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RN Patient Advocates is the only nationally recognized Patient Advocacy education program created specifically for qualified RNs endorsed by a leading College of Nursing: The University of Arizona. |
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Welcome
Joan Shaver, Dean UA College of NursingRN Patient Advocates in participation with The College of Nursing, University of Arizona invite you to join the RNPA Learning Intensive.
This is the only course of study offered exclusively to experienced, clinical RNs to become Independent RN Patient Advocates (iRNPAs). This program has been developed over 11 years by Karen Mercereau, RN, iRNPA, a nationally recognized visionary leader in healthcare”. ~ Joan L. Shaver, PhD, RN, FAAN
Testimonials
- A Life-Saving Team
Phil is a 63-year-old CPA who had devastating black ulcerations devouring both thighs, poorly controlled diabetes and diabetic ulcers, suffering from poor nutrition and very poor pain control. His physicians were arguing about the diagnosis and Phil’s legs continued to deteriorate, actually disappearing – painfully. More - Leading Edge Medicine
Eva is a 37 year old high school biology teacher, diagnosed with fibromyalgia and crippled by headaches that were not responding to therapy, covered with cysts, suffering with systemic yeast infections and multiple allergies, suffering from poor nutrition with significant GI problems and obesity. More
Do You Need A Health Detective
... Call your RN Patient Advocate!
About Us
Founded in 2002, RN Patient Advocates provides:
- The only Learning Intensive preparing qualified RNs to become Independent RN Patient Advocates (iRNPAs). This nationally recognized Learning Intensive is offered in association with the University of Arizona, College of Nursing.
- The National Network of RN Patient Advocates: Mentoring, Continuing Education, Collaborative Practice, Shared Governance
- Our Mission is to empower people in their health care through Advocacy, Education and Guidance through the health care system.
Karen's Story
Always an Advocate…
I was always the family patient advocate. That the system was broken became more and more obvious over the years as I worked on their behalf. I was a patient advocate in the clinical arena as well, though that too was becoming increasingly difficult. By 2002,
Course Completion Statement
Course Completion statement: “This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the Arizona Nurses’ Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.”
Course Completion statement: Successful completion of the RN Patient Advocate Learning Intensive requires participation in the 9/4/12 to 10/1/12 e-learning and the 10/9/12 to 10/16/12 face-to-face learning. Continuing education credit will be awarded based on attendance as evidenced by participation in e-learning, completion of sign-in sheets for face-to-face learning and completed evaluation forms .
Disclosure Statement: The planning committee members, content experts, faculty, presenters and authors have no relevant financial relationship to declare. There is no commercial support being received for this event, and there is no sponsorship being received for this event.
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Homocysteine – what is it? Why do we need to know? Ask your heart.
June 18, 2013 4:07 pm
Since 1990, the National Library of Medicine has posted thousands of scientific studies showing that homocysteine is a significant risk factor for disease.
What disease? Higher levels of homocysteine raise the risk of premature cardiovascular disease affecting the heart, brain, and peripheral blood vessels. Elevated homocysteine may speed the progression of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) in the arteries in your heart and the rest of your body.
Osteoporosis: Women with high homocysteine levels were found to have significantly lower bone mineral density in the hip than control subjects.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Rising levels of homocysteine may predict impending cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
Depression and elevated homocysteine appear to be related as well.
Elevated homocysteine levels have now been correlated with a wide array of illnesses, including the ones listed here as well as stroke, schizophrenia, macular degeneration, cervical cancer, and birth defects.
So what is it? Homocysteine is an amino acid (protein) that your body makes from another amino acid called methionine – found in protein-dense foods that you eat on a regular basis, such as sunflower seeds, eggs, and fish.
Normally, homocysteine gets converted into two really helpful compounds: SAMe (S-adenosyl methionine- you may have read about the use of SAMe in treating depression) and glutathione, your body’s master antioxidant.
Sounds good, right? However, in order to convert the homocysteine to these helpful compounds, you need sufficient folate, B12, Vitamins B 2 and 6, zinc, trimethyglycine and magnesium.
What can we do? Step one: ask your doctor about checking your homocysteine level. Step two: if your homocysteine level is high, ask to have the levels of folate, B12, B2, B6, zinc, magnesium (as RBC magnesium) and trimethylglycine checked. If they are low, it is both simple and inexpensive to replenish your body’s stores of these nutrients.
Next class - Online: September 21 - November 16, 2013 Residential: November 19 - 23, 2013
March 5, 2013 5:16 pm
RN Patient Advocates, PLLC, in association with the University of Arizona, College of Nursing, would like to offer you the opportunity to participate in an 8 week online, 5-day residential immersion course to become an independent RN Patient Advocate. This offer is exclusively for experienced clinical RNs. Our RN Patient Advocacy Program began 11 years ago and has evolved into a highly effective Advocacy Process that greatly improves patient outcomes and saves health care dollars.
Could your house be making you sick? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) tells us that more than a quarter of U. S. buildings are water-damaged.
June 17, 2013 1:50 pm
Water damaged buildings can promote the growth of molds – and you do not have to see or smell it for it to be present. Living in a moldy household or water damaged building increases the risk for depression by 33-44 percent. Many other conditions can be caused by mold as well: chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivities, Lupus, MS, migraines, autoimmune illnesses.
Symptoms may include:
- Breathing: Difficult, Tightness in chest, Asthma
- Emotions: irritable, anger
- Extremities: Tingling Hands and Feet
- Eyes: Blindness, Pains, Wear sunglasses, Light Sensitivity, Bloodshot eyes, loss of vision, Detached retina
- Fatigue: Chronic Fatigue (some estimate cause of up to 1/3 of chronic fatigue), postexertional fatigue
- Mental: Confusion, brain fog, ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities, anxiety
- Nasal: Congestion, Nasal soreness, sinusitis. A study by the Mayo clinic found that 96 percent of all sinusitis is fungal!
- Pain: pain in temples, sudden headaches, sudden, sharp, icepick like
- Sensitivity: Car fumes, Smoke, Pets, Feathers, Detergents, Toothpaste, Chlorine, Plastic cups
- Skin: Rashes, hair loss
- Stomach: Cramps, nausea, Diarrhea
- Taste: Metallic
- Thirst: Dryness, Excessive thirst, excessive urination
- Weight Gain: Sudden, inability to lose weight despite stringent dieting and exercise
What to do? If you have symptoms and medications are not making you better, if you have lived or worked in any building that has ever had any water damage/leaking roof, poor ventilation, consider that mold may be an issue and ask your physician. Mold symptoms can often be misdiagnosed. There are specific lab tests for mold illness – also called Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome.
Have your house or building tested for mold: the leading test is the ERMI test.
There is treatment!
Learn more at www.survivingmold.com
What’s in your teeth may be causing your high blood pressure…and be a cause factor of heart attacks and strokes. How does that happen?
June 13, 2013 9:58 am
Nicholas Gonzalez, MD, explains: “According to a research paper published in the 2011 issue of The Journal of Clinical Hypertension, mercury affects the heart and blood vessels in several ways:”
- Mercury in your body increases inflammation
- It causes thrombosis (the formation of blood clots in the veins)
- Mercury contributes to abnormal endothelial function (remember that the endothelium is the thin layer of cells that lines the interior surface of your arteries and is a prime indicator of cardiovascular health or disease)
- Mercury impairs the immune system
- It interferes with the production of energy in your cells
- Mercury causes high blood pressure
The author of the research paper, Mark C. Houston, MD, also explains that “The clinical consequences of mercury toxicity include hypertension, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction (heart attacks)” and abnormal heart rhythms as well as carotid artery obstructions and strokes.We are only 10% human. What? Microbes outnumber human cells by 10 to 1 and are essential to our health.
June 12, 2013 1:40 pm
There are the harmless ones, the ”favor traders” who rely on us for survival as much as we rely on them for survival (this is the greatest percentage), and the small percentage of potentially dangerous ones called pathogens. These microbes are every bit as important – and perhaps more – as the genes we inherit from our parents.
Your inherited genes are fixed – although you can influence which ones become more or less active – while it may be possible to reshape this second set of genes in our bodies. Certainly this happens every time we take antibiotics or probiotics.
What else do our microbes do for us?
- Support and protect our immune systems
- Help manufacture neurotransmitters like serotonin
- Play a role in producing critical enzymes and vitamins – like B and K
- Reduce inflammation
- Play a critical role in the absorption of our food
What can this mean? Well, one of the keys to good health may turn out to involve managing our internal microbial environment. To do this, diet is a key player. Processed food and the Standard American Diet all erode the good bacteria. Something to think about.
Contact us!
RN Patient Advocates, PLLC
Tucson, AZ 85754
Phone: 520-743-7008
Email: karen@patientadvocates.com