Since graduation, I've had plenty of reminders - good and bad - that I am no longer a student. There is the ''PA-C'' behind my name and my shiny new state license. A paycheck arrives every two weeks like an airplane dropping supplies on a desert island. And, of course, I now hold myself to an even higher professional standard. While these ...

We made it through one quarter of my first year as a physician assistant. Let's take this opportunity to reflect on some of the lessons learned during my first three months. It's sort of like your boss' 90-day evaluation, but without the sense of impending doom. Transition is Tough - Whether you are moving into a new career or a new city ...

As I approached high school graduation years ago, my Health Careers teacher shared the popular modern parable, Who Moved My Cheese? It is a story about mice and miniature people who look for cheese (a metaphor for happiness and success) in a maze. Silly, for sure, but I found that the story's lesson sticks its nose into my life on occasion. ...

ADVANCE for NPs & PAs staff is bracing for Hurricane Sandy near Philadelphia, Pa. today, and we wish the best to all those along the East coast who are suffering from the storm's damage. Across the country, NPs and PAs are still heating up our communities with the latest in healthcare. On our article ...

Have you visited our blogs lately? Last week, new NPs and nurse veterans battled on the value of floor experience. Our NP & PA Student blogger Terry Clarke, currently enrolled in a fast track NP program, expressed his views on what experienced nurses have going for them and what they still have to learn. Here are a few of the comments your ...

I cannot believe I have seen five lichen sclerosus (LS) cases in the past 4 workdays! I haven't seen LS for months and possibly a year. I remember my very first LS patient so clearly. I had just started practicing in Beverly Hills and I had a very aggressive mother pushing me to biopsy her 11-year-old daughter's vulva to confirm LS. Naturally, I ...

Stretch marks can occur on various parts of the body, including the abdomen, thighs, hips, breasts, arms, flanks and low back. Men and women can develop these stretch marks at any age. Stretch marks can present differently depending on the skin type. They can range in color from white to silvery to pink, reddish purple or dark brown. Stretch ...

Last week, NP and PA readers submitted questions to our communities asking for advice from fellow clinicians. Below are a sample - if you have any advice for these NPs and PAs, comment on the respective article or share with us here and we'll make sure to pass along the wisdom. Have something you'd like a clearer answer on? Let us know on our ...

Editor's note: This blog post was written by Niki Bryn, APRN, DCNP, a member of the NP Society of the Dermatology Nurses' Association. Coolsculpting is an innovative method of noninvasive fat removal. Coolsculpting, with the trade name Zeltiq, was developed at Massachusetts General Hospital by two dermatologists, Dieter Manstein and Rox ...

As I entered the patient's room, I introduced myself and asked if her name was ''Sarah.'' She said ''yes,'' nodding in my direction with a welcoming smile. Prior to entering the patient's room, I had diligently reviewed the chart. She was 93 and had been hospitalized after slipping and falling in her home, where she lived alone. Her husband had ...