Future Directions in Healthcare : Writing Assignment 8
Throughout my series of writing assignments, I have explored one main theme: communication in a healthcare setting. I began researching head and neck cancer survivorship and the misconception that life after cancer is not as difficult as with cancer; clinicians should provide support to relieve survivors of psychological side effects of their treatment (Nund, 2015). […]
Using Narrative Medicine to Explore the Social Roots of Illness
Andrew Herxheimer and Ann McPherson, clinical pharmacologist and general physician, respectively, initiated the DIPEx Project– a database of individual experiences from patients that received a hospital treatment. The database is divided into module names including accounts particular to each module. For example, some of the modules included chronic pain, breast screening, ovarian cancer, people with […]
Brief Literature Review of Pain Assessment
In his literature review of pain research, Bill Noble elaborates on the methods used to test effectiveness of analgesics between 1945 and 2000. His research outlines three different approaches: (1) psychophysics, (2) standardized words on questionnaires, and (3) verbal rating scales. Psychophysics is the oldest method of the three and it uses a stimulus to […]
Narrative Medicine in the Context of Childhood Chronic Pain
Previous studies have established that medical testing cannot detect all types of physical pain. Individuals that are victim to a system where a physical and usually quantitative measurement of pain symptoms is customary, often are left feeling helpless and resigned. This issues sets up the importance of narrative medicine in a clinical setting. Using a […]
The Lack of Patient Credibility
Swathi Mettela MHC Science Forward Professor Kowach 24 October 2016 The Lack of Patient Credibility It is well established in academia that pain is one of the most difficult phenomena to communicate via language. When this idea is brought into a hospital setting, it poses a serious issue concerning efficiency of modern medicine. Not only […]
Inexpressibility of Pain
Physical pain has existed for as long as living organisms have been around to experience it. Whether it be stubbing your toe, a laceration, or childbirth, pain has always been an experience that all humans can relate to and sympathize with. While this fact of life is unifying and constant, the history of pain and […]
Quality of Life Surveys from Head and Neck Cancer Survivors: The Need for a Standard
Swathi Mettela MHC Science Forward Professor Kowach 26 September 2016 Quality of Life Surveys from Head and Neck Cancer Survivors: The Need for a Standard Head and neck cancers (HNC) currently make up 3% of all cancers in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates over 60,000 new HNC cancer cases and […]
Need for Clinical Intervention to Improve Communication in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors
Head and neck cancer (HNC) accounts for approximately 3% of cancers in the U.S. The American Cancer Society estimates over 60,000 new HNC cancer cases in the U.S. in 2016, and roughly 500,000 HNC survivors. Although deemed “cancer free,” these survivors must still cope with the physical and psychological consequences of treatment. A study conducted […]
