After a lengthy surgery failed to remove a cancerous mass from her pancreas, Sharlene Mitchell’s doctors told her nothing more could be done. Mitchell, however, was not ready to give up hope and sought a second opinion at Duke. Because of her determination, she is now cancer-free and thankful for every day.
A Second Opinion at Duke Gives Woman with Pancreatic Cancer a Second Chance
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Lessons from Duke: Centering the Patient Experience & a Role for Theology
Monica Bodd thinks a lot about the patient experience and how to make it better — both through research and clinical practice. While earning her MD and her Masters of Theological Studies degrees at Duke, she learned from some of the best, including Thomas LeBlanc, MD, MA, MHS, Dan Rocke, MD, JD, and Walter Lee, MD, MHS, from Duke Cancer Institute, and from the Duke Divinity School, Warren Kinghorn MD, ThD, Sarah Barton OT, ThD,Susan Eastman, MDiv, PhD, and Kate Bowler, PhD. Patient experience research in oncology is an investigation of common issues faced by people with cancer, including symptom burden, quality of life, and psychological distress, as well as how patients understand their prognosis and make decisions about their treatment through the various stages of their disease. “The way I explain it to my friends or to my family, it’s about asking patients how they live and work through their diagnoses on a day-to-day basis, centering their perspective over the perspective of a medical record or a diagnosis or a doctor's words,” said Bodd. “There are validated and quantitative aspects to it, but it’s more about what we wouldn't necessarily capture with our big data and metrics… I believe it’s the redeeming hope for a lot of medicine.” As Bodd was leaving Duke to begin her residency in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Stanford Medicine this past spring, she spoke with DCI about some of the unique projects she got to work on and co-lead as a medical student and theology student — and the wisdom and practices she’s carrying forward in her medical career from both disciplines.
McDonnell Joins DUHS as Chief Nurse Executive
Terry McDonnell,DNP, ACNP-BC,has been named chief nurse executive for Duke University Health System. She will work closely with chief nursing officers and other system leaders to increase a sense of purpose among frontline clinical teams and ensure patients receive world-class care. McDonnell has a doctorate in nursing and is an Acute Care-Certified Nurse Practitioner who specializes in treating patients with gastrointestinal cancers. Most recently, she served as the vice president of clinical operations and chief nursing officer of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Wash., where she was responsible for the oversight of clinical and professional staff to ensure they delivered patient-centric care. CONTINUE READING