Commentary and Observations from
the Medical Front Lines
Sign up to receive posts from The Exchange
CATEGORIES
Happy PA Week!
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
October 13, 2020
Physician Assistant (PA) week is celebrated every year from October 6th through 12th. The first PA program was started at Duke University in 1965. National PA Day was first celebrated on October 6, 1987, to honor the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class and is also the birthday of the program's founder, Eugene A. Stead, Jr., MD.
PAs are nationally certified and state-licensed medical professionals who practice on healthcare teams with physicians and other providers. There a... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs
What’s Changed for Basic and Advanced Life Support During COVID-19
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
May 22, 2020
How we do CPR and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) has changed in the last several months. The American Heart Association collaborated with other organiz... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Infectious Diseases
National Nurses Week May 6-12: Let’s Not Forget Where It Started
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
May 08, 2020
Two hundred years ago, on May 12th, Florence Nightingale was born—it is now a day when we celebrate nurses around the world. Did you know that... Continue Reading
Filed under: Miscellaneous, NPs & PAs
The Difference Between Isolation and Quarantine
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
March 27, 2020
There seems to be confusion between what it means to isolate versus quarantine people. According to the CDC, the definitions of isolation and quarantine are:... Continue Reading
Filed under: Infectious Diseases, Public Health
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 th... Continue Reading
Filed under: Infectious Diseases, Public Health
Millennials and Healthcare
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
January 17, 2020
Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are those born between 1981 and 1996. They currently comprise one-fourth of all Americans and seem to look at health... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Practice Management/Career
Loretta C. Ford Turns 99
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
January 14, 2020
On December 28, 2019, Dr Loretta C. Ford, co-founder of the first nurse practitioner program, turned 99. Loretta is known to her friends as "Lee,... Continue Reading
Filed under: Miscellaneous, NPs & PAs
Older Driver Safety Awareness Week
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
December 06, 2019
December 2-6, 2019 is Older Driver Safety Awareness Week. This week aims to promote public understanding of the importance of mobility and transportation in... Continue Reading
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Managing Patients With Suspected Vape-Related Lung Problems
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
December 03, 2019
We have been hearing about more and more cases of lipoid pneumonia linked to marijuana oils in e-cigarettes. According to the CDC, as of November 2019, there... Continue Reading
Filed under: Infectious Diseases, Public Health, Pulmonary Medicine
Managing Multiple Generations in Your Workplace
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
September 13, 2019
/*styles for graphic info (hed, subhed, source, credit)*/ .rg-container { font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-h... Continue Reading
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Disaster Preparedness
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
September 10, 2019
Since we are in the heart of hurricane season on the East Coast, it is important to be ready. September is National Preparedness Month to promote family and... Continue Reading
Filed under: Public Health
Beat the Heat
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
July 05, 2019
Your body may be unable to cool itself in hot temperatures, which could lead to a heat stroke or heat exhaustion. This is very common in the summer months. H... Continue Reading
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Firework Safety Tips
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
July 02, 2019
Happy Canada Day (July 1) and Happy 4th of July to all the NPs and PAs! According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, an estimated... Continue Reading
Filed under: Miscellaneous
National Stop the Bleed Month
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
May 17, 2019
Did you know that May 2019 is the first-ever National Stop the Bleed Month? Also, May 23 is the second annual Stop the Bleed® Day. So what is “... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous, Preventive Medicine, Public Health
Lower Cholesterol – The Natural Way
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
May 14, 2019
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 95 million US adults aged 20 or older have total cholesterol levels higher than 200 mg/dL. Many... Continue Reading
Filed under: Preventive Medicine
Use of Simulation in NP and PA Programs
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
March 29, 2019
In the last several years, both NPs and PAs have sent out surveys on the use of simulation in their programs, and articles have been published with the resul... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs
The History of Simulation
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
March 26, 2019
As director of a simulation center at an academic institution, it has been exciting to see the remarkable advances made in this field over time. The u... Continue Reading
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Vaping: What Parents Need to Know
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
March 01, 2019
So what is vaping? Vaping is the inhaling and exhaling of an aerosol produced by using a vaping device. Vaping is illegal for anyone under the age of 18, and... Continue Reading
Filed under: Public Health, Substance Abuse
Substance Use Disorders in Youth
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
February 26, 2019
In the United States, about 5% of youth aged 12 to 17 will develop a substance use disorder (SUD) each year, but fewer than 10% of the 1.3 million youth who... Continue Reading
Filed under: Public Health, Substance Abuse