-
The importance of autism training for police officers
Bambi Majumdar Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityDealing with autistic and differently abled people has been a challenge for law enforcement, primarily due to a lack of training. A deadly shooting on June 14 at a Costco in Corona, California, outside Los Angeles, brought this issue to the forefront again. Following the incident, a panel convened to increase awareness of autism, train officers, and prevent further such horrors. The panel, hosted by Autism Society Inland Empire, urged families to join the awareness discussion, share information, and help train law enforcement officers.
-
A group of modern-day Nightingales strive to improve healthcare with SONSIEL
Amanda Ghosh Medical & Allied HealthcareRebecca Love, a nurse entrepreneur and TEDx speaker, reminded us by mentioning of the work of Florence Nightingale that it was nurses who transformed the "dark ages" of medicine, and nurses who will likely do so again. Love is the first nurse to be featured on the main TED.com platform, and her argument was noteworthy. Nurses who feel called to improve healthcare with transformational ideas will be interested in the organization that she, along with other notable "rockstars" — as she calls them — have founded: SONSIEL.
-
Seeking silence: Ultimately, it’s an inside job
Lisa Cole Mental HealthcareNoise — it's everywhere! Noisemakers abound: fans, compressors, leaf blowers. Even libraries, once a respite enshrouded in a tomblike hush, have now become community headquarters. Am I the only one left seeking silence in what seems like a deafening world? From the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety: "Sound is what we hear. Noise is unwanted sound. The difference between sound and noise depends upon the listener and the circumstances."
-
How staff debriefing can improve patient outcomes
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationAs a healthcare administrator, you know the importance of psychological debriefing for your doctors and nurses after an adverse event. Still, are you making sure staff debriefing is being used as expansively and effectively as it can be? Research shows that targeted debriefing can improve many diverse aspects of your staff's efficiency. As a result, your patients do better. Employ these science-driven strategies to help meet your most important objectives.
-
Trump administration’s drug price transparency rule blocked by federal…
Scott E. Rupp PharmaceuticalA recent Trump administration rule received a blow at the hands of a federal judge in early July 2019. The judge blocked a drug transparency rule that drugmakers have opposed — requiring that prices be listed in any television ads for the drugs. Merck & Co., Eli Lilly, and Amgen, along with the Association of National Advertisers, sued the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS to block the rule they call unnecessary and unlawful. It was set to take effect July 9.
-
Study: Caring for dementia caregivers
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareWorldwide, an estimated 50 million people are living with dementia. These numbers are projected to reach 82 million by the year 2030 and 152 million by 2050. Dementia, which is not a normal part of aging, is overwhelming not only for the people who have it but also for their caregivers and families. Dementia behaviors, such as wandering, sundown syndrome, anxiety, and hallucinations, are huge sources of stress. Now, a program of therapy and coping strategies for caregivers and family members with dementia promises to improve the caregivers’ mental status for a least a six-year follow-up.
-
Chronic pain: We are adding to our patients’ suffering
Lisa Cole Medical & Allied HealthcareI started my professional practice in chemical dependency. Now, many decades later, I find myself advocating for chronic pain patients just to get them the drugs they need to continue functioning. More and more, they are erroneously considered “addicts” and being titrated down, cut off or given inadequate substitutes to what had been working well enough for them. Most simply want to attend to their activities of daily living without being immobilized by pain. This current prescribing practice only contributes to our patients’ suffering versus offering relief.
-
Struggling readers have no time to lose: Social-emotional learning
Howard Margolis EducationPeople are social and emotional beings. Some have great social and emotional understanding and skills; others barely squeak by. Generally, those with greater social and emotional understanding and skills do far better in every major aspect of life than those who struggle. Compared to those who struggle, they’re happier, healthier, and more productive. Usually, they enjoy and keep their friends and tend to avoid the life-threatening dangers of loneliness. Unfortunately, difficulties with the social-emotional aspects of life severely wound many struggling readers (SRs).
-
Preventing chronic pain in lab mice
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareIn the U.S., chronic pain affects more people than cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes combined. When pain is chronic, signaling persists over time and can lead to biochemical changes in the nervous system. Options for treating chronic pain include oral and topical therapies. Other options include physical therapy, exercise, acupuncture, relaxation techniques, and psychological counseling. Effective drugs against chronic pain are not necessarily forthcoming. However, researchers have recently identified a protein as a future potential target for medicinal drugs.
-
How you can provide a healing environment at your workplace
Lisa Cole Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementWhen I think about a healing environment, rest, beauty and love instantly come to mind. Yet, how often do we encounter any of these three qualities in a typical healthcare encounter? Or in any workplace? Kate Strasburg and Traci Teraoka, co-founders of Healing Environments, spent 15 years creating environments conducive to healing. Let's take up their torch and put on our thinking caps.
All Mental Healthcare Articles