''A familiar chasm separates what women dig from what dudes imagine women dig.'' That's my favorite line from a New York Times article, published today, about a fetish of mixed martial arts participants. It seems the primarily male fighters actually encourage formation of misshapen ''cauliflower ears'' by not preventing and not treating injuries ...

There have been numerous accounts of NP opinions on thecontinuing education and creation of standardized DNP programs. We have allheard of the pros and cons of each camp and must make a decision on whether ornot this is beneficial to our profession. I for one am in favor of this endeavor for many reasons. Imust first remind you that I own and ...

Does anyone see anything wrong with the picture above? Several elements are right, such as the bright sky and the smile on my face at having just graduated with my master's degree. Commencement exercises were surprisingly fun, but it was not until the end of the ceremony that my friends and I discovered the sign we were sitting behind. Proud ...

In an attempt to get adequate health care to rural and underserved areas, Ontario is planning to set up 26 nurse-led clinics in the province. One is already in operation in the city of Sudbury. But according to an article in last week's Daily Observer, the Ontario Medical Association is ''concerned perhaps about the level of contact that nurse ...

The article starts out promising good PR for nurse practitioners: ''Peggy O'Donnell, a Lynbrook nurse practitioner, knows a thing or two about picking a good primary care physician.'' This is O'Donnell's opportunity to explain that an NP often can be your primary care provider — and even better, that there are studies that show that NP care is ...

I have only anecdotal evidence, but it seems that there are a lot of new NP practices opening out there. In the past few weeks, I've received four Practice Snapshot surveys from NPs who've been in business just since the end of 2007 — two of whom I convinced to help me launch a private practice blog on this site, so stay tuned. I've also already ...

Angie's List has plans to let consumers rate their health care providers. The 12-year-old Indianapolis-based company maintains lists of consumer ratings for all kinds of local businesses and services. According to a company press release, the 600,000 list members have been asking for years to add health care providers, hospitals and insurers to ...

We can keep pointing out the differences between NPs and physician assistants, but other health care professionals often want to speak about the two groups together. When they do, they encounter a language problem. Instead of referring to the single group as ''NPs and PAs,'' they often opt for phrases many NPs (and PAs) find offensive, such as ...

Follow nurse practitioner Lois Wessel's lead and make national policy briefings your second job. Wessel wrote a touching and informative article for Tuesday's Washington Post, explaining her position at a mobile health clinic in Silver Spring, Md., and the barriers to care the U.S. health system throws up before her mostly immigrant patients. ...

A few weeks ago I posted a blog entry opining that retail health clinics sell NPs short when they emphasize that NPs will treat only minor illnesses. A column by Mary O' Neil Mundinger in Forbes magazine may be the public relations remedy to that perception. Mundinger, who is dean of Columbia University's nursing school and who pioneered the ...