Last week, retail clinics were a hot topic. On Twitter, we retweeted an article from @Health_Affairs: ''New Web First online now. Retail Clinic Use Growing Rapidly http://tinyurl.com/9e4jh9y  (Free access for two weeks).'' The article highlights the benefits of convenient care, such as longer hours. However, our article The Forked Tongue of ...

I have admittedly been remiss in submitting blogs in a timely manner and actually have a deadline of 5 pm today! Me, Miss OCD! How could this happen? Well, for one, work days are so busy sometimes that I barely have time to breathe -- average patient seen 25 to 30, from STD exams to primary care. And since I decided to take full advantage of ...

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 ...

In the past week, we shared the news that the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the American College of Nurse Practitioners plan to merge. With 28 Facebook ''likes'' and many ''shares,'' it seems NPs support the decision. On our blog post readers are responding with positive comments, too. Cathy said, ''It's about time. This was so ...

This week, ADVANCE for NPs & PAs editorial staff members Jen Ford and Kelly Wolfgang attended the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) Conference 2012 in Orlando, Florida. We updated our Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the week with pictures, recaps, details of sessions and more! On Facebook, we shared pictures of many of ...

The conference has begun here in Orlando with an estimated 4,300 nurse practitioners enjoying the activities and the warm Florida weather. Opening ceremonies kicked off the conference this morning, with a keynote by James O. Prochaska, PhD, developer of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change.  ''These are exciting times for behavioral ...

Life has really settled down a little over 5 months into my job at the Martin County Health Department and my little satellite clinic in Oak City. As mentioned in previous posts, the Oak City Clinic was renovated from a little firehouse by a $56,000 grant from the GoldenLeaf Foundation. There was little money for necessary accoutrements so ...

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 ...

If you're not following us on Facebook, ''like'' us and start sharing in the conversations! If you are, keep following and spread the word! This week, we posted the article ''Organizing and Investing to Expand Primary Care Availability with Nurse Practitioners'' by Peter J. Levin and Rick Bateman from Journal of Community Health to our ...