Florida's NPs have been fighting a long fight to win controlled substance prescriptive authority in the state. One roadblock is the proliferation of "pill mills" in Florida - clinics of ill repute where seemingly anyone can purchase prescription medications. Read some recent news about pill mills in Broward County, Fla., which some ...

The recession has brought about the interesting, but not surprising, trend of retired NPs wishing to re-enter the workforce. Not a bad idea in theory, if your retirement savings are down and you have loads of experience to offer, one would ...

It's National NP Week and you NPs working in convenient care are especially appreciated, because without you the clinics you work in couldn't exist. Convenient care clinic operators value what you do, and not just from a business perspective. Take a look at what Take Care Health Systems has to say about you (from a

I am also really uncomfortable about renegotiating the employment contract - I think it is because I am 1) from the South, 2) female and 3) vintage (that's ...

Have you been wondering what use Facebook and Twitter can have for you? Well, here's one: Use it to make your voice heard about healthcare reform. Now that the reform bill has passed in the House, your Senators want to hear from you. And you can communicate with colleagues using social networking. I did a search on Twitter for NPs and healthcare, and got a few interesting results:

An interesting way to look at convenient care is that it's a new brand of healthcare. The blog brandSTOKE posted about this concept recently in "Retail clinics vs. your doctor: it may come down to branding." The post very concisely explains the reasons for the fall of traditional ...

So how it is that employment can decrease? It seems counterintuitive since the number of patients certainly has not seemed to decrease. I mean, someone ...

At last report I was believing that I would be making a decision between the MICU position over the nephrology position. Well, that has not come to fruition. I did, however, make a follow-up call to all whom I have interviewed, only to be told that "we ...

This week I attended a forum in Philadelphia held by the Convenient Care Association (CCA). It was designed to address where convenient care is positioned now and where it's headed. In terms of presenters and panel participants, the cast was star-studded: Sandy Ryan, chief nurse practitioner officer for Take Care Health Systems, Web Golinkin, CEO of RediClinic, Tine Hansen-Turton, executive director of the CCA and ...

After banning the traditional free marketing lunches for healthcare providers offered by pharmaceutical reps, the state of Vermont is considering requiring pharma companies to report or even eliminate free drug samples. At a hearing held by the state's attorney general's office yesterday, stakeholders were given a chance to state their opinions about the merits of sampling.

One of those stakeholders was nurse ...

I just can't say enough about the importance of a good resume. It's critical to landing the interview. And since you only get one shot at it, the resume you submit better be good.

Unfortunately, no one really teaches NPs how to write a good resume. Occasionally as a student we will get some advice, usually from well meaning "career placement" folks who are really not familiar with the style and content that ...

I attended the second annual Aesthetic Extender Symposium last weekend, and days later I am left with some distinct and positive impressions about much more than the aesthetics industry.

First, some background. The symposium was cofounded by Krystie P. Lennox, a physician assistant, and David J. Goldberg, a dermatologist who is also a healthcare attorney. These two professionals recognized a need to provide ...

Have you noticed nonchalance about seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines in young adults? The way that H1N1 is affecting those under 25, and the way that patients in that age group seem to treat their own health, could pose a big challenge to NPs trying to keep them healthy. Some young patients may be shocked to find that they aren't invincible when they get the flu.

The ABC News Web site reported today that ...

1) Ask, ask, ask. When job hunting, ask as many questions as possible about a potential offer. ...

I was a nurse that really enjoyed working, ...

Hey, convenient care NPs! Are you close to the Philadelphia area? Are you interested in getting engaged in the conversation about where retail healthcare is going? Is it expanding? Is it a dying fad? There's a free way to learn more: On October 26th, the Convenient Care Association is cohosting a forum to discuss issues and trends in the industry.

The "Convenient Care Clinics and Retail Healthcare: A Critical Innovation ...

During this last month we have been overrun with patients seeking flu shots and seeing patients with colds, strep throat and flu. I have seen some folks who are very ill and without doubt have influenza. But mainly I have seen the worried sick. People who have upper respiratory symptoms and know they are victims of "swine flu." One little boy who indeed did have influenza thought he was going to die because ...

It has been a very busy fall for ECFC. In addition to general patient care and all the day-to-day administrative issues, we are faced with another task. The state of MN has mandated that all recipients of state-sponsored health insurance have access to and are members of a state-certified Health Care Home.

Eagan Child and Family Care is one of 15 recipients of a grant to attend the Institute or Family Centered ...

Over the last few months I have watched the job market for NPs shrink steadily, each week I see fewer and fewer ads. The Sunday "healthcare" job section has gone from several pages in length to just a few columns, and typically only 1-2 of all the ads are looking for advanced practice nurses. Wages appear to be flat lining as well, it's been a long time since I have seen employers touting big sign on bonuses or relocation ...

Friday's New York Times article about retail clinics titled "A Quick Trip to the Store for Milk and a Throat Swab" asked readers to comment on their Well Blog about retail healthcare and nurse practitioners. And they sure did. It's ...

I can remember a year ago while still in school all the job opportunities my professor would share with us for illustration, and I can remember thinking how needed and sought ...

Wow, what a rush!  We started administering flu shots in our retail clinics Septemter 1^st, and have been extremely busy this season thus far, and it is not even really prime flu shot season yet.

I believe there are two reasons to explain the large numbers of patients looking for an early flu shot. The first is everyone has flu and influenza on their mind as H1N1 has started ...