In Practice: Reflections from NPs and PAs

October 14th, 2016

From the Locker Room to the Exam Room

Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP-C

On Sunday morning I went to an early and excruciatingly difficult barre class with a friend, after which we promptly rewarded ourselves with a decadent brunch. While walking home alone in the rain, hood drawn and head tucked down against the wind, I was taken aback when a man reached out and pushed me aside […]

---

September 8th, 2016

Seasons of Healthcare

Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP-C

Here in New England, the temperatures have started to dip in the evenings and the sun is setting earlier by the day. These changes are noted and commented upon during exchanges in coffee shops, the local market, and literally over the water cooler in my office. And this past weekend, my family, friends, and I […]

---

August 31st, 2016

Why Men Shouldn’t Have to Do Pelvic Exams

Scott Cuyjet, RN, MSN, FNP-C

I want to be totally honest up front and say that my real motivation for this blog post is that I don’t want to do any gyn/vaginal exams. I am uncomfortable doing something so intimate on a patient. After the exam, we would both know I had looked at, touched, or been inside the patient’s […]

---

July 27th, 2016

School Schedules Make for Sleepy Teens

Scott Cuyjet, RN, MSN, FNP-C

As high school students wind down their summers, I am reminded of a study I read last year from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which concluded that most students at middle and high schools start their school day too early. Their early start times were disrupting their natural sleep pattern and subsequently leading to […]

---

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 13th, 2016

How Do You Treat an Epidemic?

Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP-C

I have been in my current clinical role — an NP primary care provider carrying my own panel — for almost a year now. Opening a new practice and introducing such a role has many challenges; one of these is the influx of new patients — specifically, obtaining histories and making treatment decisions for patients […]

---

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 […]

---

March 10th, 2016

State Limits — Care Without Boundaries

Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP-C

Earlier this week, at a social gathering of several nurse colleagues, I found myself in a corner of the kitchen, conveniently located closest to the homemade mango cupcakes, where I began a conversation about a possible career move with a friend who has been a hospitalist and geriatric NP for the last 5 years. Ellen is […]

---

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 […]

---