1. A patient presented to my clinic for a rash on his hands. After a plan was developed, he stood up and I said, ''How about I take a quick look at your back since it's difficult to see our own backs.'' He raised his shirt and here this was, a large 3cm Pigmented BCC. He is scheduled for MOHS.    2. A 42-year-old female ...

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 ...

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, ...

I attended at cozy talk about HIV prevention and treatment earlier this year at the suggestion of my mentor. The expert presiding over the talk was a local expert in HIV management, thus it was an opportunity I did not care to miss. During the discussion he started to reference recent study data suggesting the use of antiretroviral ...

Recently our group was consulted in the care of a patient newly diagnosed with HIV. This patient presented to the hospital via the ED with altered mental status. A lumbar puncture was performed and the cerebrospinal fluid was sent off to the microlab for cultures. About 48 hours later, it was positive for Cryptococcus. An HIV test ...

It's just my opinion, but I think HIV tests are vastly under-utilized. Many patients whom I had the privilege of treating discovered they contracted HIV only after exhaustive and expensive tests were conducted to investigate their persistent flu-like symptoms, respiratory distress or an etiologically indistinct anemia. One patient in ...

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 ...

Three weeks ago I saw a patient with the worst burn I have seen in nine years. My 23-year-old female patient was dressed in yoga attire when she spilled an entire pot of boiling water and pasta down the front of her. The lycra material of her workout clothes forced the hot water against her skin creating a strong suction effect, thus ...

In this profession it is an honor and privilege to be a part of someone's care. Being a nurse for so many years, I never dreamed that I would have the opportunities I have been afforded by being a practitioner. While this is not earth shattering, I just really appreciate performing the basic office procedures that I have been studying ...

On my first day working the clinic alone, I saw 19 patients, half of whom were primary care patients and the others a combination of family planning, child health, and STDs. The nurses were amazed and very pleasantly surprised. Given that the PA who was fired saw seven to eight patients a day, and often left the clinic without notice, anyone ...