Matthew Hall, CRNP
If you are a physician, nurse, or advanced practice clinician working in a hospital setting, chances are you have been handed numerous additions to your ID badge with limited value. In the case of an actual fire in the hospital (71% occur in the kitchen), you simply need to look down at your badge mid-inferno to remind you to RACE and PASS.
Regardless of your specialty or setting, there is a mountain of knowledge to take in during your first year of practice that goes far beyond medicine. Whether you work in-patient or clinic, ICU or dermatology, there is a unique culture that you are stepping into. Hopefully, it is a culture of teamwork, grace, and growth. But wherever you find yourself, there are a few universal lessons that all NP’s need to learn during this crucial...
I was working in one of our satellite EDs talking with an elderly patient and her daughter about some recent headaches and increased confusion. She was in her early 70s, with a history of Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD). After my initial evaluation and exam, I went back to my computer to place some orders. Looking over her chart, I noticed something odd; the patient had been getting MRIs of her brain every month.
Last month, we started a two-part series on the evaluation and treatment of acute lower back pain (LBP) in the ED. This month, we are going to get into treatment options and how to help arrange follow-up care.
Whether you are a new graduate or an experienced advanced practice clinician (APC) looking for a change, navigating the job market can be daunting. There’s much more to unpack than just the salary, and the most important details are never going to be found on the job posting.
“I feel like I suck, and I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Whether you are working in primary care, urgent care, or the emergency department, chances are you see a patient complaining of lower back pain during every shift. It’s one of the most common reasons patients seek care, but also a chief complaint that leads to over-testing, over-treating, and is one of the driving factors behind the opioid epidemic.
January was for reflection and honesty about the current state of Nurse Practitioner education; a plea to steer the ship in a different direction. Now, let's talk about what NP education is getting right. From community medicine collaborations with EMS to post-graduate fellowships, clinicians and institutions across the country are working to move our profession forward and better serve patients in an increasingly complex healthcare system.
Early in my career, I encountered a patient with severe renal colic who also had a history of opioid use disorder, now with several years of sobriety. Our initial treatment options with the usual non-narcotic medications and IV fluids had offered some initial relief, but his pain had returned with a vengeance. His battle with opioids had been hard fought, and he was adamant that he would only resort to opioids if we had exhausted every...
Managing a cardiac arrest is the paramount skill of an emergency medicine physician. The process is a furious loop of assessments, actions, and decisions. Choices are often made with minimal information to fall back on, and delays of mere seconds can define the outcome. When running the rapid mental checklist of Hs and Ts, the decision to give or withhold thrombolytics is one that is often made amidst a fog of uncertainty. And while the...
Nurse practitioners are a vital part of our healthcare system. We are compassionate and capable clinicians who help to improve access to care in almost every setting and specialty. Behind the essential role we play lies a growing reality that is raising concern in the healthcare community: the path to becoming an NP in the United States lacks consistent standards, especially compared to the highly standardized, regulated training at the...
Bedside ultrasound has become a common tool in many EDs. Potentially one of the most important uses of ultrasound is during resuscitation. When a patient is crashing and every moment counts, having the ability to quickly assess the clinical situation and make critical decisions is paramount.