I had my first jaw dropping patient last week. You know, working in cardiology, you see a lot of the same thing. Acute coronary syndrome, atrial fib, heart failure...Turn 'em and burn 'em, that's my motto. Thursday, I had my first patient that I was completely side-bombed over. That day, an 86-year-old female presented to the ED for ...

Lately it seems a rash (no pun intended) of patients have asked me how it was that they contracted their Staph infections. Some had MRSA, others MSSA. Some suffered from bacteremia, others osteomyelitis, and others still were challenged by skin/soft tissue infections in the form of painful and unsightly abscesses. Some had recently undergone ...

I don't know how many of my fellow NPs and PAs have seen and or heard about HBO's four-part documentary on obesity in America, The Weight of the Nation, but I can't recommend it enough: it is an awesome and totally relevant examination of health in the States. So many of the individuals profiled in this series were reminiscent of ...

It was a sunny, warm afternoon. A great day to spend outdoors with the family. But Dad had not come home ... again. Then, the phone rang. Maybe it was him? But the voice was not his. ''I'm afraid that he has died,'' the voice whispered across the phone. They found him in a ditch, motionless, dirty ... and gone. ''I am sorry. He died from alcohol ...

As a future healthcare provider, I am learning a key concept when educating patients: be firm but kind; and it's ok to not get your point across. Many of the chronic diseases we face in healthcare require lifestyle changes and perpetual monitoring, which all hinge on our patients' vigilance. At a wellness class I teach once a month, I ...

In the last month and a half I have met and treated two women, both newly diagnosed with HIV and previously unaware and unsuspecting of their corresponding diagnoses. In both cases the women contracted it from their former husbands. I say former because one of the men died approximately one month before his wife, patient #1, learned of her ...

As providers we know the deeper we dive into the dermis, the greater the risk of potential side effects, sometimes including permanent adverse changes to the skin. I am a fan of options. There is no cookie-cutter treatment protocol we can follow with every patient. Treatments that allow us to treat the skin safely and are a good alternative to ...

Over the years we have learned that excessive sun exposure causes an acceleration of skin aging and significantly increases the risk of skin cancer. Sunscreens were originally developed to protect from sunburns caused by ultraviolet rays. Skin cancer comprises 50% of all cancers. Ultraviolet rays are linked to early skin aging and skin cancers. ...

This blog is brought to you by ADVANCE and DNA. Editor's note: This post was written by Lakshi Aldredge, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, and adult nurse practitioner who specializes in dermatology at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Ore. Our organization is made up of nursing professionals who dedicate their lives to promoting skin ...

Recently our group was consulted in the care of a patient newly diagnosed with HIV. This patient presented to the hospital via the ED with altered mental status. A lumbar puncture was performed and the cerebrospinal fluid was sent off to the microlab for cultures. About 48 hours later, it was positive for Cryptococcus. An HIV test ...