Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Feb 7, 2012, 11:45 pm
All too often I have patients who come to the office with major health issues and don't have any health insurance. Unfortunately, I need further testing done in order to determine what is really wrong with them. Most hospitals give discounts to patients if they can come up with cash and are qu...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Feb 7, 2012, 11:20 pm
Over the last few months I have found several lung cancers. Often the patient will present to the office with a "cough that won't go away!" The first thing I ask them is if they have ever smoked or used tobacco in any form and then I ask them when their last chest x ray was. One issue I am hav...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Feb 5, 2012, 5:27 pm
Isn't it funny how diagnoses seem to come in waves in primary care practice? Two weeks ago was nothing but rashes. However, this week’s wave was a topic that is near and dear to my heart (or foot rather!) I have personal experience with plantar fasciitis and was searchi...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Feb 5, 2012, 4:13 pm
Scharmaine Baker Lawson, DNP posted a question on Facebook that I thought was interesting from two standpoints. The issue is that a co-worker found out that she was a health care provider for a pedophile. The co -worker was offended that Scharmaine could continue a medical relationship with t...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Feb 4, 2012, 1:15 pm
This guest post from Werner Rogers I think that I have gotten addicted to a new game that I have been playing on my iPAD at home using my Clear 4G internet connection. It is a game made by the same company (ZYNGA) that created “Words with Friends”. The game that I a...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jan 22, 2012, 12:35 am
I have been lucky enough to have continued to blog even after graduating from my Master's Program 4 years ago. It has been difficult at times due to burn out. Several bloggers have made comments regarding such on their own sites. Sometimes, it's due to not feeling adequately commented upon. We all l...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Dec 31, 2011, 2:11 pm
Studies prove effectiveness of nurse practitioners - The News Herald Beth Guy was one of my adjunct professors as Florida State University and is one of my inspirations. I am very happy to repost this here on my blog for others to enjoy. Please go to the article and click on the urls that show the a...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Dec 23, 2011, 3:49 pm
Thanks to Carla Gibson ARNP for passing along a CME opportunity that refers to NPs and PAs as "physician extenders". I stopped by their website and left them the following response. "I am surprised and disappointed that you are referring to ARNPs as physician extenders in your CME course....
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Dec 13, 2011, 11:03 pm
I was wandering around on some of the Nurse Practitioner message boards and realized just how many students there are that can't seem to find  preceptors in their areas. Most of the students that are working on their RN-MSN degrees live in a larger city than I do. I am really surprised to see...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Dec 8, 2011, 10:31 pm
I am currently working with a FNP student and am really enjoying our interactions. I really get a kick when I see the light come on in a student's eyes as something clicks into place. I remember how nervous I was and hoped that the preceptor wouldn't ask me a question that I didn't know the an...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Nov 19, 2011, 11:46 pm
Hope everyone had a wonderful Nurse Practitioner Week! I came across Stephen's entry about NP blogging and had to agree wholeheartedly! I also didn't see that many NP blogs so I started one myself. It has been an interesting journey from a student to a Novice and onto a more experienced NP. I won't ...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Nov 14, 2011, 9:19 pm
When someone thinks of getting medical care, the first person who comes to mind is a doctor. The last person they think of is a nurse or the many other healthcare professionals that could possibly treat them on a day to day basis in those offices. In the small...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Oct 8, 2011, 12:15 am
I have been seeing the seemingly new recommendations that we are being too aggressive with the current PSA testing for men over 50. The logic behind the new recommendation is that we are testing too soon and too often in men that are healthy. Most prostate cancers are very slow movers and most...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Oct 2, 2011, 9:35 pm
I received a call the other day from our HR department asking if I would like to precept a student. I was practically giddy with excitement! Yes, I love students. Too often I hear that there are not enough preceptors out here and wonder why we are so hard to find. I was lucky enough to find th...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Sep 9, 2011, 9:31 pm
I just started our new EHR and thought that it would be a breeze. Well....it's not as easy as it looks. There are too many choices for some things and not enough for others. The patients are not happy about my reduced schedule these last two weeks but I have needed the time to slow down anyway...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jul 30, 2011, 9:28 pm
I had a patient come the other day that I hadn't seen in several months. As soon as I walked into the room, I noticed that their color was just a little bit off. No really, I LOT off. I told the patient that they needed to go to the hospital. Why? Ummm, Because you're yellow???? No niceties, ...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jun 21, 2011, 10:54 pm
That's the question of the day most of the time. I see many types of patients in the rural health office that I work in. For the most part, my patients actually have problems that I can do something about. Some are not so lucky. I cannot help the patient who comes from another office with no ...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - May 29, 2011, 9:32 pm
I have been asked many times at the office what I thought of the Autism link to vaccines. I am still not convinced that there is a link between the two. In my humble opinion, it's in the preservatives in our foods. Look at the numbers of us "oldies" who all got our shots back in the days when ...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - May 15, 2011, 1:13 pm
I received an email from a frustrated NP student and thought it would make a good post. "I am ending my first year of NP school. I'm tired and frustrated. The faculty at my school is so focused on preventing cheating, they make it difficult for those of us who do not without reward. And, the cheate...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Apr 22, 2011, 12:07 am
This is a test of my new blogwriter lite app on my new phone! Things are going well in the new office and I am eagerly awaiting the electronic charting system coming in June. What types of systems are you using in your offices? Anything you would change? Chime in!
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Apr 1, 2011, 10:36 pm
In Advance For NPs and PAs, a March 9, 2011 article was featured on the following study of protocols used by health care providers to treat MRSA infections. I was surprised to see that some providers were still using Keflex to treat these infections. Some providers still were not sending cultures on...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Mar 11, 2011, 10:38 pm
I was happy to be a part of the Republican Lincoln/Reagan fundraising dinner this evening. I made sure to take advantage of my husband's connections as the exclusive photographer to say hello to her and other political representatives of the State. One person that I made a real effort to speak to wa...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Feb 14, 2011, 8:19 pm
Finally, we are getting the support we need in order to take complete care of our patients. I'm still not sure I am in total agreement with the wording of some of the below, but I will take what I can get! Read the below article that I found on the Florida Nurse Practitioner Network website and let ...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jan 31, 2011, 9:48 pm
Get 15% off labs with code "lab_4rr" Finally, a physician with some common sense! My patients still ask me every day why I can't write their meds and I tell them about the battles between the insurance companies and our congress/senate and the docs. They are all trying to restrict our practice...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on NP's Place - Dec 19, 2010, 8:58 pm
15% off green scrubs with code "green_sale" Below is part of a recent post that I found on Kevin MD and written by Dr. Kelly over at Mothers in Medicine: “Fast forward then to my first job out of residency. I was in a small rural community in a group practice with a nurse practitioner whose hus...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Dec 19, 2010, 6:41 pm
15% off steelers scrubs with promo code "pitt_sale"  I see so many patients that are in various stages of mental health difficulties. Most are coping fairly well, but a few are not doing as well as others due to the time of year. I am sure that you all have noticed that October through Janua...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Dec 10, 2010, 10:57 pm
It's that time again! Change of Shift is up over at Emergiblog. My post was chosen as her editor's pick and I am honored. I only wish that I could write as well as Kim. Click here to enjoy!
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Dec 6, 2010, 9:19 pm
I had a new patient show up at the office the other day and my office nurse called me into the room quickly. She was concerned when he said that he was a diabetic and that he hadn't been feeling well for the last few days. As my trusty nurse knows to do, she got a glucose reading which said "hi". He...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Nov 11, 2010, 9:06 pm
Click here for the newest edition of Change of Shift. It's a wonderful compilation of nursing stories on the web. I submitted from NP Place.com this round. Enjoy!
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Jennifer S. posted an article on NP's Place - Nov 6, 2010, 8:54 pm
15% off men’s scrubs with code "mens_save" Being a professional health care provider comes with many pros and cons. The Pros include the ability to diagnose and treat my own patients, a great salary, and personal satisfaction that I have made a difference in someone’s life. Unfortunately, ther...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Nov 5, 2010, 11:58 pm
15% off plus size scrubs with code "plus_value" Hello once again from The Nurse Practitioner's Place! I have been on a long hiatus due to an injury from a car accident last year. Boy has it been a bumpy ride! I have been playing catch up at the office while trying to decipher my own handwritin...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Oct 3, 2010, 1:52 am
Hello to my faithful readers! I haven't posted in a long while due to a wrist/hand injury a year ago that has been progressively getting worse. After a couple of MRIs, one of which was an arthrogram, a simple x-ray answered the million dollar question. The thumbs are not sitting in their sockets and...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Sep 4, 2010, 12:04 pm
Hello to all the nurses on the blogosphere! Change of Shift is a wonderful compilation of nursing stories from bloggers and is such a great vehicle for us as a profession. It's a place to see how other nurses deal with patient issues, work place issues and sometimes personal issues that can affect o...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Aug 14, 2010, 3:45 pm
I am a rural health care provider in Branford, Florida. I would like to know how many nurse practitioners have been involved in your round table discussions regarding health care reform? I noticed that on your website it states that you want to let "patients decide" but it only says " Patients D...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on NP's Place - Aug 12, 2010, 9:18 pm
Are you looking for a new career? Thinking about getting your nursing degree but you aren’t sure if it’s right for you? Let’s be clear up front: Nursing isn’t for everyone. To be a nurse, you need to have the compassion and desire to help others. You also need to be able to tolerate the pain...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on NP's Place - Aug 8, 2010, 10:43 pm
I work in a rural health care setting as a Family Nurse Practitioner and I love my job. No, I don’t make as much money as a specialty NP, but I go home at night feeling good about my attempts at helping people who little or no insurance. I just got back from the National Health Service Corp’s Co...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Aug 8, 2010, 10:27 pm
Change of Shift is an awesome compilation of nurses who blog about their experiences from all aspects of the profession. Kim was nice enough to enter one of my blog posts for me this round. Go enjoy it here! When you come back, enjoy a video of my youngest grandson Clayton eating watermelon! I...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jul 31, 2010, 10:44 pm
 This is who I think of when I hear the term "extends". I was over at Kim's place at Emergiblog and she has a great post about Physician extenders. I, of course, put my two cents in on the subject. It still amazes me just how little people understand about how we take care of patient...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jul 31, 2010, 9:52 pm
I will be attending the National Health Service Corp conference in Washington, D.C. during the first week in August. Why will I being doing this? I applied for a student loan payback program in which the government pays back my student loans in return for my service in a rural area. I signed a two y...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on NP's Place - Jul 26, 2010, 11:30 pm
Good Lord! Will you all please stop wasting your time by posting these jibberish posts with links to online pharmacies or porn sites on here? I think you will save your poor wrists and mine from carpal tunnel syndrome. For those who are actually interested in nurse practitioner issues, I thank you f...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jul 9, 2010, 11:09 pm
I am honored to be included in the 5th anniversary of the Change of Shift. It's a wonderful compilation of nursing stories submitted each edition and will take you into the lives of those who are saving yours every day. Cheers to Kim and hope that she has many more great years to come.
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Jennifer S. posted an article on NP's Place - Jul 9, 2010, 11:04 pm
Go on over to the Change of Shift at Emergiblog.com where you will find one of the most comprehensive compilations of nursing stories in the blogosphere. I am always honored to be a part when I can submit an article. Click here to go say hello and congratulate her on the 5th anniversary of the carni...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jun 19, 2010, 11:50 pm
Hello to all! I have been playing with the template as you can see if you are an old reader. Somehow my comment box has disappeared? Only thing you can do is click on the little box at the bottom of the post. Anyone else have this problem when they changed Blogger? Don't know why I am asking since y...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jun 14, 2010, 7:40 pm
Our neighbors were very nice people. The kind that would offer to let you swim in their pool (though I didn't often because I didn't want to be one of THOSE neighbors). They would come over and talk to the hubby while I was busy at the office and discuss politics and health care issues. They were ne...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jun 10, 2010, 11:04 pm
Change of Shift is a wonderful compilation of nursing opinions in the blogosphere. Go check it out!
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Jun 7, 2010, 9:08 pm
Over at Kevin, MD there is a discussion going on regarding whether Nurse Practitioners have adequate diagnostic skills in comparison to medical doctors. This is often an argument in conversations regarding nurse practitioners increasing their presence in primary care. Lucy Hornstein is a fam...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - May 29, 2010, 2:21 pm
Over at A Country Doc Writes, he poses the question about whether we should treat naturally occurring problems as we age such as menopause or andropause. Even aging is, in this country, largely viewed as a constellation of diseases. It strikes me as odd that in this age of high regard for Evidence ...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on NP's Place - May 18, 2010, 9:21 pm
American Sentinel University “Careers in Healthcare” Article Series (Part 7) By: Betty Nelson, PhD, RN Careers in Healthcare:  The Buzz about Transparency Transparency is a popular word these days, and it’s fast becoming an expected feature at all levels of healthcare. Transparency require...
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Jennifer S. posted an article on NP's Place - Apr 21, 2010, 10:55 pm
I hope you enjoy the above video about the newer roles of nurse practitioners in primary care.
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Jennifer S. posted an article on The Nurse Practitioner's Place - Apr 18, 2010, 10:10 pm
Barbara Phillips is one of the most savy nurse practitioners that I know. She is an independent nurse practitioner based in Washington state and spends a LOT of time after her practice hours to keep us up to speed on how to start your own nurse practitioner office. There are also ways to have a NP p...
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