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Whenever I hear a patient described as “noncompliant,” my skin crawls. Having practiced nursing in a variety of care settings, including home health care, I’ve became very aware of circumstances that sometimes prevent patients from adhering to the extensive discharge instructions they receive as they are about to leave the hospital.

Do we take the time to thoroughly assess the situation to understand whether the patient was in fact intentionally disregarding a prescribed treatment regimen? ...

For most hospital patients, that sliding glass door marked “Emergency” is the hospital’s true entrance. The other front door, of course, is the main lobby, where mostly scheduled patients arrive for surgery or other services. In the past 40 years, however, the action has shifted to emergency care. In fact, the emergency department is the hub of what you might call the “Unscheduled Care System.”

OK, “system” might be too strong a word. Other areas ...

My GPS has empowered me beyond my wildest imagination. I have no sense of direction beyond forward or backward, left or right. Most of the time I have no idea about how to get where I’m going; it’s the quiet, calm voice on my GPS that helps me find my way. It’s the only way I could travel alone and get to where I need to be.

The beauty of GPS is in its simplicity ...

Recently, our nation was shocked by the shootings in Tucson. A crazed gunman who apparently targeted Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wound up killing six people and wounding 13 others, including the congresswoman. As the events unfolded on that tragic day, those of us in health care undoubtedly imagined what it would have been like to be at the scene, in the ambulance, the trauma bay, the OR or the ICU. How would we have reacted in ...