patient care – JRM Nurse Consultants

August 08 2025

“I’m Not Just Treating a Back—There’s a Person Behind That Pain”: What Doctors Are Really Facing

By Dr. Rosie Moore, DNP, RN, LNC, LEHP, BC-FMP
“Understanding the Human Side of Injury Recovery: Real Stories, Real Struggles, Real Solutions” – Part 2 of 3

Dr. Patel’s Day

Dr. Patel glanced at her overflowing patient list. One after another, she saw patients struggling with chronic pain, complicated workers’ comp cases, and frustrated employers breathing down her neck for updates. There simply wasn’t enough time to give each person the whole care they deserved.

She wanted to do more—understand their stories, connect the dots, and help them heal completely. But the pressure of paperwork, insurance approvals, and employer demands left her exhausted and often feeling like she was just putting out fires.

The Pressure Cooker of Clinical Practice

Doctors and medical providers are caught in a high-stakes balancing act every day. They strive to:

Deliver quality patient care while managing mounting administrative tasks
Navigate the complexities of workers’ compensation regulations
Communicate with employers, insurers, and patients who each have different priorities
Keep up-to-date with evolving treatment guidelines and functional medicine advances

This tightrope walk often leaves little room to address the root causes behind pain or chronic conditions.

Caught in the Middle

Providers frequently find themselves stuck between:

Patients hoping for relief and understanding
Insurers demanding cost-effective, evidence-based treatments
Employers needing timely, safe return-to-work plans

Miscommunications can lead to delayed approvals, treatment gaps, and increased frustration for everyone involved.

The Gaps No One Sees

Beyond the clinical symptoms are the psychosocial factors: anxiety, fear, family stress, and workplace pressures. Without time or resources to explore these fully, patient outcomes may suffer.

This is where collaborative care models—like incorporating functional medicine and personalized case management—can bridge the gap.

Functional Medicine as a Collaborative Bridge

I partner with providers like Dr. Patel to complement their care by:

Offering root-cause evaluations that consider lifestyle, nutrition, and stress
Coordinating between medical providers, employers, and insurers
Supporting patients emotionally and educationally throughout recovery
Reducing provider administrative burden with clear communication and updates

Together, we create a smoother, more comprehensive healing experience.

Let’s Work Together

If you’re a provider facing these challenges, I’d love to discuss how my functional medicine nurse consulting can lighten your load and improve your patients’ outcomes.

Call to Action:
Let me help you create smoother recoveries and stronger outcomes—for your patients and your peace of mind.
Contact me for a collaboration conversation: jrmnurseconsultants.com

February 02 2020

Are Healthcare Workers Forgetting Good Patient Care

I remember most recently having a bad reaction to zinc when I took it on an empty stomach (yes learned that lesson) and passing out with blood pressure and blood sugar bottoming out. I felt better on the ambulance ride to the hospital after some IV fluids. The paramedics stayed with me until they had a room to take me to for an exam. But the nurse then said since I was feeling better, I can get up off the stretcher and wait in the regular waiting room. They sent an orderly to walk me to the waiting room. I had my purse, winter coat, boots in one hand and my work bag in the other hand. The orderly did not offer to get a wheelchair to help me considering I had just passed out an hour ago. I thought to myself at that moment boy he is rude as he walked 20 feet ahead never looking back to see if I was okay and two, never offered to help carry anything. My husband arrived minutes later and was appalled at the treatment of a patient this way.

Now at this moment, I still have not been seen for any lab work or by a doctor. When I finally got into a room two hours later, the doctor did not come in for another hour and a half. When he came in, he was there a whole 2 minutes and said we are going to send you for some chest x-rays, lab work, EKG and put you on a heart monitor and watch you for 23 hours. I said wait, I had a bad reaction to a medication how do you derive at all this in a 2 minutes checkup? The best part is where they make you wait for 23 hours is an open room with many other patients looking at you from across the hall. This triage area does not have curtains, it is a holding area. I grabbed my things and said I will see my regular doctor thank you very much.

I cannot understand legally or ethically how patients can be treated this way. Is there not a policy in hospitals that they must follow to give better patient-centered care? As in the Colorado model, it states there should be a management leader looking out for the rest of the team to be sure that patients are being informed of things and being involved in their care as opposed to left alone for hours at a time and not a single explanation of care and why it is being ordered (Goode, Fink, Krugman, Oman, & Traditi, 2010).

References

Goode, C. J., Fink, R. M., Krugman, M., Oman, K. S., & Traditi, L. K. (2010, August 10). The Colorado patient-centered interprofessional evidence-based practice model: A framework for transformation. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 96-105.

October 10 2016

Addressing the Ongoing Nursing Shortage

It seems that the nursing shortage has been an ongoing issue for decades. I remember receiving a full one-year scholarship to attend nursing school my first year, only to have it revoked the second year when officials decided the nursing shortage was “over,” forcing me to take out student loans. This was frustrating, to say the least.

Even now, in my non-clinical role as a legal nurse, I observe that many nursing fields continue to experience staffing shortages (Moore, 2015). In hospitals, staffing decisions are often influenced by patient volume. Hospitals may hire fewer nurses to avoid having excess staff on a unit. If units have too many nurses, staff may be sent home without pay due to insufficient work.

During my son’s stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), I witnessed firsthand the effects of these staffing challenges. One day, I walked past a high-risk antepartum unit to find it dimly lit and empty. Concerned, I inquired and was told the unit was temporarily closed due to a lack of patients. While it reopened shortly after, this highlighted how unit closures, even if temporary, are influenced by patient flow rather than consistent coverage.

Overworked nurses are another consequence of staffing shortages. Articles indicate that the problem may worsen as baby boomers retire and there aren’t enough new nurses to fill their positions (“Focus on Education,” 2010). Entrance exams and minimum educational requirements can make it difficult for prospective students to enter the profession. However, advancing education is essential, given the increasingly complex medical cases and family dynamics nurses face today.

To address the shortage, healthcare employers must take proactive steps. Hiring more staff can prevent current nurses from becoming overextended, improve patient care, and reduce burnout. Additionally, colleges and hospitals should collaborate with high schools to recruit future nurses, presenting both the challenges and rewards of the profession. Identifying candidates who are a good fit for nursing will help ensure that graduates are prepared and committed to the field.

The nursing shortage is a multifaceted issue that affects patient care, staff morale, and the overall healthcare system. By taking steps to recruit, educate, and support new and existing nurses, we can build a stronger, more resilient workforce for the future.

References

Moore, M. (2015). The nursing shortage and the doctor shortage are two very different things. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/06/05/the-nursing-shortage-and-the-doctor-shortage-are-two-very-different-things/

The future of nursing: Focus on education. (2010). Retrieved from http://nursejournal.org/articles/the-future-of-nursing-infographic/

Years of experience in Work Comp, Case Management, Disease Management, Utilization Review and Prior Authorization.

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