NP Pulse: The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner (AANP)

Earlier this year, AANP announced the opening of international memberships — the culmination of years of work to extend the benefits of our membership to NPs and APNs living outside of the U.S. To speak with us today about the creation of international memberships, the benefits of joining AANP as an international member and some of the goals of the international membership program is Liz Messner, Vice President of Membership at AANP. 

Nurse practitioners (NPs) in a wide variety of settings are key to the identification and treatment of numerous conditions affecting women of all ages. As guidelines change — and occasionally seem to conflict — NPs must be able to individualize guidance for screening, testing and treatment using the most current recommendations and a shared approach to decision making.

In this second of a two-part series, women’s health expert faculty Kahlil Demonbreun, Lisa Chism and Nancy Berman discuss key updates in women’s health, including guidelines related to sexual desire disorders, vasomotor symptoms of menopause, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, overactive bladder and abnormal uterine bleeding (including anemia).

Today’s podcast is intended as a broad overview of the most recent changes.

To earn 1.0 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credit, you will need the participation code provided at the end of the podcast. To claim your CE credit, log in and register for the activity within the AANP CE Center, then enter the participation code and complete the post-test and evaluation. CE credit is available for this podcast through May 2025.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) in a wide variety of settings are key to the identification and treatment of numerous conditions affecting women of all ages. As guidelines change — and occasionally seem to conflict — NPs must be able to individualize guidance to screening, testing and treatment using the most current recommendations and a shared approach to decision making.

In the first of a two-part series, women’s health expert faculty Kahlil Demonbreun, Lisa Chism and Nancy Berman discuss key updates in women’s health, including guidelines related to cervical cancer screening and testing, osteoporosis and breast health. Today’s podcast is intended as a broad overview of the most recent changes.

This activity has expired and CE credit can no longer be claimed

Speakers, Sarah Rossi, NP, and Lauren Mahon, NP, review identification of ovarian cancer and initial work up for patients suspected to have ovarian cancer in this dynamic and informative podcast.

This activity has expired and CE credit can no longer be claimed

This podcast developed and funded by AANP.

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) is a condition caused by damage to the pancreas that results in reduced capability to produce or deliver digestive enzymes which break down fats, carbohydrates or proteins — or to a decrease in the enzyme activity in the small intestine. EPI is most commonly associated with chronic pancreatitis (in adults), cystic fibrosis (in children), diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) and other etiologies such as acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer or resection, celiac and Crohn’s disease. Consequently, individuals with EPI may suffer malnutrition and fat-soluble vitamin deficiency; loss of bone mass; growth and immune deficiencies; and may experience poorer outcomes such as longer hospital stays and lower survival rates of underlying medical conditions secondary to malnutrition.

Listen to guests Kimberly Kearns MS, APRN, ANP-BC and Amy Stewart FNP-C discuss EPI on this episode of the official podcast of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP), NP Pulse: The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®

Additionally, two new tools are also available on AANP’s Tools and Resources page in both the Gastroenterology and in the Pulmonology and Respiratory therapeutic areas:

Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) – Patient Guide to diet and lifestyle modifications, and to the self-administration of PERTs to help reduce symptoms including gas, bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea caused by undigested food in the gut.

Diagnosing and Managing Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) – Provider Resource including evaluation of symptoms and common high-risk conditions, diagnostic testing and management goals combining diet, lifestyle and therapies to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.

Your voice counts here: EPI Podcast Follow Up Survey (surveymonkey.com)

**This podcast is unaccredited.

To speak about the environmental and occupational health of veterans from an NP’s perspective, NP Pulse is proud to welcome Lt. Cashmere “Cash” Miller, a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officer working in the Atlanta VA Health Care System. With host Sophia Thomas, Miller discusses toxic substances, from burn pit particles to Agent Orange, that veterans may have been exposed to while serving. Miller also shares what the PACT Act — an expansion of VA health care for veterans exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving in the military — means to affected patients and their NPs. Finally, Thomas and Miller talk about the importance of whole-person care, and why NPs are crucial to providing the best health care possible to veterans.

Many of us have questions after we step on a scale and see how much we weigh. How closely does that number correlate to our overall health? What is the best way, as nurse practitioners, to talk about weight with patients by emphasizing the positives of exercise and diet without reinforcing obesity bias?

Today’s guest on NP Pulse, AANP’s new Vice President of Professional Practice Dr. Johnnie Sue Wijewardane, walks us through her personal weight loss journey and discusses the pros and cons of surgery, the very topical GLP-1s and even a fascinating aside into yo-yo trends like the “cabbage diet.” With her combination of expert analysis and trademark openness, Wijewardane guides us through the minefield of weight loss over-information into useful takeaways for both nurse practitioners and patients.

For more resources on treating obesity and talking with patients about weight loss, visit aanp.org to find newsfeed articles and CE courses related to the topic. 

Prescribing and deprescribing for the geriatric population can be complex. In this podcast, NP experts Drs. Shantha Franks and Audrey Stevenson will review the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of aging, discuss inappropriate prescribing and the American Geriatrics Society Beer's Criteria, and walk you through the process of deprescribing with use of a case study.

To earn 0.9 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credit, all of which is Rx credit, you will need the participation code provided at the end of the podcast. To claim your CE credit, log in and register for the activity within the AANP CE Center, then enter the participation code and complete the post-test and evaluation. CE credit is available for this podcast through March 2026.

Resources

https://deprescribing.org/resources/

https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/deprescribing-patient-safety-strategy

Rare Disease Day is observed on the last day of February every year. Did you know that there are over 7,000 rare diseases affecting more than 30 million people in the United States? Every nurse practitioner will encounter patients and families affected by rare disease in their practices. On today’s podcast we are joined by NP experts Dr. Stephanie Hosley and Alicia Turner who will discuss the burden and impact of rare disease and provide resources for the NP to provide best care for patients/families affected by rare disease.

To earn 0.9 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credit, you will need the participation code provided at the end of the podcast. To claim your CE credit, log in and register for the activity within the AANP CE Center, then enter the participation code and complete the post-test and evaluation. CE credit is available for this podcast through February 2026.

Resources

NIH Genetic and Rare Disease Information Center

NORD Patient Assistance Programs

Rare Diseases at FDA

Clinical Trials Look-up