Commentary and Observations from
the Medical Front Lines
Sign up to receive posts from The Exchange
CATEGORIES
Latest NPs & PAs Articles on PCE's The Exchange
The PA Profession Wants to Change Its Name
Posted By: 
Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
July 13, 2021
In May 2021, on a vote of 198 for and 68 against, the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) House of Delegates (HOD) passed a resolution to change the professional title of "physician assistant" (PA) to "physician associate." As part of the decision process, the AAPA outsourced work to a consulting company that conducted a broad survey to PAs, physicians, and patients to determine the perception of what PAs do, and how patients and physicians embrace them. The results show that whil... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
Wellness-Centered Leadership – Why it Matters
Posted By: 
Heather M. Hylton, MS, PA-C
June 29, 2021
A paper recently published by Shanafelt et al titled: "Wellness-Centered Leadership: Equipping Health Care Leaders to Cultivate Physician Well-Being and Prof... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
Nurses Week 2021: May 6 - May 12
Posted By: 
Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
May 04, 2021
I can't believe a year has gone by since I wrote about the 2020 Nurses Week theme. This year, the American Nurses Association (ANA) joined with the World Hea... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
Women in History: Nurse Practitioners of Note
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
March 26, 2021
This is the second of two blogs featuring influential female nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs), highlighting influential NPs, as part... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs
Women in History: Physician Assistants of Note
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
March 23, 2021
Since March is Women's History month, this will be a two-part blog series featuring influential female nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PA... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs
The Sky Isn’t the Limit for This PA
Posted By: 
Lawrence Herman, DMSc, MPA, PA-C
March 19, 2021
Hayley Arceneaux, PA-C, is anything but ordinary. At the age of 10, she already had her black belt in Taekwondo. Then she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of... Continue Reading
Filed under: Miscellaneous, NPs & PAs
The Power of Presence
Posted By: Heather M. Hylton, MS, PA-C
March 12, 2021
For the greater part of a decade, I was fortunate to work with, and be mentored by, an incredible physician leader. When you think about attributes of a grea... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
The Art of Listening
Posted By: Heather M. Hylton, MS, PA-C
March 09, 2021
One of my favorite songs is "The Sounds of Silence" by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Although my interpretation of this song may vary from the artists' inten... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
My Experience With COVID-19 – An NP’s Perspective, Part 2
Posted By: 
Martha Kingman, FNP-C, DNP
February 05, 2021
In my previous post, I wrote about becoming ill with COVID-19 and how the initial symptoms impacted me. In this post, I'll be discussing home care tips that... Continue Reading
Filed under: Infectious Diseases, NPs & PAs, Pulmonary Medicine
My Experience With COVID-19 – An NP’s Perspective, Part 1
Posted By: Martha Kingman, FNP-C, DNP
February 02, 2021
Even as an NP practicing 20 years in a pulmonary clinic, I was not prepared for how ill I became when I contracted COVID-19 just after Christmas 2020. ... Continue Reading
Filed under: Infectious Diseases, NPs & PAs, Pulmonary Medicine
Health Assessment During COVID-19: The New Normal
Posted By: Debra A. Danforth, DNP, APRN
January 05, 2021
This year has changed how we teach health assessment or provide objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) to our students. Now, everyone has gone to... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
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 P... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs
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
Telehealth Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic: What are the Benefits?
Posted By: 
Susan M. Tiso, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
April 17, 2020
Never before has there been such a frenzy of media exposure about an infectious disease as there has been surrounding COVID-19. We are faced with constant up... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
Game Changer: Telehealth for NPs and PAs in the Age of COVID-19
Posted By: Susan M. Tiso, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
April 14, 2020
Having worked as a nurse practitioner for almost 30 years, I have seen so much change and evolution in health care, from practice standards to system changes... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
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
Connecting with our Patients: What Matters Most
Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
January 28, 2020
We all have busy clinical days, but it is still important to make a personal connection with our patients. I think it is fair to say that one of the main rea... Continue Reading
Filed under: NPs & PAs, 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
Should We Accommodate Discriminatory Requests from Patients?
Posted By: 
Ben Taylor, PA-C, PhD, DFAAPA
January 07, 2020
As medical providers, we took an oath to provide the same quality of care to all our patients regardless of their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation,... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
Do Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners Know What They Bill?
Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
December 10, 2019
As a practicing clinician, do you know what you bill for? Do you know how much is asked for in the bills that are sent to your patients? The truth of the mat... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
November is Diabetes Awareness Month
Posted By: 
Lawrence Herman, PA-C, MPA
November 15, 2019
Along with the colder weather and the promise of holiday season, November brings us the opportunity to raise awareness about diabetes. Both type 1 and type 2... Continue Reading
Filed under: Cardiometabolic, NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career, Preventive Medicine, Public Health
New Statement Related to Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients
Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
October 01, 2019
The American College of Cardiology has issued a new Expert Consensus Decision Pathway for the management of patients with heart failure. This newly released... Continue Reading
Filed under: Cardiometabolic, Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs
Update: State Regulatory Environment for Opioid Prescribing
Posted By: 
Susanne J. Phillips, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
September 20, 2019
As prescribers for patients with acute and chronic pain in primary care, NPs and PAs are very much aware of the national opioid epidemic, including ways in w... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs, Substance Abuse
Preceptors and Tax Credits—Interprofessional Policy Change
Posted By: Susanne J. Phillips, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
July 09, 2019
This blog is information only and not to be construed for legal tax advice—you must consult your tax professional regarding personal tax advice. Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs
Advanced Practice Providers and Liability Risk
Posted By: Ben Taylor, PA-C, PhD, DFAAPA
May 21, 2019
It is a misconception that advanced practice providers (APPs) can’t get sued because any errors are a physician’s responsibility. PAs and NPs can and do... Continue Reading
Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career
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