Writing in today's issue of USA Today, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell champions nurse practitioners as the means to universal access to healthcare. Together with Tine Hansen-Turton, who is CEO of the National Nursing Centers Consortium headquartered in Philadelphia, Rendell argues that the projected primary care physician shortage could thwart ...

The recent hype in the media about NPs being able to ''fill in'' where primary care physicians are clearing out makes me wonder: Are NPs really ''filling a gap'' like they claim? Or is there more to it? Check out this wsaw.com video on the topic, which features an NP in Wausau, Wisc. The reporter says, ''The nurse practitioner says although she ...

A couple weeks ago CNN asked readers who should fill the ''doctor'' shortage. Nine responses are now posted on CNNMoney.com -- two from NPs, three from physicians and one each from a med student, a PA, an EMT and a consumer. Everyone but the EMT address the question of the role of NPs and PAs in primary care. The consumer loves NPs and ...

Cherilynn Lee, NP, has been all over the media, relating her claims about Michael Jackson's death. Her story involves Michael asking her for treatment of his insomnia using the anesthetic Diprivan, which is usually only available in the hospital setting when patients can be monitored closely. Lee says she refused his requests and ...

The media has been bombarding us with news about Michael Jackson's death, which hasn't been noteworthy for our blog until today, when California nurse practitioner Cherilyn Lee spoke up in defense of Michael Jackson, who Lee says sought sedatives from her as a sleep aid but not to abuse. Lee had been providing nutrition advice to MJ. The ...

NPs will be the primary providers at walk-in clinics in Australia, according to a news item in The Australian. The clinics will be housed in public hospitals, and the prime minister of Australia said, ''I think it is fantastic that we have a greater role for nurses.'' It's good news that other countries are catching on to a model of healthcare ...

The American Academy of Nursing hosted a conference call on Friday, May 8, 2009 with statements from hard-hitting nurse practitioner advocates who spoke up on behalf of NPs as a crucial part of our evolving healthcare system. The goal of the call was to make a public case for NPs that will influence healthcare ...

''Congratulations, you have strep throat,'' said Teresa Long, during a visit with a patient worried he had swine flu. She saw him in a Take Care clinic after his repeated attempts to be seen at other clinics when he started to feel sick, according to ''Walk-In Clinics Cut Down on Worry Time'' on delawareonline.com, May 1. One of Take ...

We are seeing increasing coverage of nurse practitioners in the news. For example, in Sunday's edition of the Naples News of Florida, we see a long article describing the increase of NPs and PAs in primary care. Several heavy hitters in the NP and PA communities were interviewed, such as Jan Towers of the AANP: Jan Towers, a nurse ...

The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) has produced a wonderful informational video promoting nurse practitioners -- and they released it first on Google and YouTube. Less than 24 hours after its release, the YouTube version had more than 250 hits. Take a look. The organization's director of communication Nancy McMurrey told ADVANCE ...