Remember the game “Whisper Down the Lane?” Basically, the game would start with the person at the head of the line, who would think of a sentence, something like “Sally went to the store and bought strawberries, pork chops, and milk.” They would then whisper that...
It's 6:30 a.m. and that pesky alarm clock is going off ... for the third time. I lay in bed for another 10 minutes, mentally logging which number I’m at on the standard 0-10 pain scale (0=no pain to 10=excruciating pain). Today feels like it’s going to be a 4, which...
As a dermatology nurse practitioner, psoriasis is one of the most common conditions that I encounter on a day-to- day basis. Psoriasis affects more than 8 million adults worldwide. Studies have shown that approximately 30% of patients with psoriasis will eventually...
There are times as a rheumatology nurse practitioner when I want to bang my head against the wall. A patient doesn’t show up for a follow-up appointment for the second time in a row. Someone tells me that they stopped taking their medication “just because” and their...
To the majority of the outside world, psoriasis is seen as a cosmetic nuisance, an unsightly skin condition that they are glad they don’t have to deal with but not likely a major quality-of-life deterrent. But for a patient living with this chronic skin condition, the...
Being a new patient showing up for the first appointment at a new practice can be an unnerving experience. Will I like my doctor? Will they understand me and take my issues seriously? Will they truly be interested in helping me get better? Whenever I have to see a new...
I understand that transitioning from a pediatric to an adult rheumatologist can be a very scary moment for many of our young adult patients. Often, these patients have been with their providers for many years and have built strong relationships built on trust. What...
Transitioning from pediatric to adult rheumatology can be quite a traumatic experience for many patients with rheumatic disease. Some have seen their pediatric rheumatologist since their earliest days of childhood and cannot recall a year going by without a handful of...
In the adult rheumatology world, the transition of a pediatric patient into our world is often tricky. We know that the patient’s juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) does not magically transform into adult rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with the wave of some magic wand....
Depression is something we commonly see in many of our patients with rheumatic disease. With experience, the signs become obvious. Disengagement with family and friends, poor adherence to medication, missed appointments, spotty hygiene practices, and more. Given the...