In Practice: Reflections from NPs and PAs

April 10th, 2017

Pulmonary Embolus: Evaluating the Five Ps of PE

Alexandra Godfrey, BSc PT, MS PA-C

Years ago, my physician father said to me; “If something does not make sense, if you struggle to determine the pathology, consider pulmonary embolus (PE).” More recently, an ER physician colleague offered me the following advice: “If you think about PE, test for it.” Of course, an astute clinician places both pieces of wisdom into context. I am not going to look […]

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March 1st, 2017

Listening to Bowel Sounds: An Outdated Practice?

Alexandra Godfrey, BSc PT, MS PA-C

Medical programs teach us that listening to bowel sounds is an essential part of the physical examination of the abdomen, especially when the differential includes ileus, small bowel obstruction, diarrhea or constipation. Woe betide the student who fails to auscultate the abdomen of patients with these presentations. Yet firstly there’s little supporting evidence for this maneuver, […]

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November 2nd, 2016

Intracranial Aneurysms for the Non-Neurosurgical Provider: Primer Series (Part 2)

Bianca Belcher, MPH, PA-C

In Part 2 of this primer series on intracranial aneurysms for non-neurosurgical providers, I will discuss modifiable and non-modifiable patient risk factors for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) during intracranial aneurysm treatment. Modifiable Risks: Hypertension (HTN)[1] Patients with mild-moderate HTN (defined by systolic blood pressure of 130-169 mmHg) have a hazard risk (HR) of 2.3 for SAH compared with patients with […]

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February 3rd, 2016

Back to Basics – What the Patient Can Tell Us

Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP-C

I returned from Haiti 2 weeks ago, and per my usual pattern this time of year, I find myself caught between two different healthcare realities, struggling to reconcile what I have just experienced abroad with my day-to-day reality at home. This was my sixth trip to Haiti, spending a little over a week in the city […]

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November 25th, 2015

Looking and Finding

Harrison Reed, PA-C

Harrison Reed, PA-C, practices emergency medicine in Las Vegas, NV. I sat in the bulky padded chair and eyed the mechanical gadgetry around me. “What did you say this was for?” I tried to not sound confrontational, but there must be some deformity of my vocal cords that makes it hard. “It’s called a CT scanner,” the […]

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