptions, as most recent laws and regulations affecting opioid prescribing specifically exempt individuals receiving cancer treatment, palliative care, or those nearing their end-of-life. However,… Read More »

What are compassion practices, and can they play a part in improving healthcare?

Working in the healthcare profession can be both physically and emotionally draining for anyone, no matter their role or job title. Over half of physicians in the US [PDF] experience symptoms of burnout, and studies estimate a large percentage of nurses experience emotional exhaustion and have a higher prevalence of depression when compared to other US workers.  Exhaustion… Read More »

Increasing empathy and resilience through narrative medicine

By | April 20, 2017

In narrative medicine, the clinician seeks to understand a patient’s story of their illness and their value system. Narrative medicine helps clinicians establish an empathic and therapeutic relationship with a patient, ideally resulting in a person-centered treatment plan. Rita Charon coined that term and approach in 2001 and expanded on it in numerous subsequent publications. Several sessions… Read More »

Continuity of Care vs. Nurse Shift Length

By | December 28, 2016

If you have ever been in a hospital, you are probably familiar with what seems like a continuously revolving door of staff members providing care.  With nurses making up the largest occupation in healthcare and the largest segment of hospital staff, continuity of nursing care for hospitalized patients is an important factor in the delivery of quality healthcare.… Read More »

Burnout among physicians and nurses

By | December 19, 2016

Private practitioners are busy people between caring for their patients, recording and documenting data, going to meetings, keeping up with new treatment modalities, and running a practice group. They follow a tight schedule, have multiple sources of pressure, and suffer from burnout. Stress occurs when a person is drained of energy, but can recover. In the case of… Read More »

How do Medical Errors Affect Healthcare Professionals?

By | August 15, 2016

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine released a report called To Err is Human. This report estimated that 44,000 to 98,000 hospitalized patients die each year as a result of preventable medical errors. But how do medical errors affect healthcare workers? A recent article by Van Gerven and colleagues, published ahead of print in Medical Care, addresses that… Read More »