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The necessity of patient advocacy
The Necessity of Patient Advocacy
Janice D. Nunnelee, PhD, RN, CSIANP, is a clinical associate professor of nursing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and coeditor of Home Care Provider.
92 HOME CARE PROVIDER
This issue of Home Care Provider concerns gastrointestinal matters, and it is time we turned our attention to health promotion issues in home care. Sometimes we focus on stamping out the fires of acute illness and forget that being in the home is an ideal time for teaching all family members. Although health screening may not occur in the home, we are a trusted member of the family’s support group, and they look to us for advice on all health concerns. Think of the patients you are seeing with a colon cancer. Chances are they have been told by their colorectal surgeon or primary care provider that family members also need screening for colon cancer at appropriate times. In the emotional state of preoperative preparedness, however, this advice can be overlooked. Even a few years ago, this recommendation may not have been given. When you are caring for a patient who recently or remotely has undergone surgery for a colon cancer, take the time to discuss the need for family
members also to have a colonoscopy. Family members may fear the procedure or the possibility that they may have colon cancer, but you must reassure and encourage them. The procedure is much less uncomfortable than it used to be, but any discomfort is outweighed by the possibility of finding a cancer early or removing a precancerous polyp, which may prevent the spread of the disease. Controversy exists over screening the entire population for colon cancer. It may be necessary for you to support a primary care provider’s recommendation for screening. In any case, be an advocate for patients and families and teach health promotion. In addition, make sure patients who have undergone a remote procedure get follow-up examinations at appropriate intervals, even if you are seeing the patient for other reasons. Remember, you are a health promoter for the patient and family, not just the care provider for the disease necessitating the visit.
JUNE 1999, VOL. 4 NO. 3
Janice D. Nunnelee, PhD, RN, CSIANP, is a clinical associate professor of nursing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and coeditor of Home Care Provider.
92 HOME CARE PROVIDER
This issue of Home Care Provider concerns gastrointestinal matters, and it is time we turned our attention to health promotion issues in home care. Sometimes we focus on stamping out the fires of acute illness and forget that being in the home is an ideal time for teaching all family members. Although health screening may not occur in the home, we are a trusted member of the family’s support group, and they look to us for advice on all health concerns. Think of the patients you are seeing with a colon cancer. Chances are they have been told by their colorectal surgeon or primary care provider that family members also need screening for colon cancer at appropriate times. In the emotional state of preoperative preparedness, however, this advice can be overlooked. Even a few years ago, this recommendation may not have been given. When you are caring for a patient who recently or remotely has undergone surgery for a colon cancer, take the time to discuss the need for family
members also to have a colonoscopy. Family members may fear the procedure or the possibility that they may have colon cancer, but you must reassure and encourage them. The procedure is much less uncomfortable than it used to be, but any discomfort is outweighed by the possibility of finding a cancer early or removing a precancerous polyp, which may prevent the spread of the disease. Controversy exists over screening the entire population for colon cancer. It may be necessary for you to support a primary care provider’s recommendation for screening. In any case, be an advocate for patients and families and teach health promotion. In addition, make sure patients who have undergone a remote procedure get follow-up examinations at appropriate intervals, even if you are seeing the patient for other reasons. Remember, you are a health promoter for the patient and family, not just the care provider for the disease necessitating the visit.
JUNE 1999, VOL. 4 NO. 3