Interview with:
Nurse & Author
Marijke Vroomen Durning
Author of:
Just the Right Dose:
Your Smart Guide to Prescription Drugs &
How to Take Them Safely
Click Here to Listen
Marijke Vroomen Durning, RN, lives in Montreal, Canada. She has been a nurse since 1983, and writing and editing health information since the mid-1990s. Over the course of her career as a nurse, Marijke has given out thousands of doses of medicine and answered many drug-related questions from patients and their relatives. She enjoys writing patient education information to help people understand their medical and health conditions. She often tells clients that writing health information is like the patient teaching that nurses want to do, but often don’t have the time for in the hospital setting.
Marijke also has experience with prescription medications on a personal level, for herself and for her own children when they were young. She clearly remembers a few incidents when errors had been made by people prescribing the drugs and in one case, dispensing them. Her knowledge caught the mistakes before harm could be done.
Now a health writer, Marijke has written for online and print outlets, such as Costco Connection, Forbes.com, Nursing 2013, HealthDay News, and more. Marijke is the author of the new book:
Just the Right Dose:
Your Smart Guide to Prescription Drugs & How to Take Them Safely
Get Your Copy on:
About the Book:
In Just the Right Dose: Your Smart Guide to Prescription Drugs & How to Take Them Safely, you’ll find answers to the most common questions about over-the-counter and prescription medications, as well as tips on topics such as:
- Understanding your prescription
- Why it’s important to follow the directions,
- What types of pills you should never break or chew, and why
- The most common types of medicines (such as cream, suppositories, injections)
- Remembering to take your medications
- Swallowing that pill or capsule
- Getting rid of unused drugs
- And more!
Taking medicines is a daily ritual for many people. Others rarely fill a prescription or take an over-the-counter pain reliever. Whichever category you fall into, it’s important to understand what drugs you’re taking or giving to someone else. From what may seem like secret codes on prescriptions to what to do if you have side effects, there can be many questions about the medications.
When I worked as a nurse, I learned that many people weren’t familiar with their prescription drugs. Some didn’t know the names, others didn’t know the dosages. It wasn’t unusual for a patient or a family member to hand over one pill bottle with several types of pills in it.
Not understanding prescription drugs can put you or someone you care for at risk. This short, easy-to-understand book explains the basics of prescription medicines, along with many tips on how to deal with them. Connect with Marijke and her new book at:
* Just The Right Dose * MedHealthWriter * The Nurse Writer *
Reviews:
“Just the Right Dose” is just the right remedy for medication misunderstandings and mistakes. It’s the answer to all those “little” questions we didn’t think to ask our doctors or didn’t think were important enough to bother our pharmacists about when we’ve picked up prescriptions or over-the-counter medicines.
– Peggy J. Noonan [peggyjnoonan.com], journalist
This book provides just the right dose of reason and rationale, and reminds us that medications aren’t to be played with, but are to be respected. “Just The Right Dose” is required reading for those of us who want to safely manage this important aspect of our own healthcare.
– Stephanie Stephens – Journalist, Content Producer, Host
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