Raise your hand if you’ve heard of “checkpoint inhibitors.” OK, maybe don’t really raise your hand since you are probably sitting alone somewhere. Or maybe you’re riding the bus or train, and you don’t want people staring at you with the “Check out the crazy lady...
This issue of Rheumatology Nurse Practice (RNP) is the first of several coming out this year that will offer continuing education (CE) credit hours for nurses. Your initial reaction may involve nothing more than an “OK, so what?” shrug of the shoulders. Rest assured,...
We all have patients who are hard to connect with, stubborn beyond belief despite what we think is clear evidence that refutes their deep-seated obstinence. How often do we hear, “The side effects are too great. I’d rather suffer in pain than take this new medication...
As a rheumatology nurse practitioner with 16 years of experience, I have seen a lot of patients with rapidly progressing disease. Unquestionably, after nearly 2 decades of experience with biologic therapies, the use of early, aggressive therapy is best for most of our...
The scariest movie I ever saw was called “The Ring.” I’m not exactly sure what it was about, because I “watched” it while hiding under my jacket in the movie theater. Something about a cursed girl who lived on an island off Seattle, and she inadvertently made horses...
Because patient outcomes are increasingly being used as outcomes measures to determine the success or failure of certain treatment regimens, health behavior modifications, and compliance issues, rheumatology nurses are becoming increasingly more important in...
J.T. was a former professional baseball player who came to our practice after being diagnosed at age 45 with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the prime of his youth, J.T. played for a number of minor league teams, and even after his baseball career, he remained an...
In nursing school, we are taught to use care plans to help manage our patients’ health problems. First, we assess the patient; next, we develop a plan of care; and finally, we implement the plan of care. At the end of this process, the patient response hopefully...
Sometimes, we encounter a patient in our practice who touches our life and our soul, and never leaves our heart. One such patient of mine was Michael. Michael fit the profile of our usual stoic patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). He was a hard-working carpenter...
As rheumatology nurses, we are lucky to be able to touch so many lives in a memorable way. Consequently, when a patient appears in our practice clearly lost in the vortex of insurance companies and lacking continuity of care, it makes us reflect on the importance of...