Commentary and Observations from
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Welcome to PCE's The Exchange—Stay Current on Issues That Matter Most to You and Your NP/PA Colleagues
PCE is excited to announce the launch of The Exchange, a collection of short commentaries from your NP/PA colleagues on a broad range of topics relevant to your practice. The Exchange will bring you reflections on trends in medicine, observations about new treatments and guidelines, and advice related to career decisions and practicing in today's changing healthcare environment.
Social Distancing During COVID-19
Posted By: 
Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
March 24, 2020
Social distancing is a measure recommended by public health officials that aims to restrict sick people from coming in contact with healthy people to slow the spread of infectious diseases. According to the CDC, social distancing as it applies to COVID-19 includes "remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance—approximately 6 feet or 2 meters—from others when possible."
As we have seen... Continue Reading
Filed under: Infectious Diseases, Public Health
Essential Education for All Patients With Migraine
Posted By: 
Carol A. Barch, MN, FNP-BC
March 20, 2020
With a better understanding of migraine pathophysiology, the number of new migraine treatments has exploded in recent years. Over 40 million Americans suffer... Continue Reading
My Trip to the Capitol
Posted By: Carol A. Barch, MN, FNP-BC
March 17, 2020
As clinicians, we often talk about being a patient advocate, which is something that most of us probably do daily. We may be advocating for authorization of... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Neurology
Upside Down: Influenza B Appears to be Waning While Influenza A is Increasing
Posted By: 
Lawrence Herman, PA-C, MPA
March 13, 2020
In a typical flu season, influenza A activity begins between November and January and fades after a few months. Concurrently, influenza B occurs with increas... Continue Reading
Filed under: Infectious Diseases, Public Health
Intermittent Fasting: Is it Hype or Is There Science Behind It?
Posted By: 
Mary Knudtson, DNSc, NP, FAAN
March 10, 2020
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a form of time-restricted fasting that involves consuming foods during a specific time window and fasting for the remaining hour... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous
Consent for Invasive Exams While Under Anesthesia?
Posted By: Mary Knudtson, DNSc, NP, FAAN
March 06, 2020
There was an interesting article in the New York Times called "She Didn't Want a Pelvic Exam. She Received One Anyway. Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous
Hidradenitis suppurativa
Posted By: 
Kristine Kucera, PA-C, MPAS, DHS
March 03, 2020
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, debilitating, inflammatory disease of the hair follicle that usually develops after puberty. It presents with pai... Continue Reading
Filed under: Dermatology
You're Darned if You Do, You're Damned if You Don't
Posted By: Lawrence Herman, PA-C, MPA
February 28, 2020
Sorry, but I believe we are past the point of being worried about scaring people about the novel coronavirus 2019, now simply COVID-19 (in various forms of c... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Infectious Diseases, Public Health
Sun Protection
Posted By: Kristine Kucera, PA-C, MPAS, DHS
February 25, 2020
In the late 1970s, the promotion of sun protection was almost nonexistent, even though Swiss researcher, Franz Greiter, had developed the concept of sun prot... Continue Reading
Filed under: Dermatology
The Lowdown on Popular Psoriasis Medications
Posted By: 
Lakshi M. Aldredge, MSN, ANP-BC, DCNP
February 21, 2020
These days, it seems that most of us can't avoid seeing a commercial for a psoriasis medication when watching our favorite shows. Most of the ad... Continue Reading
Filed under: Dermatology