Health Professionals React to Morning-After Pill Controversy

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

It’s no secret that the morning-after pill has been (and continues) sparking controversy among many health professionals, groups and organizations across the US in recent months. Here’s a little recap:

In February, the Obama administration revealed a new health care law that would require most employers to provide free coverage of birth control, which started a lot of buzz around the morning-after pill.  Used as an emergency contraceptive to help prevent pregnancy, the pill has seen a high increase usage rates, more than doubling over recent years, according to federal data released.

Last month, a federal judge ordered that the most common morning-after pill, Plan B-One Step, be made available over the counter for all ages, instead of requiring a prescription for girls 16 and younger.

Then, in early May, the Obama administration announced that pharmacies may now sell the emergency contraceptive Plan B over the counter to girls as young as 15 years old.

Most recently, a federal appeals court on Monday temporarily granted the Obama administration’s request for a stay of an order by Judge Edward R. Korman of Federal District Court that the pill be available without a prescription for everyone.

Photo of the morning after pill, Plan B.

Sparking discussion on SurroundHealth, is the controversy around the selling of Plan B to girls as young as 15.

Discussions in our community

Health professionals on SurroundHealth have been actively discussing this issue, sharing opinions, research, and new developments around the topic.  The member forum has brought up debates around potential misuse, responsibility, and safety (side effects).

Here ‘s an example of debate around misuse:

“I am not worried about misuse. I do think in general it’s better to plan AHEAD for sex than to worry after the fact, and I think we should encourage men and women to do so. I also am grateful we have an option for when we fail to plan ahead. I think it’s great for it to be as widely available as possible. My main concern is that people take it correctly to get the most protection from unwanted pregnancy.”

“…making the “morning-after” pills available to younger people, who aren’t yet able to think past their hormones to remember that indiscriminate sexual behavior exposes them to more than simply unwanted pregnancy, is irresponsible. They will just think, if they think, that they can take a pill the next day and everything will be OK, forgetting all about HIV and other STDs…which, by the way, are on the increase in the U.S. among teens.”

If you’d like to share your opinions on the topic or see what other health professionals are saying, join the discussion on SurroundHealth!

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5 Tips from Health Professionals on Motivating Patients

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

Last Wednesday, we hosted a webinar, “Motivate Resistant Patients By Changing Your Professional Role,” featuring healthcare extenders who shared their own tips on how they motivate patients in their various roles and settings. These tips were generated from reflections to the book, “Motivational Practice: Promoting Healthy Habits and Self-Care of Chronic Diseases,” by Dr. Rick Botelho, who led the book club webinar.

The panelist lineup (whose collective tips are below) was:

  • Joanne Rinker, MS, RD, CDE, LDN- 2013 Diabetes Educator of the Year
  • Tammy Pilisuk, MPH
  • Sarah Christensen, Mayo Clinic Cancer Education Program 

Here are the tips & reflections they shared:

Photo fo Dr. Rick Botelho's book.

Dr. Rick Botelho shared three chapters of his book on motivating patients and led reflections during the recent SurroundHealth webinar.

1. Consider changing yourself before changing others. Make sure you are setting a good example for your patients.

2. Understand there’s a difference between GIVING information and TALKING about information with a patient. Make sure patients leave knowing how to makes specific behaviors and take action.

3.  Motivational practitioners get more engaged with patients. Realize the pay-off achieved from spending a little more time talking with patients. Active listening and individualized conversation makes patients feel heard and respected.

4. Assessment is key. Remember that each patient has their own beliefs and values. Make sure not to impose your own personal beliefs on your patients.

5. Learn from your peers. Providing a learning community for staff, such as a training session, allows peers to learn what does and doesn’t work, and provides opportunities for sharing best practices.

To hear more reflections and tips on motivating patients, view the full archived version on SurroundHealth.

Another opportunity for you:

Join us for another free webinar, tomorrow, Tuesday May 14th at 1PM EST, this time on non-traditional health careers. Hear success stories from health professionals at the University of California, Irvine, Learn it Live, the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates, and the National Society of Health Coaches.

Sign up for “Entrepreneurial Careers in Healthcare.” We are also offering free CEU credits—Hope to “see” you there!

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Top Career Tips for Health Professionals

Posted on May 9, 2013 by
Photo of graduation.

As graduation ceremonies take place, new grads entering the workforce should keep these career tips in mind.
Original: bit.ly/RMu9z2

May is an important month for new beginnings and changes, as graduation ceremonies take place and new grads enter the workforce. Whether you fall under this category, or are just taking a turn in your career path, it’s good to keep some important career tips in mind as you forge your career in healthcare.

Last fall, we hosted a webinar series, Advance your Healthcare Career, which focused on three important career topics for health professionals. We are going to share 3 top tips we gathered throughout the series.

Here they are:

  • When Charting your Healthcare Career, conduct your research. Make sure to talk to trusted contacts and mentors. Definitely network as much as possible (on social media and in person). This can be done through conferences, talks, and informational interviews. Find trade organizations to join such as the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND).
  • When Using Social Media to Build Your Professional Brand, Remember that social media is a marathon; not a sprint. Have a strategic approach by thinking through key questions—who is your target audience? What are your goals and what do you need to achieve them? How much time do you need to commit to building social media presence?
  • When Carving out a Leadership Role in Healthcare, Have a consistent set of values and don’t worry about being liked. Leaders are not always liked but they are respected and they earn that respect through developing integrity. People are looking for someone that they can trust. Trust does not mean that people will agree with you. Trust is a basis where people know where they stand with you.

For more tips, read the full article on SurroundHealth, 10 Career Tips for Health Professionals.

Another opportunity to learn about careers in healthcare

If you are interested in learning about non-traditional career paths in healthcare, or how to redirect your career or create a profitable side business, join us for our upcoming webinar on Tuesday May 14th at 1PM EST, Entrepreneurial Careers in Healthcare.

Photo of different career paths

Learn about different careers in healthcare in upcoming webinar, Entrepreneurial Careers in Healthcare.
Original: bit.ly/194JmB5

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Motivational Principles to Help Engage Patients Over Time

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

How can healthcare extenders motivate patients to make healthy changes? Dr. Rick Botelho, author of “Motivational Practice: Promoting Healthy Habits and Self-Care of Chronic Diseases,” recently shared with us an excerpt containing motivational principles that practitioners can use. Botelho emphasizes that each person is unique in what may motivate him or her to change and that these principles can be used as a guide to engaging patients in the change process over time.

Motivational Principles

  • Develop empathic relationships with patients
  • Clarify roles and responsibilities for health behavior change
  • Gain consent from patients to address behavior change
  • Respect patients’ autonomy- use influence, not control, to effect change
  • Work at a pace sensitive to the patients’ needs and their readiness to change
  • Help patients explore and understand better their values and perceptions
  • Help patients decide whether to change their values and perceptions
  • Focus on strengths, successes and health, not weaknesses, failures and pathology
  • Focus on solutions rather than on problems
  • Enhance patients’ confidence and competence to change (self-efficacy)
  • Negotiate reasonable goals for change
  • Help patients believe that healthy outcomes are possible
  • Help patients increase their supports and reduce their barriers to change
  • Develop plans to prevent relapses and use so-called failures as learning opportunities

Bookclub_BlogDr. Botelho, along with a group of panelists, will be discussing his book in further detail in our upcoming webinar, “Motivate Resistant Patients By Changing Your Professional Role” this Wednesday, May 8th. This webinar will focus on how to adapt your professional role to patients’ changing needs over time.

Attendees will be able to:

  • Learn how to work with educated patients who resist change
  • Hear how to take on a more motivational role
  • Earn free CEUs (preapproved for CHES/MCHES/RD)

Plus: Everyone who registers for the webinar will receive 3 free chapters of Dr. Botelho’s book, “Motivational Practice: Promoting Healthy Habits and Self-Care of Chronic Diseases.”

To reserve your spot for the free webinar, register today.

SurroundHealth members will also have access to the full archive, so if you can’t make it, sign up anyway so that you can watch at a later date!

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Using the Ask-Educate-Ask Approach to Get Patients to Take Action

Posted on May 2, 2013 by

 Many health care providers agree that it can be extremely difficult to get patients to take action; some even say it’s impossible. In a recent SurroundHealth webinar, “Health Literacy: Skills for Moving from ‘Mission Impossible?’ to ‘Mission Accomplished’” Dr. James Dudl from the Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute discussed using the Ask-Educate-Ask approach to help move patients to action by uncovering barriers & teaching problem solving skills.

Here is a breakdown of the Ask-Educate-Ask script:

ASK. In order to start an action, first address the barriers. Ask your patient about what barriers he/she is encountering, such as lack of motivation. Make sure they understand that the barriers need to be addressed immediately, not at the next appointment.

  • For example, “In order to start treatment regularly tomorrow, what problems, questions or concerns do you need to deal with now?”
Photo of healthcare provider educating patient

Using the Ask-Educate-Ask method is a great way to help patients overcome barriers and solve problems.

EDUCATE. This is your chance to demonstrate problem solving skills. Try to help them come up with solutions to overcome barriers. For example, if a patient is having trouble remembering to take medication, you may suggest:

  • “Some find it helpful to take it with something they do every day, like drink morning coffee, brushing teeth, eating, but I’m curious…”

Understanding that different methods will work for different patients, this is a good time to open up the floor and see what will solution fits best with you patient. Your goal is not to get your patient to do what you suggest, but to get them to take ownership of the solution.

ASK. This final step will lead you patient to solve their problem. Ask questions that will get them thinking, such as:

  • What would work for you?
  • What will you do to make that happen?

Once they come up with a solution, it’s beneficial to use the teach back approach and have them repeat their plan for reinforcement.

  • What will you do NOW?

To hear more about what Dr. Dudl discussed during the webinar, view the full archived version on SurroundHealth. 

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Celebrating our 2nd Anniversary with Giveaways for our 5,000th Member

Posted on April 25, 2013 by

This Friday, we are celebrating a very special day—our two-year anniversary! It’s amazing how quickly time flies, but we are so excited to be able to celebrate great accomplishments with our growing community of health professionals.

Since our launch in April 2011, we’ve extended our reach to thousands of health professionals in various backgrounds, fields, and areas of expertise. It’s been so enlightening to listen to the different views of our diverse members, and we are happy to continue to increase engagement in our community. (Make sure to scroll down to see a special opportunity for current members!)

Another major milestone

On the heels of our anniversary, we are also celebrating a major membership milestone, approaching the 5,000-member mark! SurroundHealth has rapidly been growing, a testament to the value that health care professionals find in having a common space to engage and share best practices. Between April 2012 and now, our membership has grown from 1,200 to nearly 5,000. This is definitely something to celebrate, so how are we doing it?

A special giveaway

To celebrate our anniversary along with our membership milestone, we are offering a welcome kit to the 5,000th health care professional to sign up. The kit will include various SurroundHealth goodies, a copy of the HealthEd Academy report, “Engaging Patients From Multicultural Backgrounds” (a $295 value) as well as a $50 Amazon gift card.

Photo of SurroundHealth 5,000th Member Welcome Basket

SurroundHealth’s 5000th member will be welcomed with this basket of goodies! Who will it be?

An exciting opportunity for current SurroundHealth members

The member who refers the most new members (using Refer-A-Friend) between now and the 5,000th member, will be featured on SurroundHealth. Community Director Dominika Murphy will interview the referring member to learn more about his or her professional skills, background and work, and write an article about him or her. This is a great chance to get some extra exposure for you or your organization.

Here are some benefits this article would present:

  • Featured on SurroundHealth (to 5,000 members across the US and internationally)
  • Distribution on our social media sites (including nearly 1,200 twitter followers)
  • Recognition of the individual’s work and expertise
  • Marketing of personal brand

To refer a member, use the Refer-A-Friend page.

We look forward to all our members celebrating with us and to welcoming our 5,000th member!

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From the Boston Marathon Tragedy Emerges a Sense of Community

Posted on April 18, 2013 by

In the hours following the horrific bombings at the Boston Marathon last Monday, many people took to social media to express their concerns, new findings, and words of sympathy to those affected. One quote that went viral and has stood as sign of hope in the wake of tragedy, comes from Mr. Rogers,

Photo & quote from late TV icon, Mr. Rogers

This photo & quote by Mr. Rogers, late television icon, spread hope and encouragement in wake of the Boston Marathon explosions.

 

The quote, usually along with  black-and-white photo of Mr. Rogers above, circulated throughout various social media streams, and couldn’t be more appropriate for the stories that surfaced around the heroes that day— the emergency personnel, doctors, nurses, etc. who all raced to help the wounded. Several recaps have been shared including, a doctor on how the medical tent “transformed into a trauma unit” and two nurses who relied on trauma experience to treat the wounded. These stories and accounts of lending a helping hand are a true testament to the meaning of community building to help promote wellness. As mentioned in a previous blog, having a strong sense of community leads to a healthier you.

Resources to help individuals & communities cope with disaster

With these types of tragedies come several health challenges, including extreme stress. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shared yesterday several resources, including websites and tip sheets for dealing with stress and crisis management during emergency situations. Also included was a resource to help find loved ones who were in disaster areas and you have not yet been able to contact. Coming from credible sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Red Cross, the following are great resources to assist individuals and communities:

SurroundHealth extends heartfelt thoughts and prayers to all the people and families affected by the disaster. 

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