Your friend, your aunt, your patient in your primary care office - everyone seems to be talking about migraines. But is it a headache or is it a migraine? How do you know the difference?

As a new grad, it’s not unusual to feel like you have been thrown into the deep end when patients present with a migraine or a headache. It’s not a super black and white topic, and patients sometimes have a hard time describing their symptoms, which adds to the challenge.

This week, we’ll talk about what makes a migraine different from a headache, and how to approach your patient who just knows that their head hurts and wants relief.

✅ Differentiating headaches and migraines

✅ Migraine red flags

✅ Other diagnoses that can be mistaken for migraine

✅ A word about auras

✅ The importance of a headache diary for you and your patient

When you have a good handle on the red flags, and what makes a migraine different from a regular headache, managing migraines will get easier for both you and your patient. 

Check out the links that I referenced here: https://www.realworldnp.com/blog/diagnosing-migraine

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Don't forget to grab your free Ultimate Resource Guide for the New NP at https://www.realworldnp.com/guide

Sign up for the Lab Interpretation Crash Course: https://www.realworldnp.com/labs 

Grab your copy of the Digital NP Binder: https://www.realworldnp.com/binder

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© 2022 Real World NP. For educational and informational purposes only, see realworldnp.com/disclaimer for full details.

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

Patients who come into primary care for a headache are often worried that it’s something very serious - and it’s your job to know whether it is or not. Many headaches are nothing overly serious, but as a new grad, it can be hard to know just how concerned to be and what to do with your concern.

Let’s build your confidence and demystify some of the grey areas of headaches. In this video, we’ll cover:

✅ A simple tool that you can use to guide your visit, assessment, and plan

✅ Specific headache red flags, and what to do if you encounter them

✅ When to worry and what to worry about

✅ When to refer patients out

Headaches in a primary care setting can be confusing when you are getting started, but the more you see and the more you manage, the more clarity that you will gain. Use these tips to prepare for your next headache patient and be confident in your assessment, treatment, and referral. 

Read the blog post here.

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Don't forget to grab your free Ultimate Resource Guide for the New NP at https://www.realworldnp.com/guide

Sign up for the Lab Interpretation Crash Course: https://www.realworldnp.com/labs 

Grab your copy of the Digital NP Binder: https://www.realworldnp.com/binder

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Please note: This episode is intended only for medical providers and students learning to be medical providers. 

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© 2022 Real World NP. For educational and informational purposes only, see realworldnp.com/disclaimer for full details.

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

LGBTQIA+ cultural competency helps not only our patients to feel safer, seen, and supported, but it also improves health outcomes. Many providers aren’t sure what that competency looks like, or even where to start. It’s more than the correct pronouns and language – but how much more?

In this week’s episode, we talk with Terra Anderson, who uses they/them pronouns, is a somatic therapist, and LGBTQIA+ educator about how providers can improve their competency when working with LGBTQIA+ patients.

✅ What LGBTQIA+ patients wish their healthcare providers knew

✅ What is affirming care, and why it is important

✅ How to approach sensitive exams

✅ How to frame questions so they feel less awkward for you and your patients

✅ The role of assumptions when working with patients, especially LGBTQIA+ patients

✅ Differentiating biological sex, gender, and sexual orientation – and why we need to

Cultural competency is not about a defined endpoint, but about the journey and the willingness to confront known, unknown, and implicit bias. Let’s talk about starting the journey, and let’s keep working on it for all of our patients.

When you are ready for a deep dive into how to best serve LGBTQIA+ patients, Terra offers a Queer Competency for healthcare providers through their company, Embody Emerge. Check out their courses here: https://embodyemerge.com/online-course-shop/ 

Read the blog post here.

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Please note: This episode is intended only for medical providers and students learning to be medical providers. 

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© 2022 Real World NP. For educational and informational purposes only, see realworldnp.com/disclaimer for full details.

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

If even thinking about a patient with syncope makes you feel a little lightheaded yourself, you are in the right place.

Your patient passed out, so their family insisted that they see their PCP. Now they’re in your exam room, and you need a roadmap to see what happened, what is going on, and how we got here.

Let’s talk about how to approach the visit for the patient with syncope in primary care, why you will want to work backward to assess them, the four main categories of syncope, and more.

✅ Things that can look like syncope – but aren’t

✅ Specific, targeted questions to ask the patient with syncope

✅ Medications that can play a role in a syncopal episode

✅ Why family history is important in syncope, and which questions to ask

✅ Red flags in a patient with syncope

Syncope can seem like a huge problem to solve as a new grad, but with some guidance and plenty of practice, it gets easier to narrow down. Having a framework to approach the visit will boost your confidence and make these visits more manageable. 

Read the blog post here.

___________________________________________________________

Don't forget to grab your free Ultimate Resource Guide for the New NP at https://www.realworldnp.com/guide

Sign up for the Lab Interpretation Crash Course: https://www.realworldnp.com/labs 

Grab your copy of the Digital NP Binder: https://www.realworldnp.com/binder

______________________________

Please note: This episode is intended only for medical providers and students learning to be medical providers. 

_______________________________

© 2022 Real World NP. For educational and informational purposes only, see realworldnp.com/disclaimer for full details

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

Have you found yourself needing to give feedback to your MA or support staff – with no idea where to start? You are not alone. As an NP, your role is unique; you’re not the boss, yet you are expected to give some level of guidance and leadership. And when what a staff member is doing isn’t working, that message usually needs to come from you.

Let’s talk about how to give feedback to your MA or support staff in a way that is constructive, positive, and won’t leave either of you feeling like you want to crawl under a rock.

 In this episode, we have a real-world example of a tough conversation with an MA – and a step-by-step approach for how to handle it. 

We’re covering:

• A framework that will give you confidence when giving feedback
• The right time to have these conversations
• What to do when the conversation doesn’t go so well
• When to involve other team members

Being prepared is a major part of any delicate conversation. Learn these actionable tips before you need to have this talk so you can take away a lot of the stress – and get to the good stuff, coming up with a solution without feeling any of the cringe.

Read the blog post here.

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Context is key for the pediatric patient with decreased appetite. Getting a sense of what is normal for the patient and their overall health goes a long way in deciding how to approach the visit.

This week, let’s talk about where to start when you see these patients, and how to get the context that is so essential for these visits.

✅ What to know about the patient before you even walk into the exam room

✅ When to ask broad questions, when to ask targeted questions – and why

✅ Which body systems you must assess

✅ Considering the behavioral and social context

✅ The use of medication for children with decreased appetite

✅ Red flags and worst-case scenarios

Decreased appetite can seem like a scary chief complaint for a pediatric patient, but it doesn’t have to be. A good handle on what is normal, what is urgent, and when to send these patients to a specialist, will take a lot of the pressure off and increase your confidence in the visit.

Read the blog post here.

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Don't forget to grab your free Ultimate Resource Guide for the New NP at https://www.realworldnp.com/guide

Sign up for the Lab Interpretation Crash Course: https://www.realworldnp.com/labs

Grab your copy of the Digital NP Binder: https://www.realworldnp.com/binder

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Come follow along for even more tips and inspiration:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/realworldnp

Facebook: https://facebook.com/realworldnp

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Please note: This episode is intended only for medical providers and students learning to be medical providers.

If you have questions about, I cannot answer those here but would love to help you inside our mentorship program! Join the waitlist at https://www.realworldnp.com/mentoring.

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© 2022 Real World NP. For educational and informational purposes only, see realworldnp.com/disclaimer for full details.

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

Well child visits can be very intimidating for new Nurse Practitioners, even if you love working with children. There are so many questions to ask, so many developmental elements to consider – it’s easy to feel a lot of pressure not to miss anything in these visits.

This week, let’s talk about ways to come into these visits with tools to make it easier for you and to set your mind at ease.

✅ Top things to know for well child visits

✅ My favorite resources for pedi milestones

✅ How to plan your well child visit so that you don’t miss anything

✅ How to involve staff to help these visits go more smoothly

✅ A few simple questions to ask at any pediatric visit that will give you tons of information

Don’t feel like you need to know everything perfectly right away. Instead, prepare yourself, develop a strategy, and practice, practice, practice. These are visits that take a lot of practice and a lot of time to get comfortable with. Don’t give up!

PS. Here’s the link from Natalie PNP! : https://www.nursenat.com/shop-1

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Read the blog here: https://www.realworldnp.com/blog

Watch the video of this episode here: https://www.realworldnp.com/videos

Don't forget to grab your free Ultimate Resource Guide for the New NP at https://www.realworldnp.com/guide

Sign up for the Lab Interpretation Crash Course: https://www.realworldnp.com/labs

Grab your copy of the Digital NP Binder: https://www.realworldnp.com/binder

______________________________

Please note: This resource is intended only for medical providers and students learning to be medical providers.

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

Fatigue is a tricky clinical topic that can seem overwhelming in a primary care visit – sometimes even for the seasoned NP. Having a game plan can help with the stress of these visits and increase your confidence when you see these patients.

In this week’s episode, let’s talk about what you need to know to be prepared for the patient with fatigue.

✅ Strategies to approaching diagnosis

✅ How to get the history you need

✅ The body systems you MUST assess

✅ Chronic causes to rule in/out

✅ Top questions to ask to be both comprehensive and efficient in the visit

✅ Which labs to order

What to do when the assessment is inconclusive

You will be able to develop a strong plan for the patient without overwhelming yourself - or missing any red flags.

Read the blog post here.

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Epigastric pain as a chief complaint happens ALL the time in primary care. And we all order labs to help rule out pancreatitis, but most clinicians feel uncomfortable with diagnosing pancreatitis in primary care. Even though it’s not that common, it’s certainly a red flag diagnosis to watch out for.

In this episode I cover:

✅ The main causes of pancreatitis

✅ What labs to order and what to look out for

✅ The criteria for diagnosing pancreatitis

✅ The next steps to take when you suspect it

Read the blog post here.

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Some chief complaints are more stressful than others. Abdominal pain is CERTAINLY one of them, especially for new nurse practitioners.

In this episode, I give my top systematic hacks for diagnosing abdominal pain in the primary care setting to make sure you’re not missing anything and are providing safe care.

Read the blog post here.

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Download the FREE Ultimate Resource Guide for NP

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© 2022 Real World NP. For educational and informational purposes only, see realworldnp.com/disclaimer for full details.

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