Dr. Iris Malone小蝌蚪APP檚 passions are chronic disease prevention and education.
The experienced nurse practitioner draws upon that passion every day through her role in Our Lady of Lourdes department, providing primary care services to students and faculty at Northside High School and health education to the community.
小蝌蚪APP淚 enjoy primary care because I like people to know about their health and how to stay healthy, understand their condition,小蝌蚪APP Dr. Malone says. 小蝌蚪APP淢any times people just don小蝌蚪APP檛 know how to care for themselves. I find if they understood their health conditions, then they would know how to prevent further injury or further complications and be more compliant with treatment plans.小蝌蚪APP
Advanced Understanding, Advanced Practice
The best way to help patients understand their diseases, Dr. Malone says, is for nurse practitioners to seek ways to improve their own understanding.
小蝌蚪APP淚 think it小蝌蚪APP檚 important for us as nurse practitioners to be able to keep up with the current guidelines so we小蝌蚪APP檙e better able to inform our patients and the community about their health,小蝌蚪APP she says.
So when Dr. Malone learned the 小蝌蚪APP was offering an online Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing for advanced practice nurses, she enrolled.
小蝌蚪APP淲orking in adolescent school-based health center, I find more young people are being diagnosed with chronic illnesses,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 always want to stay on the forefront of current health issues. So I was very interested in the cardiovascular nursing program.小蝌蚪APP
She says she also appreciated the support of Cardiovascular Institute of the South, which funded stipends for qualified students and provided its facilities for clinical rotations.
Dr. Malone says having the opportunity to gain perspective of a specialty hospital setting was especially valuable because she小蝌蚪APP檚 primarily worked in a clinic setting during the last 17 years.
小蝌蚪APP淚 like to visualize and see what my patients would go through and see what小蝌蚪APP檚 out there to help me better understand so I can paint a picture for them. The more I see, the more I can inform them,小蝌蚪APP she says.
小蝌蚪APP淲e have a lot of young people with heart disease and chronic illnesses that impact their health, but it doesn小蝌蚪APP檛 need to get to that point. That小蝌蚪APP檚 a passion of mine 小蝌蚪APP to know as much as I can as a primary care provider to help people before their conditions get worse.小蝌蚪APP
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Intervention
One of the ways undetected cardiovascular conditions can affect young people 小蝌蚪APP Dr. Malone小蝌蚪APP檚 primary patient population 小蝌蚪APP is through sudden cardiac death.
Lafayette has experienced its share of tragedy, losing young athletes, including Acadiana High School student Shane Ozene, 15, and Holy Family School student Teddy Daigle, 14.
Both boys were playing basketball when they suffered fatal cardiac episodes 小蝌蚪APP Ozene in 2011, Daigle in 2015.
In response, State Rep. Vincent Pierre, D-Lafayette, sponsored to require automatic external defibrillators in all high schools in parishes with 200,000 to 250,000 residents. The law took effect Jan. 1, 2018.
But Dr. Malone wants to intervene before an AED is needed.
Northside小蝌蚪APP檚 on-campus clinic currently has two exam rooms and a lab so staff can provide wellness exams and athletic physicals, as well as treat students for acute and chronic illnesses 小蝌蚪APP at no cost to students or parents.
To bolster its capabilities, Dr. Malone wrote a grant that小蝌蚪APP檚 been funded by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System to allow the health center to purchase an echocardiogram machine and an EKG machine.
Along with cardiologist Dr. Brent Rochon, medical director for Northside小蝌蚪APP檚 health center, Dr. Malone says they intend to implement a cardiac screening program using that equipment.
小蝌蚪APP淲e小蝌蚪APP檝e had at least four students at a local level die from sudden cardiac arrest,小蝌蚪APP Dr. Malone says. 小蝌蚪APP淭hese are kids who were probably never screened to know whether or not they have that particular heart condition that might cause cardiac arrest.小蝌蚪APP
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Dr. Malone says she had students in mind when enrolling in the cardiovascular nursing graduate program, 小蝌蚪APP渂ecause I wanted to learn more about the heart, about the heart valve functions, how to interpret a 12-lead EKG, cardiac arrhythmias, and different types of cardiac diseases.小蝌蚪APP
While the program equips nurse practitioners interested in specialized cardiovascular care, Dr. Malone says all family nurse practitioners can benefit by gaining in-depth knowledge in this area to improve the quality of care delivered to their patient population.
She said because Northside小蝌蚪APP檚 student population is predominantly black, her patients are at a higher risk of hypertension and stroke down the road. By having conversations about cardiovascular disease prevention now, she says she can work with students to lower their risk.
小蝌蚪APP淎s a primary care provider, we see a lot of people with those chronic illnesses 小蝌蚪APP diabetes, chronic renal failure, cardiovascular. We have to be able to enrich and improve our knowledge base so we can explain to our patients what小蝌蚪APP檚 going on with them,小蝌蚪APP she says.
小蝌蚪APP淔or me, it expanded my awareness of cardiovascular nursing 小蝌蚪APP how to treat patients in the office and how to connect them with a specialist when the time comes.小蝌蚪APP
In only six months, the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 online Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing program equips MSN-prepared nurse practitioners with cardiovascular diagnostic and treatment knowledge to advance their practices. Stipends may be available for qualified students. The next cohort begins courses in March.
today.