Before my career as a Registered Nurse and then as a Family Nurse Practitioner, I
implicitly relied on my medical professionals. I took their word for everything and
did not ask questions as I did not know there were any. Arriving at an annual or bi-
annual exam, I would invariably be called out for not completing some testing or
taking medication incorrectly. In the five to seven minutes of my previous visit, I
honestly did not remember any of these things having been mentioned. Without
knowledge of medicine, I would be flying blind without instructions and would not
have the superpower to read minds. The same scenario was held for friends and
family.
When I finally had the opportunity to pursue my nursing career, one of the first
semi-conscious decisions I made related to educating patients. Knowledge is
useless if not shared. Bedside nursing as a Registered Nurse quickly demonstrated
that every patient learns differently. The same regurgitated spiel about diet would
get through to only ten percent of people. So, while working my way through school
and learning my trade, I consciously developed multiple education tactics so that I
would be able to reach all my patients.
This required numerous modalities, from using giant colored diagram charts to
drawing anatomy on exam table paper and explaining the heart and circulatory
system to a plumber using terms of his trade so that he instantly understood the
process. I developed a creative way to describe how high sugar levels block
capillaries, resulting in numbness of fingers and toes, kidney damage, vision
problems, and erectile dysfunction that guarantees comprehension. Seeing that
light bulb moment in a patient who has been living with diabetes for twenty-plus
years finally understanding the diagnosis is fantastic. Another favorite that is quite
popular with patients is my explanation of anxiety, depression, and obsessive-
compulsive disorder, among other mental health diagnoses, and how the brain
chemicals cause them. This knowledge, combined with a description of how a
medication will help as a tool and how therapy will help them learn to manage the
diagnosis, provides a positive approach to changing this aspect of their lives. The
hopelessness that they are crazy is replaced with hope and confidence that they
can help themselves.
Patients thank me for explaining and have a newfound calm and happiness because
they feel empowered. This tells me my approach is correct. Ethically, seeing a
patient in a rushed appointment to check the boxes and get them out of the room
does not feel right. Average patient visits may be every six months or once a year.
What happened during that time that they need answers for? How has their life
changed? My job is a keenly practiced skillset to take advantage of our time and
give them all the information they need to improve their health status between the
times I see them. I cannot live with them, only arm them with tools to improve their
lives.