In this episode we discuss:  The Observation phase of your assessment. What you can assess during the interview portion of visit. How you can use this portion of the assessment to guide you in patient care.

The Observation phase of your assessment begins the minute you open the door to the exam room. This episode I will give you tips on what you can assess during the interview portion of visit and how you can use this portion of the assessment to guide you in patient evaluation.

In this episode we’ll cover getting the most out of the the typical 15 minute office visit. How to organize yourself for the visit. How to guide the visit. How to get in and get out with all you need.

You might be thinking, “oh my goodness there is so much to take in and how am I ever supposed to fit all of this into a visit! If I get 15 minutes for my patient. How do I ask them everything that needs to be asked in 15 minutes?” It is possible! In this episode, we will cover tips on just that. Get in and get out, get all you need, have a plan to chart it all and keep your patient happy!

In this episode I will cover:

■  Chronic Fatigue and Weight Gain: When Thyroid Gets the Blame

■  Thyroid Assessment

■  The Nutrition Connection to Thyroid Function

 This episode I want to continue down our path of nutritional influence on health.  We have started to get into the nutritional influences and deficits of our current patient population in previous episodes.  As we continue, I want to focus in on a topic that you may not commonly connect to dietary influences. The thyroid. I have some insights into the connection between food intake and thyroid function that may surprise you! So listen in!

This episode I will be sharing:

■ Factors involved in our current focus on food in our society

■ Insights into some hidden factors contributing to poor nutrition

■ Our role as NPs in managing the current nutrition crisis

■ ...and so much more!

It is an extremely daunting task to care for today’s patient. We we live in a society that is getting their information from social media and mass marketing.  We are fighting every step of the way to get people to control their co-morbidities. People are going to the Internet to find health tips. We go through a different fad every few years. The people who are giving out information, most often are looking for their own monetary gain or are not educated in managing a person with complicated health conditions. This can be dangerous! Re-educating our patient population, as well as ourselves is going to be the new way of life. 

I have spoken to so many other NPs that don’t know how to teach patients about nutrition or even how to mange their own nutrition. BUT WE ARE EXPECTED TO KNOW it all! Society and patients look to us as medical professionals to guide them into the right direction.  So listen in for insights addressing this issue!