May 4th, 2016
The Fringe: Part 2 – Debt Management
Bianca Belcher, MPH, PA-C
Welcome to part 2 of my 4-part series titled “The Fringe” (see part 1). So many students come out of medical school, PA school, or nursing school with a significant amount of debt. Couple graduate loans with undergraduate loans and/or other loans that you may have taken on over the years (car, house, etc.) — and the […]
March 29th, 2016
The Fringe: Part 1 – Negotiation Basics
Bianca Belcher, MPH, PA-C
This is the first installment of a four-part series dedicated to what I like to call “The Fringe” of working in medicine. I call it The Fringe because it really has nothing to do with the practice of medicine; yet, we all deal with it. As clinicians, we spend a significant amount of time learning […]
February 24th, 2016
My Profession Made Me a Better Person
Bianca Belcher, MPH, PA-C
I love practicing medicine. As a student, I devoured chapter after chapter of medical books. I listened to didactic lectures on repeat all the while envisioning myself bettering sick patients’ lives with treatments and curative procedures. The idea of this brought me a great sense of joy and excitement. In hindsight, I had been imagining […]
January 20th, 2016
4 Indirect Ways Outpatient PAs Can Contribute to Practice Growth
Bianca Belcher, MPH, PA-C
In many clinical practices PAs are integral members of the patient care team. We round. We order and interpret labs and imaging. We assist in the OR. We see patients in clinic. We contribute significantly day to day to make sure we provide the best care possible, and we formulate bonds with our patients and […]
December 9th, 2015
Be a Quality Preceptor: Our Legacy Depends On It
Bianca Belcher, MPH, PA-C
In 2010, there were 146 accredited physician assistant (PA) programs in the United States. Today, we have 200 and that number continues to grow annually. I see this rapid growth as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, physician assistants fill a crucial role in the healthcare team delivering high-quality care to patients — so […]
November 4th, 2015
What Should “PA” Stand For?
Bianca Belcher, MPH, PA-C
Bianca Belcher, MPH, PA-C, practices neurosurgery in Boston, MA. In the past few years, the charge to rename our profession from “physician assistant” to “physician associate” has gained momentum. Although a name change would not alter the scope of what PAs do on a day-to-day basis, the argument is that it might better inform our […]
NP/PA Bloggers
Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP‑C
Alexandra Godfrey, BSc PT, MS PA‑C
Emily F. Moore, RN, MSN, CPNP‑PC, CCRN
Advanced practice clinicians treating patients in a variety of settings and specialties
Learn more about In Practice: Reflections from NPs and PAs.
