Should Practicing NPs Make Back To School Time a Priority for Themselves?

By: Terri Schmitt PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP, Executive Director, NPACE

It’s fall and back to school is on top of mind for many. In contemplating this time of year it dawned on me that I only think of back to school as a season for the kids, or when I was teaching it also coincided with preparing for my own classes and students. What if ‘back to school’ was a time for everyone? What if we all used each fall as a time to reflect on our own current learning needs, the things to improve our practice, or to explore areas unknown?  What would it look like if once a year we really set aside time for ourselves to better our minds and our professional practice?

This fall I have personally vowed to start just this, to begin taking the fall to set one learning goal for myself and find the resources to learn in that area. One of my own personal areas to set learning this fall is in learning more about how as a nurse practitioner I could start my own healthcare business. Luckily for me, there is an entire morning workshop devoted to this subject at an upcoming NPACE conference in October in Cape Cod! Dr. Lynn Rapsilber is devoting a whole morning to the topic of NPs starting their own business. I plan on attending Lynn’s session and working to expand how I can impact patient health, and outcomes, and improve access to care through my own business.

If you have specific professional learning needs, you might find what you need at our learning center at learn.npace.org. You may want to join us in Cape Cod or Phoenix to attend a workshop, brush up on pharmacology knowledge, or attend primary care or acute care track. If you can’t find exactly what you are looking for to help you in your ‘back to school’ life-long professional learning journey, then please take a moment to fill out our annual Needs Assessment here. Not only can you provide specific feedback on what you want to learn about through NPACE, but you can also win a chance at a free 2024 in-person conference seat.

Our goal is to help you meet some of your professional and practice needs. It’s the focus of everything we do and this month we are thankful for your work as nurses and nurse practitioners. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements! Follow us on social media or reach out to us with your thoughts and ideas at npace@npace.org.

Terri Schmitt PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP
Executive Director

The computer in your pocket

By: Terri Schmitt PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP

Executive Director, NPACE

Smartphones and mobile apps provide excellent tools to daily clinical practice. Frequent updates, reputable sources, and convenience can improve evidence-based practice and patient outcomes. Below are some useful phone apps for advanced practice providers:

1. Epocrates: A medication reference app providing information on interactions, dosage, formulation, side effects, warnings and more. Included is a pill identifier feature and medical news updates.
2. Medscape: A medical news app with disease specific information, a drug reference feature, and continuing medical education. Establishing an account is needed with an email.
3. VisualDX: This app provides visual diagnostics and images to help healthcare providers diagnose and treat various medical conditions. The visual database is large, making it a great learning tool for new NPs and students as well.
4. MDCalc: A medical calculator app that provides a variety of medical screening tools and risk calculators like PHQ – 9, GAD-7, GFR, creatinine clearance, STOPBANG for OSA, and others.
5. CDC apps:
   1. CDC Vaccine Schedules: Vaccination schedules: This app provides updated schedules for vaccinating patients throughout the lifespan.
   2. CDC Milestone Tracker: Track pediatric milestones. Parents can use this per child. Used in conjunction with AAP standards and regular physical exams.
   3. CDC Opioid Guidelines: Current CDC guidelines as well as a morphine milligram equivalent calculator (MME). There is even an interactive guide to motivational interviewing.
   4. STI Treatment Guidelines: This app carries current CDC treatment and testing guidelines for STIs.
   5. US MEC US SPR Contraception App: This CDC app contains the U.S. medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use and was developed in conjunction with CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and the Division of Reproductive health. Clinicians can use this app to compare certain medications, medical congestions, and combined or complex issues in deciding what contraceptive method to use in a patient.
6. Figure 1: Figure 1 is a medical image sharing app that allows healthcare providers to share images and collaborate on patient care. The app also includes a database of medical images and videos for reference.
7. GoodRx: This app is great for patients and providers to find formulations and prices of medications in local pharmacies.
8. USPSTF Guidelines: The US Prevention Task Force is a phone-based app for primary care to identify appropriate screening of patients based on age, risk factors, gender, and more. Great tool for every primary care clinician.
9. ASCVD risk calculator: Created by the American College of Cardiology, this web-based app can also be found in Apple and Google app stores. A great resource to calculate cardiovascular disease risk in adult patients.
10. AHA guidelines on the go: The American Heart Association (AHA) provides an excellent app for your mobile device to keep access to all current AHA guidelines at your fingertips.
11. eMPR (https://www.empr.com/download-empr/): Access to medications, clinical cases, and guidelines this app is an excellent resource for clinicians in all areas.
12. ACP guidelines (https://www.acponline.org/clinical-information/clinical-guidelines-recommendations/mobile-clinical-guidelines): The American College of Physicians mobile guidelines app houses current recommendations and guidelines by the ACP for use in primary care.

These are just a few of the mobile applications that clinicians can use to improve care planning and patient outcomes. Application selection should include considerations of usability, relevancy of information, reliability of information, and reputation of the app information authority.

Nurses’ Month & Helping Form New NPs

By: Terri Schmitt PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP

Executive Director, NPACE

May is a month of celebration. We celebrate Mother’s Day, International Workers’ Day, and of course National Nurses’ Month. Here at NPACE, we are excited to honor all nurses for their professional work. As a way of giving back to the healthcare community, NPACE is pleased to offer 20% off your entire cart on our Learning Center from May 24^th to May 31^st, using code NURSESMONTH. We have courses that meet every of your learning need, licensing, or recertification renewal. Browse our courses today! Don’t forget to set a side time for self-care activities. NPACE Free Yoga and Meditation sessions are a great way for you to relax and spend time with yourself.

One of our other priorities is impacting the next generation of NPs and supporting NP educator professional learning needs. We are happy to work with NONPF as a partner to bring NP educators a package of teaching resources.  Now these resources are available as individual modules for NPACErs to purchase. The package is geared to help new and novice NP faculty in the nuances of educating NP students. This offers a great option for NP faculty to complete an individual module in a specific area like assessment where topics like writing an exam blueprint or exam question and writing course objectives is included.

Our goal is to help you meet some of your professional and practice needs. It’s the focus of everything we do and this month we are thankful for your work as nurses and nurse practitioners. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements! Follow us on social media or reach out to us with your thoughts and ideas at npace@npace.org.

Keeping up with Pharmacology: Tips for new and practicing NPs

By: Terri Schmitt PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP

Executive Director, NPACE

Pharmacology knowledge is essential for safe practice but continually updating and changing. Of course, attending pharmacology continuing education is helpful, but what are other crucial tools to consider?

• Attending Live Continuing Education: For me, this one makes the top of the list. CE programs offer updated information on important topics. Live teachers, relaxing locations, wellness, professional connection, up-to-date and evidenced-based information are our foundation of in-person CE at NPACE. Check out our 2023 locations here. Join us in beautiful San Diego for an entire conference on pharmacology!
• On Demand Education: Meeting your budget, location, and scheduling needs. NPACE Learning Center can help you find specific education on pharmacology topics you struggle with. Enhance your skills with NPACE Grand Pharmacology Bundle and free CE that can meet your state licensing and recertification needs. 
• Online Resources: There are a variety of good online resources for NPs, such as Epocrates, that offers free updates and information. UpToDate, Lexicomp, Medical Professionals Reference (MPR) and Micromedex also have online versions and resources as well.
• Consult a Pharmacist: Build your professional network. Go into the local pharmacy and introducing yourself or joining a local pharmacists group. Simply calling and talking to a nearby pharmacist to ask questions can be helpful in medication management, dosing, interactions, contraindications and obtaining information on current supply and costs.
• Collaborate with Colleagues: Colleagues can be a valuable resource for pharmacology knowledge. Collaborating with other healthcare providers who may have experiences with a particular set of medications is helpful and a great place to discuss possible treatment options and considerations.
• Stay Current with Guidelines: Knowing when new guidelines are published and taking time to read them is critical for practicing NPs. Regular clinical guidelines are published by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others. 
• Take Advantage of Drug Alerts: Many EHRs have routine drug alerts and updates. Take time to read them as they often alert drug interactions, dosages, and possible allergies.
• Stay Informed of Medication Recalls and Shortages: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides updates on medication recalls, warnings, and shortages on their website.

Updating pharmacology knowledge is essential for excellent patient outcomes. Keeping these few common tips in minds and utilizing our resources here at NPACE, you can stay updated on areas critical to your NP practice.

Keeping My Skills Up: The struggle is real

By: Terri Schmitt PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP

Executive Director, NPACE

Is anyone else out there struggling to keep up on clinical skills not used often in practice? Some practice areas I perform every single shift in primary care, like counseling on weight loss, evaluating depression and anxiety, prescribing the trifecta of medications for severe metabolic disease, starting insulin, or even treating common communicable diseases. In these places, I feel confident and secure. However, in skills I go months without using confidence is not something I feel. Give me an 8-year-old with a busted open knee that needs sutures and I am going to need a moment to gather myself and review my plan of action.

At NPACE, we have found the same feedback from our learners about the need to continue to maintain clinical skills and knowledge. We are proud to now provide ongoing skills education, whenever and wherever you might need it, in key clinical areas.  Access to learning is provided for 90 days after purchase to ensure you can go back as many times as you like in a quarter to practice or review. We are thrilled to provide learning in:

• Radiology 
• Wound closure and management with Dr. Chris Hemmer 
• EKG interpretation with Jen Carlquest 

We invite feedback on other critical skill areas you might be interested in or reviews of these learning modules. Whatever we can continue to do to help support your health, wellness, and continued learning for practice, please let us know by commenting or contacting us through our social media. Find us on social media. 

From the Director 

Wellness: More than just training the body

By: Terri Schmitt, Executive Director 

Part of our value system at NPACE has included a focus on wellness for ourselves, our online continuing education users, and our in-person attendees. One of the ways we have done this is by exploring yoga, meditation, and meaningful time where we can focus on ourselves. As a part of this focus, we are piloting a program at an upcoming conference in Denver, Colorado where Jay Gupta, a renowned pharmacist, de-prescribing expert, and yoga teacher is going to hold a free one-day learning event. During this event, an optional addition, we will consider the health benefits of the mind-body connection and yoga nidra techniques that can be used for ourselves and taught to our patients. We are able to offer 6 CE credits with this event, in addition to the other conference CEs. The day of learning is entirely accessible to everyone regardless of ability and will be a seated day of learning practice. We are looking for attendees who would like to try this 1-day learning with us and provide feedback on the usefulness of such learning to themselves and their practice. Join us in Denver to earn some excellent pharmacology and primary care CE and try out this day of yoga learning. More information and registration can be found here.   

If you need wellness on demand anywhere, you can use any of our yoga or meditation sessions found on our learning center wellness page.

Whatever we can continue to do to help support your health, wellness, and continued learning for practice, please let us know by commenting or contacting us through our social media. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tiktok here.