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Nurse Turns to TV to Educate About Lifestyle Changes
By Debra Wood, RN, contributor
After caring for numerous patients suffering from the effects of poor lifestyle choices, a California nurse practitioner decided to take her prevention message public by creating and producing a television series, called Bad Sugar, focusing on diabetes mellitus.
“The public is pretty much brainwashed into thinking medication is the only way, which is incorrect. Studies show simple lifestyle choices can reverse chronic diseases,” said Ruth Tanyi, RN, MSN, FNP-C, APRN-BC, a nurse for 14 years and a doctoral student at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, California. “Hopefully this will empower patients who have given up. I used a lot of testimonials.”
Once Tanyi came up with the idea to reach out to people in their homes, she considered focusing on different chronic conditions, including hypertension and depression before settling on diabetes.
“Diabetes is a pandemic and getting worse,” Tanyi explained. “Diabetes type 2, research has shown, consistently, it can be reversed with lifestyle changes, if it is caught early. And if it is in place already, you can prevent complications with lifestyle practices.”
Tanyi lined up sponsors for the series, then approached television stations with the show concept. KHIZ agreed to air the program on Sunday mornings. Tanyi spent one year producing the show. She compiled a list of more than 100 questions frequently asked by her patients, divided them up by topic, and then asked experts and patients for their answers. Filming lasted seven months.
During the first three months, she taped interviews with six to eight people daily. She watched the 45 hours of footage and edited into 11 entertaining, half-hour episodes. Topics include risk factors and symptoms, nutrition, family support, exercise, stress and complications.
Patients treated by physician experts volunteered to share their stories, and as the program gained listeners, more people came forward, eager to help someone else.
“I had about five patients call and say they wanted to be part of it, because they had changed their life and come off drugs,” Tanyi said. “Their stories are so powerful.”
Tanyi advocates a holistic approach, blending mind-body-spirit techniques to promote healthy change. She explores the power of prayer, support groups and connecting with other people as methods of healing.
“You can’t treat the body without engaging the spirit or emotion,” Tanyi said. “You have to treat the whole person.”
An avid believer in the power of a positive lifestyle, Tanyi exercises daily, eats balanced meals and takes steps to manage stress. She continues to work as a nurse practitioner, making house calls through a Loma Linda University-based program. She plans to take the show national and is already working on other topics, such as hypertension, scheduled to begin later this year.
“I want to reach everyone,” she said. “You have to start somewhere and grow.”
On the series’ Web site, Tanyi offers an educational center, with research-based articles, where health professionals and consumers can discuss and share tips about lifestyle practices and disease prevention.
“As nurses, we come from a holistic paradigm—mind, body, spirit—and engage in patient encounters looking at the whole person,” Tanyi said. “I feel blessed that my nursing background prepared me well to extremely well to deal with patients with a holistic approach. It’s the best gift you can give to the patient.”
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