Posted: Dec 19, 2014 1:04 pm
coconspirator wrote:As a critical care Paramedic and then critical care nurse I have seen many unnecessary deaths. Many have been due to ineffective treatment. I find it very deflating in the number of patients who aren’t given the harsh truth. Doctor’s do know eating correctly, and exercise are the keys to good health, as we all do. The problem is when patients come in with diabetes, heart failure, kidney failure, skin infections and sepsis, doctors don’t say “put down the hamburger and pick up an apple or you will die”. Instead they give a medication that will put a Band-Aid on a gushing wound. I see an overwhelming amount of patients whose health is poor, because of their own life choices. The doctors are responsible for our health, but so are we. I believe if you have a proper diet and exercise you can cure and eradicate most diseases. There are those that cannot be cured that way ie. AIDS, Hepatitis C, and congenital birth defects and diseases. We can build up our immunity but our environment also breaks it down. Education at a very young age in schools is a must. I don’t know when any or most of us have used our algebra in everyday life, yet it is crammed into us in school as well as several other useless school subjects. Many did not like gym class growing up, but that was important to our health education, as eating right should be as well.
Ian G. BCS RN
The claim that physicians do not discuss proper diet and nutrition with their patients suffering obesity, diabetes, CHF, renal failure, etc is simply not accurate. Such discussions are part and parcel of care from the primary level up to the acute care specialist.
I am also an EMT and a nurse. I see that nutritional specialists come to visit such patients on a nearly daily basis when hospitalized. I know my primary care physicians always discuss diet and nutrition with me on every visit.
Algebra is far, far from useless - if you do not use it daily as a nurse, it is only because of the spread of computers to do your math for you. Nursing med calculations are entirely algebra.