Our ADVANCE for NPs & PAs community is always growing and providing better feedback every week. Our social media goal this week is to hit 2,000 fans on Facebook. We're only 28 ''likes'' away! If you're not already following us, make sure to check out our page and let us know what you think. If you are, share our page with your colleagues and ...

I was before, but now I am an even greater advocate of the pill box. Every patient with a lackluster memory, or taking multiple medications, or time sensitive medications should own one. There is nothing better than a physical reminder to keep a body on track. I was recently confronted with an HIV positive patient on a cocktail of ...

True friendship is a tremendous responsibility, a responsibility that I do not take lightly. My best friend has wanted to return to school for many years to pursue her master's in education, but due to life (married with children, work, financial) she postponed it until now. She states she has never been a good writer and looked to me 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 ...

''America has spoken'' says Nick Cannon from America's Got Talent and the winner is: The American People! This is the feeling of many when the Supreme Court ruled that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is constitutional. Are the American people really winners? Absolutely! As the healthcare reform unfolds, nurse ...

My contact with pain patients was extensive during my residency in Aurora, North Carolina, a coastal town of about 400, with a patient population compromising of retirees, commercial fisherman and above-ground miners from a phosphate mine. I knew from that experience that even if I never found a job as an NP, I would not choose to do pain ...

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 ...

In our recent Opinions & Essays article ''PAs: The Need Is Great, the Time Is Now,'' author Sharon Bahrych, PA-C, MPH, responded to reader Tina's concerns about choosing the correct career path. ''Yes, you are definitely not alone in your feelings at this stage of your career. Try to find a local NP group that meets once a month for CME, ...

Q: I am just finishing my BSN and will graduate in December 2012. I have a BSBA, ADN, LPN-Diploma and associate degree in general education. I am now considering doing the FNP program but I will be in the middle of the program when the DNP is required to set for the boards in 2015. I work full-time, I have a family that depends on my income, and ...

Costs for healthcare are rising. There is not a revelation in this statement, but as providers, we have to be mindful of the dollars we use because it affects raises. My former mentor would drive that home for me. When I would order a test, she would ask, ''Will that test change your treatment plan?'' And if I responded with ''no'' then she ...