September 14th, 2016
Service Industry
Harrison Reed, PA-C
“You little clown,” A fleck of saliva flew from his mouth with each word. “Are you making a joke?” The back of my neck grew hot as I sweltered under the man’s glare. He had arrived to the airport hours before his scheduled flight dragging his wife and three kids, depleted from a week at Disney […]
June 22nd, 2016
Gun Violence — A Public Health Crisis
Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP-C
Often, in a primary care office, it can feel as though we are providing care within a “bubble” of sorts. Appointments are made within the hours of operation of the office, scripts are followed by all levels of staff in obtaining information, and often chief complaints are worked up using the same pattern: obtaining a […]
June 3rd, 2016
The Sound of Silence
Charity Maniates, MSPA, MPH, PA-C
Skilled rehabilitation facilities are faced with a troubling trend. Rather than the majority of patients recovering with straightforward joint replacement surgeries, these facilities have become a crossroad for patients to transition to long-term, palliative, or hospice care. Patients discharging from the hospital assume that during a period of one to two weeks, they will transform […]
May 18th, 2016
The Nurse In Me
Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP-C
Just last week, healthcare organizations around the country celebrated National Nurses Week. This tradition has been in place in various forms in the U.S. since the 1970s. It is capped off on the 12th of May each year because that is the birth date of Florence Nightingale, the British nurse whose observations and interventions while […]
April 6th, 2016
Providers Need Care Too
Scott Cuyjet, RN, MSN, FNP-C
As a nurse practitioner, I was taught to not be too emotional or share too much about myself with my patients so as not to make the clinical visit about me. I have learned over time that being emotional and sharing does not come easily for me, nor is it always in the best interest […]
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 […]
February 18th, 2016
The Human-Centered Alternative
Charity Maniates, MSPA, MPH, PA-C
My 19-month-old son wrapped his legs around my waist and pointed to the fluorescent ceiling light centered over the small hospital bed. I noticed the tiny hospital gown and socks in plastic packaging waiting to be opened. A brightly colored stacking toy sat on the window sill next to the computer and piped-in gas lines. […]
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 […]
January 27th, 2016
Should I Bare My Sole? Reflections on Patient-Provider Trust and Barefoot Running
Scott Cuyjet, RN, MSN, FNP-C
When a patient who does something drastically different from the norm comes into a provider’s office, the initial thought might be, “That person is crazy!” These snap judgments and resulting body language can keep us from learning the rational, or irrational, explanation behind the behavior. I am fortunate that during my NP training, I was reminded that […]
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.
