Krista Insley

Background

About Krista Insley

Nursing is my second career. I became a nurse after losing my father tragically to a medical misdiagnosis. I was not going to allow this to happen again. When my youngest son was eight, he became very ill. The first two doctors dismissed my concerns. I was finally able to convince a third doctor to order specific labs. The lab results validated my concerns. My son was immediately sent to a specialist, and I can still hear the specialist's words echoing off in the distance -"you just saved your son from permanent brain damage!" It is so important to provide holistic care and take into account ALL aspects of a person's health: emotional, physical, spiritual and psychosocial. If the truth be told, this is happening less and less. I healed my son using a combination of traditional and functional medicine. And, I am fortunate to report that my son is a happy and healthy teenager. I became a nurse to help heal and motivate people to become the healthiest versions of themselves. In the clinical setting nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, and stress management are rarely ever addressed. This is very problematic considering 85 percent of chronic disease is a result of unhealthy lifestyle choices. In addition, chronic disease is the leading cause of death, disability, and accounts for 90 percent of health care spending. I no longer want to manage symptoms and watch people become sicker and sicker. As Healthcare Providers shouldn't we do what the patient needs and not just give them a pill? Americans now take more pills than ever! Polypharmacy is a real and devastating public health issue. The more medications prescribed, the greater the chances are that one medication will have a negative interaction with another and cause a serious adverse effect - potentially leading to an ED visit. According to the CDC, adverse drug events cause 1.3 million ED visits in the US each year and about hospitalizations. Why are not more medical professionals seeking non-pharmaceutical interventions?