In Practice: Reflections from NPs and PAs

April 27th, 2017

Getting Worked Up Over Kids’ Fevers

Emily F. Moore, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC, CCRN

Few things worry a mother more than a baby with a fever. With my own girls, I am naturally uneasy and do not like when they have fevers, even though as a health care provider I know that fevers are natural. But it wasn’t until my three-year-old started having chronic fevers that I realized how […]

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April 21st, 2017

Brainstorm: Are Subarachnoid Hemorrhages Affected by the Weather?

Harrison Reed, PA-C

When I walked into the ICU and stared at the roster of current patients, my jaw hit the floor. “Ho-lee cow,” I said as I scanned the list of diagnoses. The entire unit was full of patients with hemorrhages in their skulls. “Yeah, man.” The physician finishing the previous night’s shift leaned back in his […]

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April 14th, 2017

Is There an NP on Board?

Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP-C

It was a moment I’d anticipated for nearly 7 years — not with excitement, but with dread. Two weeks ago, I boarded a plane, having won the lottery known as the standby list. Due to heavy wind, all flights were departing from a single runway and because of delays, the airline had thrown in a […]

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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 […]

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April 4th, 2017

Of Little Hearts and Little Teeth

Emily F. Moore, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC, CCRN

Recently, I had to cancel a child’s heart surgery because she had multiple cavities. I recall spending close to an hour explaining the surgical process and obtaining a complete history and physical only to then discover obvious caries on multiple teeth during an oral exam. Turning to the parents, I asked when their daughter had […]

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