Real World NP

It’s super common for new NPs — and experienced ones — to get anxious when encountering orthopedic complaints. 

It’s a conundrum — on one hand, it seems like it should be simple. After all, you can feel all the musculoskeletal body structures right there. 

But at the same time, there are so many (SO MANY!) nuances to each body part. And there’s a lot of ortho lingo to wrap your head around. 

That’s why it’s helpful to understand exactly what an orthopedic nurse practitioner does — and what that means for working in primary care.

So sit back and enjoy — this week, orthopedic nurse practitioner, Yessica Salazar, has stopped by to talk ortho with us...and left behind so many great clinical pearls that I just know will help you in your daily practice: 

✅ How to order knee X-rays the right way

✅ Her approach to medications for orthopedic complaints

✅ Non-invasive treatment options for patients 

Read the blog post here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you ever find yourself spending an ENTIRE 20-minute visit just getting a history?

And even with all that time, do you still leave the room feeling like you didn't even get the info you needed?

In this episode, I'm sharing my top tips for not only a FASTER history, but also a more accurate one — so you can take great care of your patients while saving time and, quite honestly, health care dollars.

You'll learn:

• My top tip to keep your patient visits moving
• Pitfalls of where you could be missing info (and how to ask questions to get the answers you're looking for)
• The most important question to ask to save you TONS of time in each visit

Read the blog post here.

Need more support? Check out the Lab Interpretation Crash Course for Nurse Practitioners

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seeing "lower leg swelling" as the chief complaint for patients as a new nurse practitioner was incredibly stressful. What’s the best course of action? Should you give diuretics for symptom control? Is this something serious...or something totally ordinary?

I had a super interesting case the other week and knew immediately that I had to share it with you — and it was one that I actually got a double-check from my colleague on!

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The top DDXs - most common and red flags
• What important history questions to ask
• Two clinical pearls of patient histories
• Differential diagnoses
• How to manage patients in this common scenario - re: testing & treatment

Read the blog post here.

Need more support? Check out the Lab Interpretation Crash Course for Nurse Practitioners

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Urine microalbumin: you need to check it once a year for patients with diabetes. But interpreting the results — and knowing what to do with them! — can be tricky. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• When to order urine microalbumin labs
• How to interpret the results and what to do with them
• How to treat abnormal levels
• 4 steps to elevated microalbumin management

Read the blog post here.

Need more support? Check out the Lab Interpretation Crash Course for Nurse Practitioners

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I saw a meme recently that compared hyponatremia to folding a fitted sheet— you can watch a million videos on how to do it, but in the end you'll probably just crumple it up and hope you never have to deal with it again. 🤯

Luckily in primary care low sodium is easier to deal with outpatient, and doesn't have to be super complicated. In this episode, I talk about low sodium, which is one of the top abnormal labs in primary care.

Hyponatremia involves understanding kidney function, but I've broken it down into the simplest, clearest, most digestible way to give you the most helpful insight to take into your practice. I'll bring you through the step-by-step process to implement for the vast majority of patients you'll see, and if you need to go down the rabbit hole of workup further, you'll have the tools to do so!

You'll learn:

• How to know when your patient needs to go to the ER, and when you can work them up outpatient
• The simplest way to remember low sodium
• The #1 lab you should always think of when you see low sodium
• How to know if your patient needs IV fluid (or if that'd be the worst possible thing to do for them)

Read the blog post here.

Want more lab goodies? Check out the Lab Interpretation Crash Course for Nurse Practitioners

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feeling uncertain about referring a patient? That’s super common. You might wonder things like:  

Are there other tests you could do first?

Should you wait it out?

At what point can you be sure?

In this episode I will answer ALL of these questions. I will also walk you through my 3-step process, the pitfalls and mistakes to avoid (that I learned from experience!). Plus, I’ll give you my NUMBER ONE resource to help you:

• Feel more confident with your referrals
• Deepen and broaden your knowledge base
• Take excellent care of your patients

Read the blog post here.

Need more support? Check out the Lab Interpretation Crash Course for Nurse Practitioners

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You've seen high WBC counts as a nurse, but what about leukocytosis that's only 13 or 15? And it's chronic? And what about peripheral smears? How do you know if it's urgent?

In this episode we are going to talk about this super interesting case study to give you the step by step approach to interpreting these labs, and teach you how to manage a high WBC count safely and confidently.

Together, we will cover:

• Knowing when to order what labs
• Three main components of working up a high WBC
• The differential and the peripheral smear 
• Absolute lymphocyte count 
• The Flow Cytometry Test

Read the blog post here.

Check out the Lab Interpretation Crash Course for Nurse Practitioners

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are many facets when it comes to interpreting Elevated Liver Enzymes (LFTs). In this episode we will be going through the most common presentation and primary care so that you will feel confident in knowing what steps to take when you come across these abnormal labs, and as a result, put your mind at ease and keep you from freaking out!

Together, we will cover:

• Key anchors of LFTs that you need to remember
• Two main factors to know what labs to order and when 
• Three points to start with during your initial approach to LFTs
• Four main questions to ask with every lab
• Symptoms, causes, evaluation, and algorithm specifically for mild AST and ALT

Read the blog post here.

Check out the Lab Interpretation Crash Course for Nurse Practitioners

Download FREE Ultimate Resource Guide for the New NP

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It happens to all of us. Those questions and self doubts we get in the back of our minds, “What did I get myself into? Do I even know what I’m doing? Should I even be in this field?” 

The list goes on. If you are struggling with these fears, then you need to know a few things. First, you are not alone! And second, you are in the right place, because I’m giving you the strategies I use to deal with imposter syndrome. 

Imposter syndrome is especially common among New Grad NPs, but in all honesty imposter syndrome is something that many of us experience whenever we move to take that next step in our career or any time we explore something new. (Yes, even I still experience this!) So even if you are not a New Grad NP, you’ll still want to check out this episode because these tips are beneficial to everyone.

Read the blog post here.

Download FREE Ultimate Resource Guide for the New NP

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you’re a new nurse practitioner, there can be a lot of overwhelming, high-stress situations that you may find yourself in. 

A big contributing factor are lab interpretation resources — they’re scattered, hard-to-use, and don’t cover enough information. I used to DREAD opening up my lab results, but over time I went from avoiding my inbox to being obsessed with labs. 

How did I get there? I found the right tools and techniques to use. In this episode, I’m going to help eliminate the overwhelm as we walk step by step through a case study of a patient with high TSH levels. Together, we’ll:

• Go over the three main steps of hypothyroidism assessment and management
• Review components of holistic care
• Talk about medications that can affect thyroid levels
• And share pearls of practice

Get out your pen and paper because this episode is jam-packed with information, and I know you will walk away feeling more confident and prepared for your next high TSH-level patient! 

Read the blog post here.

Download FREE Ultimate Resource Guide for the New NP

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.