Pediatric Procedural Sedation: Practical Pearls for Keeping Kids Safe, Calm, and Still
Few situations in pediatric emergency medicine require as much preparation, adaptability, and situational awareness as procedural sedation.
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Check Out Hippo Education Badge Buddies
Impactful knowledge when you need it
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.
Let’s Talk About the Frozen Shoulder
It’s the middle of a busy shift when you walk into the room and find your patient cradling their shoulder, equal parts uncomfortable and frustrated. There’s no trauma, no clear inciting event, just a story that starts with mild pain a few weeks ago and has quietly progressed to the point where they can’t reach overhead, can’t get dressed without help, and can’t quite understand what went wrong. You run through the usual differential —...
The “Test for Everything”? A Real-World Look at Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Tests
Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests are emerging blood-based screenings designed to detect multiple cancers by analyzing cell-free DNA and methylation patterns. While these tests are already available (despite lacking FDA approval), current evidence shows high specificity (~99%) but relatively low sensitivity (~40%), meaning false reassurance from negative results is a real concern. Additional challenges include lengthy diagnostic...
Hemorrhoid Help in Urgent Care: What to Recommend When Your Patient Can’t Sit Comfortably
We’ve all been there. A patient shifts uncomfortably on the exam table, hesitating before admitting what brought them in: “I think I have…hemorrhoids.”
A Practical Approach to Memory Loss: Differentiating Dementia, MCI, and Normal Aging
It happens at the worst possible time. You’re wrapping up a visit, already running behind and just as your hand reaches for the doorknob, your patient says:
Early Lessons for New Nurse Practitioners (Part 1)
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...
Helping Patients Sleep: Practical, Non-Pharmacologic Insomnia Strategies
Insomnia and I are very well acquainted with one another. Like 10% of the population, I experienced chronic insomnia for years. And like nearly one-third of adults, I still experience insomnia from time to time. Through my own history, as well as years of research into the literature and undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), the gold standard for treatment of chronic insomnia, I have developed a helpful, informal...
Sore Throat? Try McIsaac first before grabbing that swab!
It’s 9 a.m. in urgent care, and your next patient is here for a sore throat. They want a rapid strep test and antibiotics. But we all know that most sore throats are viral, and antibiotics won’t help. That’s exactly why clinical decision tools, such as the Centor and McIsaac criteria, matter. They guide testing decisions, help us avoid unnecessary antibiotics, and keep care efficient on a busy shift.
Pediatric Obesity Treatment Beyond Lifestyle Counseling: Medications, Surgery, and What Clinicians Need to Know
Many pediatricians have had this moment in clinic: a patient returns for a follow-up weight check after months of conversations about nutrition, physical activity, and screen time — and the number on the scale hasn’t budged. Maybe it has even gone up.
Global Clues: The Essential Travel History for Febrile Patients
It’s 2 a.m. in the ED. The waiting room is full, and the next patient sounds straightforward: fever. Then they add, “I just got back from an international trip.”
