In Practice: Reflections from NPs and PAs

July 13th, 2016

Running Through Life

Charity Maniates, MSPA, MPH, PA-C

The morning air has a chill, but pockets of early sun stream through the trees, melting on my skin, giving me goosebumps. I shiver and jog slowly to warm up, watching the relaxed runners chatting, pinning on race numbers, and the serious runners alone, earbuds intact, stretching on the grass. “Fifteen minutes to race time!” […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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May 25th, 2016

The Book and The Novelty

Harrison Reed, PA-C

In 1985, Frederic Friedel destroyed the game of chess. At least that’s what some purists think. Friedel rocked the chess world when he created Chessbase, a computerized database that catalogued every single game of chess ever played. This stockpile of chess history not only recorded the individual moves of every match, it revealed an embarrassing truth: […]

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May 12th, 2016

Birth Control Without Rx: Will Women Get the Care They Need?

Scott Cuyjet, RN, MSN, FNP-C

A new law went into effect in California on April 1 that enables women to receive a birth control prescription from a pharmacist. A similar law has been in effect in Oregon since the beginning of the year, but there is a significant difference between the two states’ laws. According to an article by The […]

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April 27th, 2016

A Shift Towards Well-Being

Charity Maniates, MSPA, MPH, PA-C

It’s 3:00 pm in the nursing home — a pivotal moment each day when residents are jolted out of their daytime routine into the regimen of the evening. For the staff at the facility, it’s simply the daily change of shift. The elders sit in the communal living space, dotted with mismatched chairs, a small table […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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March 22nd, 2016

The Art of Listening – Beyond Your Patient

Charity Maniates, MSPA, MPH, PA-C

Opening the door slowly, I poked my head in the dimly lit room and glimpsed my patient’s petite frame leaning forward in her bed. I sat on the edge of the mattress, noting how tired the patient looked. The physical therapist was concluding the last session prior to her discharge that afternoon. After inquiring how the […]

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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 […]

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