If there's any lesson I've learned in PA school, it is that mistakes are the fertilizer to grow a healthy clinical year. This month is me versus the OR (operating room) and if I didn't contaminate my glove, then I accidently bumped my head into the surgeons or didn't bury the knot correctly on my suture. Some of these mistakes I've made ...

Graduation day is just around the corner (but who is counting?), so I've decided to reflect back on the ''lessons learned'' during my clinical year of PA school. It has been a challenging and rewarding experience for me. There have been ups and downs; both were very much needed. Live and learn, as they say. Avoid asking questions that ...

The real tragedy of getting a medical education is not the understanding of your own mortality or quantification of personal risk factors. It's not even the fact that friends and colleagues want you to look at something awful that is growing out of their body (I was sure that was a myth). It is the loss of good television. An EMT friend of mine ...

I feel obligated to warn you. I normally don't use this blog for public service announcements but I learned of a disorder that all of you will suffer from, if you haven't already. The good news: it doesn't last forever and there is a treatment. I am talking about New Graduate Syndrome (NGS). It affects men and women of all ages after ...

  (Above) Heart-shaped pigmented Basal Cell Carcinoma on the back of a 71-year-old male.   (Above) Heart-shaped Actintic Keratosis on the left forearm of an 88-year-old male.   (Above) Heart-shaped squamous cell carcinoma on the lower leg of a 73-year-old male with a history of previous skin cancers.   (Above and ...

The other day, I came across a poem that was written by an older man who was living in a nursing home.  It is a touching poem, so I've decided to share it with you.  Although the poem addresses nurses specifically, I believe that its message is to everyone, regardless of one's profession. It is a reminder that, despite our age or ...

Each month, ADVANCE for NPs & PAs compiles your comments on the latest issues in our Comments & Feedback column. We'd love to hear from you with topics of concern, the latest news for NPs & PAs, what your state organizations are up to, or anything else that piques your interest. Below are three of our latest Comments & ...

As I sit down to write my final blog for the year 2012 I was struggling to come up with an appropriate topic to mark the occasion. I was thinking back to when I first began writing this blog in 2009 and it occurred to me that maybe I should tell you how it all started and how I came to be the Career Coach. Three years ago I was still part of ...

Happy NP Week 2012! This year, we are recognizing nurse practitioners across the country with the AANP theme, ''Your Partner in Health.'' We'd love to know what your facility is doing to celebrate. Send your photos and stories of your festivities to kwolfgang@advanceweb.com to be featured in our Comments & Feedback column online and in print. ...

This week, we are celebrating PA Week 2012! The festivities kicked off on October 6 for PA Day, remembering the father of the profession, Eugene A. Stead Jr., MD. We would love to hear how your facility is celebrating. Send your pictures of all the fun to assistant editor Kelly Wolfgang and we'll share with other PAs and NPs on our Facebook page ...