Posts about Nurse Practitioner
The population is aging fast, and clinicians are feeling the impact. By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be over 65, and older adults already represent the highest healthcare utilization of any age group. Yet fewer than 45% of medical schools have a required geriatrics rotation, leaving most of us to piece together our knowledge on the fly.
The nurse practitioner (NP) profession can trace its roots back to a pediatric clinic in Colorado. In 1965, the first NP program was founded by Dr. Loretta Ford, a public health nurse, and Dr. Henry Silver, a pediatrician. This was in response to an expansion of Medicare and Medicaid that left many at-risk populations without adequate access to primary care, particularly in the pediatric population. Two years later, Boston...
Vaccine hesitancy remains one of the most pressing challenges in preventive health. Despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines, many patients delay or refuse immunizations, threatening herd immunity and increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. So far in 2025, we have seen how decreased vaccination rates for measles in the US has resulted in one of the highest cases of measles since it was deemed eradicated...
Biologic medications have transformed the treatment landscape for autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. While initiation often comes from specialists like rheumatologists, dermatologists, and allergists, clinicians are increasingly likely to encounter patients who are taking or being considered for biologic therapy. Understanding how these medications work, what conditions they treat, and the safety implications is essential for...
Let’s be real: navigating the U.S. healthcare system isn’t just hard for patients—it’s hard for us too. But while we can’t rewrite the rules, we can help patients work within them.
Have you ever felt dread when looking at the “pre-travel” appointment on your clinic schedule or getting the inbox message from a patient asking for guidance on traveling to a foreign country? You’re not alone! While you may feel comfortable talking about avoiding travelers’ diarrhea, many clinicians may feel uneasy with counseling patients on required vaccines or knowing which tropical diseases are endemic to specific locations....
In my primary care practice, I see a lot of women in perimenopause and menopause. But since my training was during an era when the WHI had raised alarms about hormone replacement therapy (HRT), I've had to get up to speed. Fortunately, the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) updated their hormone therapy position statement in 2022, and we now know the benefits of menopausal hormone therapy outweigh the risks for many people.
Measles was declaredeliminated in the United States in 2000. Yet, in 2025, it’s back with force. At the time of this writing, theCDC reports outbreaks in 31 states, with 1,001 confirmed cases and two pediatric deaths—96% of those infected being either unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status against measles. One-third of U.S. cases this year have occurred in children under age five, including infants under 12 months.
While clinic schedules and waiting rooms ebb and flow with seasonal illnesses, the demands on clinician time remain constant.
Medications are a vital part of asthma management—but they’re not the only tool in your kit. Helping patients gain control of their asthma also means teaching them how to recognize and avoid the triggers that lead to flares.
It is tragic that in 2025, measles—a fully preventable disease—has caused two deaths (at the time of writing) and sickened hundreds across the United States. With outbreaks making headlines, patients are flooding our inboxes and exam rooms with urgent questions:
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. While most cases are diagnosed in individuals over 65, rates are rising in adults under 50, making early screening more critical than ever. Screening reduces CRC mortality by catching cancer in its early, treatable stages, yet many patients remain hesitant or unsure of their options.