Terry Clarke, student nurse here. I am in an accelerated nurse practitioner program at UMASS Worcester. We just finished our year-long RN BSN equivalency. I've been feeling like a hand-stamped 18-year-old at a bar, able to join the conversations but not order a beer. As my NCLEX draws nigh, I finally feel competent to write about this experience. ...

Last week, New Grad NP blogger Samantha Damren posted the struggle she encounters working with multiple physicians: memorizing the preferences and practices of each. On Facebook, reader Amber said, ''20 in my emergency physician group ... can get frustrating!'' On our blog, more readers weighed in. Here are some of their ...

I know, I know. You're all probably thinking that if you see another blog about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, you are going to need an emesis basin. Since the healthcare reform package was upheld by the Supreme Court, healthcare is back in the news and on the minds, lips and keyboards of just about everyone. I will attempt to ...

So now that the basic tenets of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are moving forward, who is going to provide all that primary care? A lot of people are counting on you to do it. But recent studies and surveys show that NPs and PAs are shifting to specialties and subspecialties at a fast clip. In response, thought leaders and family ...

In discussion with a colleague, we came to an impasse. Both of our viewpoints were opinion based; neither of us was willing to sway. She ended our exchange by saying, ''This is why you are going to die old and alone.'' I know this to be a joke of affection, but also a reference to one of the things we, as a culture, fear most. What brings this ...

On Facebook this week, we shared some photos from the AAPA IMPACT 2012 conference in Toronto. Our fans loved to ''meet'' NP &PA Student Blog blogger Caroline Pilgrim, a first-time AAPA conference attendee. Caroline wrote about her experience at the conference and shared some of her own great photos in her blog post this week. Did you ...

The first full week of June has been an exciting one for NPs and PAs! Across our Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages, readers weighed in on the top issues. On Facebook this week, we discussed the recent DNP Answers blog post ''Time Management for a DNP Degree.'' Blogger Lisa Chism, NP, explained the difficulties of balancing DNP ...

Readers of ADVANCE for NPs & PAs are getting involved by making their voices heard on our site and via social media. This week, several readers commented on articles and on blog posts. On the article, ''What NP Graduates Need to Know About Certification,'' questions are coming in about maintaining certification. Author Susan Hellier responded ...

Every student nurse knows that clinical rotations are a hit or miss experience. There are so many factors that cannot be controlled on a hospital floor - the patient assignment, the nurse you are shadowing. You can go a whole day with nothing much happening. Yet, there are still a smug few who always have some riveting story to tell at post ...

If you're not chatting with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, ''like'', ''follow'' and ''connect'' with us and start sharing in the conversations! If you are, keep following and spread the word! This week, our social media sites exploded with great comments from our readers. Here are some of the highlights, copied verbatim and without ...