In the last few years, doctors have been prescribing medical marijuana to more and more patients of all walks of life in an effort to reduce symptoms and improve their conditions. These patients could be active grandmothers who use medical marijuana to manage pain or small children who are fighting cancer and want to be able to hold food down. Graduates of Adelphi University often come in contact with medical marijuana patients who have been prescribed the drug for a multitude of reasons. Instead of making assumptions about how they are impacted by medical marijuana, here are some of the most important things that you should know about this type of patient.
It Improves Quality Of Life
The one universal reason that patients take medical marijuana is so that they can go back to leading normal lives. When you have a disease that limits your mobility, causes you to lose massive amounts of weight quickly, or makes it impossible for you to function without being in severe pain, all you want is some relief. Traditional prescription drugs can be helpful to an extent, but then there are also side effects that can be just as debilitating as the disease they are used to treat. In other words, medical marijuana users are in search of normality and better quality of life. If you understand where they are coming from, and why they choose to take medical marijuana, you can help them to function well.
Their Behavior Can Be Different While They Are Taking Prescribed Medical Marijuana
After taking a dose of medical marijuana, a patient may not communicate as clearly or exhibit behaviors that are different. There is no reason that you should be alarmed by a change in behavior when a medical marijuana patient is self-administering his or her medication. Instead, this is the time to practice what you learned while studying for your online master in health informatics degree and demonstrate patience and understanding. These people feel unimaginablepain on a daily basis and they would likely behave a bit differently even when taking Percocet, Vicodin, or other traditional prescription medicines.
They Want To Be Treated With Respect
Comedians often write entire skits about medical marijuana and there are still lots of politicians who are fierce opponents of it. Because of this, many medical marijuana users can feel as though they are being judged for their medical decisions. Ultimately, no one is in a position to judge a person’s legal course of health management. If you are able to remain neutral on the subject of medical marijuana and stick to discussing the facts, others will feel a lot more respected.
There are people who use medical marijuana who you would never guess. They might teach elementary school students or work in laboratories developing new medicines. They could even be your neighbor who you have been friendly with for several years. The more that you learn about medical marijuana and its importance to patients the better that you will be as a healthcare professional with an online MSHI degree.
