JAAPA-Journal of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants articles from December 2006

JAAPA-Journal of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants archives from December 2006

Three years after resident work hour rules, hospital PA employment remains steady.(FROM THE AAPA: News of current interest)
December 1, 2006... More than 3 years after the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education put into effect rules limiting medical residents to 80-hour work weeks, the number of PAs employed by hospitals has shown no significant increase. At the time the...

Only weeks away from PAragon Award deadline.(FROM THE AAPA: News of current interest)
December 1, 2006... Many PAs strive to ensure that patients receive the best quality of care while still giving selflessly of themselves to support their colleagues and the profession. There is no better way to honor such colleagues than by nominating them for an...

Register now for CORE 2007.(FROM THE AAPA: News of current interest)
December 1, 2006... Be sure that YOUR constituent organization is well represented at the premier physician assistant leadership event for 2007: AAPA's Constituent Organization Resource Exchange (CORE) meeting, February 23-25, 2007, in Arlington, Va. CORE...

Impending health workforce shortages and implications for PAs.(Editorial)
December 1, 2006... Researchers who study trends in the US health care workforce have recently arrived at a consensus that a severe shortage of health care providers is likely in the near future. While most of the research supporting this conclusion focuses on the...

A day in the life: how PAs live and work.(Diary entry)
December 1, 2006... 6:30 AM The sun is blazing and the sky is clear. It's going to be a hot day here where I work with an NGO called Christian Mission Aid (CMA) in the upper Nile region of southern Sudan. It has suffered from the longest running civil war in...

Tradition and treatment: the impact of cultural beliefs on medical decision making.(PAQ--PA QUANDARIES: Ethics in everyday practice)
December 1, 2006... Ms. X, a G2P1 23-year-old pregnant Navajo woman, came with her mother to an Indian Health Service clinic on the Navajo reservation. Her complaint was a bloody discharge for 1 week, and Ms. X and her mother were very concerned. The patient had...

UKAPA--A professional organization for PAs working in the United Kingdom.(LETTERS FROM THE UK: From your colleagues overseas)(United Kingdom Association of Physician Assistants)
December 1, 2006... In July 2005, a new era in the United Kingdom began as the UK Association of Physician Assistants, Ltd (UKAPA), was incorporated. Our mission is to serve as the official organization of PAs and future medical care practitioners (MCPs) in the...

Non-estrogen treatments for osteoporosis an evidence-based review: supporting bone health is fundamental to patient care and must continue throughout life to prevent the fractures that are so often the devastating consequences of osteoporosis.
December 1, 2006... A major health problem in the United States, osteoporosis disproportionately affects women. Of the 10 million Americans who already have the disease, 80% are women. An estimated 18 million more Americans have low bone mass, placing them at...

Exploring the complex care of the diabetic foot ulcer: wound care, infection treatment, and pressure relief are the cornerstones of managing diabetic foot ulcers. A multidisciplinary approach to prevention and patient education are essential components of care.
December 1, 2006... Diabetic foot ulcers are a complication affecting approximately 15% of people with diabetes. Treating these ulcers is costly, and the resulting disfigurement can be devastating. Twenty-five percent of all hospital admissions are for diabetic...

CME posttest.
December 1, 2006... EXPIRATION DATE DECEMBER 2007 AAPA members: Please take this CME posttest online at www.aapa.org Bushardt RL, Turner JL Ragucci KR, Askins DG Jr. Non-estrogen treatmens for osteoporosis: An evidence-base review. JAAPA. 2006;...

Distinguishing ADHD from juvenile bipolar disorder a guide for primary care PAs: pediatric clinicians should know how to distinguish juvenile-onset bipolar disorder from ADHD, since arriving at the right diagnosis is essential to providing the most effective treatment.
December 1, 2006... For the past two decades, there has been an ongoing debate regarding the methodology employed to differentially diagnose attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and juvenile-onset bipolar disorder (JBPD). (1) ADHD and bipolar disorder...

A swollen, painful leg in a 4-year-old girl.(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING REVIEW: Interpreting clinical images)(Case study)
December 1, 2006... Case The patient is a 4-year-old girl who presents with worsening swelling and pain in the left lower leg. There is no history of trauma, but there are focal areas of swelling. No bruising or evidence of an insect bite is noted, but the...

Enlarging growth alarms a young woman.(DERMATOLOGY DIGEST: A derm photo quiz)
December 1, 2006... A 23-year-old African-American woman presents to the dermatology office with a growth on the right side of her groin area (see Figure 1). She claims that the lesion first appeared many years ago as a small, fleshy tag but that it has enlarged...

Aloe vera is not effective for IBS.(Patient-oriented evidence that matters)(irritable bowel syndrome)
December 1, 2006... Clinical question Is aloe vera effective in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Bottom line An aloe vera formulation, made up of almost 100% polysaccharides, did not significantly improve IBS symptom scores more than placebo....

Use of specific criteria is helpful in diagnosing headache type.(Patient-oriented evidence that matters)
December 1, 2006... Clinical question What components of the history and physical examination are helpful in determining which patients with a headache have a migraine or need neuroimaging? Bottom line Useful clinical criteria from the history and physical...

Morphine and ketorolac combination is better for renal colic.(Patient-oriented evidence that matters)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2006... Clinical question In adults presenting with acute renal colic to an emergency department, is the combination of morphine and ketorolac more effective than either drug given alone? Bottom line Intravenous morphine (5 mg) combined with...

Should I take coenzyme Q10 with a statin?(WHEN THE PATIENT ASKS: Brief reviews for you and your patients)
December 1, 2006... As heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in America, statins are increasingly popular in current medical therapy. Statins, or 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, are most commonly used to...

Should I take coenzyme Q IO with a statin?(PATIENT INFORMATION: From your physician assistant)
December 1, 2006... Statins are prescription drugs that decrease the amount of cholesterol in the body. Atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simva-statin (Zocor) are two commonly prescribed statins, but there are several others, including some that are a combination of a...

CME calendar.(Calendar)
December 1, 2006... ARIZONA March 28-31, 2007 ASAPA Spring 2007 Primary Care Conference. Where: Sedona. Provider: Arizona State Association of PAs. Information: www.asapa.org. CALIFORNIA February 24, 2007 CAPA at Napa. Where: Napa Valley....

Case of the month: diagnostic challenges from your case files.(Case study)
December 1, 2006... CASE A 70-year-old man presents to his primary oncologist to consider new chemotherapy to treat relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia. During the assessment, a routine ECG reveals new-onset bradycardia. The patient is sent to our...