In Practice: Reflections from NPs and PAs

March 2nd, 2016

Think Outside the Scale

Scott Cuyjet, RN, MSN, FNP-C

Consider the following case: An 18-year-old female patient with a body-mass index (BMI) of 43 and no other health issues is referred for gastric sleeve surgery. She has tried multiple diets in conjunction with being moderately active and at best has paused or slowed her weight gain. Her parents and one sibling are not overweight, but […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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February 10th, 2016

What Did You Expect?

Harrison Reed, PA-C

One night in the early 1960s, psychology researcher Robert Rosenthal snuck into his own laboratory. He crept along rows of cages filled with albino rats and assigned each animal a designation: this rat is smart; this rat is dumb. But, along with these labels, he sowed deceit. The rats all came from the same scientific supply […]

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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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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 […]

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January 13th, 2016

Off to the Races — Maximizing the PA Role to Fill Healthcare Gaps

Charity Maniates, MSPA, MPH, PA-C

What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a question we hear from childhood, innocent but underscored with pressure to have a life plan by the age of 18. Realistically, it’s a journey of many experiences, successes and failures that lead individuals to gratifying careers. My first career choice as a 10-year-old […]

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January 6th, 2016

Good, Then Fast

Harrison Reed, PA-C

“I hate to say it, but in this job it’s better to be fast than good.” And I hate to hear it. I hate that, as the years go by, it’s a concept that seems to grow in popularity. I hate that the people saying it have been working much longer than me. I should respect […]

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December 22nd, 2015

One Strike … And You’re Out???

Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP-C

I consider myself a fan of sports in general, but of baseball in particular.  I grew up in a small town near Cape Cod, and I had no chance of escaping a fervent love for America’s pastime.  My sister was the only girl on her T-ball team, my dad played church softball, and being born […]

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December 16th, 2015

To Vaccinate Or Not

Scott Cuyjet, RN, MSN, FNP-C

The other day I was riding my bike and thinking about how I am required to get a flu vaccine every year or wear a mask during the entire flu season, and this really irks me because I work really hard to be healthy and I don’t like being told I have to do something, […]

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