I have mentioned in many blogs how much I love being a nurse practitioner. I have enjoyed the opportunities I have been afforded by associating with so many wonderful professionals and they have paved the way for me. THANK YOU! The opportunity I am referring to is my role as an independent contractor for a gerontology group. One year ago I ...

After reading my fellow colleague Elizabeth's blog I decided to tackle my grief. You see, my best friend and boyfriend of 11 years passed away last month. He was the reason I decided to pursue a career as a nurse practitioner and he was my biggest cheerleader. When I doubted myself, thinking I could never be a practitioner or even ever seeing ...

Here I sit in my newly decorated office, a bit after 4PM, pondering my good fortune!  It has been a little over a month since I've gone ''solo'' and things couldn't be better. It feels as if I've been here forever, with everyone here feeling like old friends. The ease with which I settled into my new position is still a little ...

I am seeking the help of my online community. Several blogs ago I had mentioned the desire to start my own business, but was unsure what I actually wanted to do, so I purchased the book, ''How to Start an Independent Practice'' by Carolyn R. Zaumeyer. This book was filled with a step by step approach to all the tools one will need to start a ...

This blog is brought to you by ADVANCE and DNA.  Editor's note: This blog post was written by Annette Fonteneau, MSN, RNP, DCNP, who practices at School Street Dermatology in Pawtucket, R.I. Although winter's end is approaching, patients are no doubt asking for advice about treating their dry, cracked, painful skin. The heat in ...

ePrime is a minimally invasive aesthetic device that delivers measured radio frequency directly into the skin using microneedles. In theory, this procedure creates a controlled wound healing process. The process is similar to that provided by fractionated lasers, however with ePrime there is no thermal impact to the epidermis. This makes the ...

Your patient asks about possibly using Retin A. Now what? Lucky for us, retinoids have progressed so much over the past 40 years that we now have different avenues to help the patient realize benefits without all the harsh side effects of earlier years - redness, dryness and flaking, all of which contributed to poor patient compliance. ...

Several weeks ago, my office manager asked each staff member in our office to choose her favorite product. She wanted to add a page to our website and set up a display in the office highlighting the product that each staff member absolutely loved and couldn't live without. Her reasoning was that our patients always want to know what we use and ...

This blog is brought to you by ADVANCE and DNA. Editor's note: This blog post was written by Victoria Lazareth, MA, MSN, NP-C, DCNP, national chairwoman of the Dermatology Nurse Practitioner Society.She practices in the Division of Dermatology at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass. She is also ...

At the start of 2011, we published an article describing the job outlook for NPs and PAs this year. Based on our research and interviews with workforce experts, we crafted a headline for that article using the term ''changing landscape,'' and our cover image depicted an NP or PA partially protected by an umbrella. The expectation was that 2011 ...