Ask the Experts: Nurses
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Ask the Experts
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- Do Registered Nurses Need a National Provider Identifier (NPI)?
- When Should I Refer a Patient for Voice Changes?
- What Do Pathologic Skin Lesions in Elderly Patients Look Like?
- What Is My Legal Obligation if I Allow an Intoxicated Patient to Drive Home?
- What Is the Maximum Dose of Mesalamine for Ulcerative Colitis?
- When Is it Appropriate to Use Methotrexate for Ectopic Pregnancy in the Emergency Department?
- Is Childbirth More Dangerous for Black Women Than for White Women?
- Is Penicillin Safe in a Patient Allergic to Cephalosporins?
- Serum D-Dimer and Aortic Dissection
- How Much Information Must Be Listed on a Surgical Informed Consent?
- What Factors Should Be Considered When Prescribing Oral Contraceptives to Acne Patients?
- Does Switching Statins Increase the Risk for Adverse Events?
- What Is the Effect of Vitamin D Deficiency During Pregnancy?
- Insulin: A Last Resort?
- Diet and Acne: A Myth?
- Is There a Limit to the Analgesic Effect of Pain Medications?
- What Is the Value of "Baseline Coagulation" Studies in Patients Starting Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin and Warfarin Therapy?
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The information in this web site reflects the views of the authors only and not Medscape. These materials may discuss uses and dosages for therapeutic products that have not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. A qualified health care professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before treating patients or utilizing any therapies noted in this program.
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Expert Panel
Carolyn Buppert, NP, JD is a nurse practitioner and attorney who specializes in the legal issues affecting medical practices and nurse practitioners. She is also the author of Nurse Practitioner's Business Practice and Legal Guide (2008) and The Primary Care Provider's Guide to Compensation and Quality (2005). She is a frequent contributor to various nursing publications, including Medscape Nurses. She lectures extensively on avoiding malpractice, reimbursement issues, and negotiating contracts.
Pat Camillo, PhD, RN, APRN-BC is a nurse practitioner in both women's health and gerontology. In addition, she was one of the first 100 menopause practitioners to be certified by the North American Menopause Society. Her clinical consulting practice focuses on the unique health needs of middle aged and older women. Dr. Camillo is the author of a book for women titled Your Inner Estrogen: An Individualized, Natural Approach to Understanding and Balancing Your Hormones Before and After Menopause, which is being published in March 2006. Dr. Camillo invites women to share their experiences on her Web site: http://www.innerestrogen.net. Dr. Camillo is also Associate Professor and Director of the Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Program at Seton Hall University.
Windy Carson-Smith, JD, AB, attorney, consultant, and entrepreneur, has worked in various capacities throughout her career. In her current role as chief operating officer and owner of Carson Company, a healthcare consulting firm, Windy brings over 25 years of senior association, legislative, policy, and regulatory experience at the state, federal, and national levels to her national consultancy. Her clients include the American Nurses Association, the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, the Joint Center for Political Studies, state nursing associations, and individual health clients. Over the years, Windy has lobbied, testified, and drafted laws and regulations for registered nursing, advanced practice nursing, prescriptive practice, and other regulatory matters. She has worked on major nursing policy national and state initiatives, including, but not limited to, legislative and regulatory barriers to practice for clinical nurse specialists, advanced practice nursing reimbursement, nursing ANA standards and guidelines, and barriers to advanced nursing practice. Windy received her undergraduate degree in History and Political Science from Duke University and her law degree from George Washington University.
Barbara L. Drew, PhD, earned her PhD at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is an Associate Professor at the College of Nursing, Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and teaches psychiatric mental health nursing to both undergraduate and graduate students. Her research interests are suicide prevention and self-management of mood disorder symptoms by adolescents and young adults. Dr. Drew is Immediate Past President of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA).
Marilyn W. Edmunds, PhD, CRNP, Co-owner, Nurse Practitioner Alternatives, Inc., Ellicott City, Maryland; Adjunct Clinical Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland.
Richard S. Ferri, PhD, ANP, ACRN, FAAN, is an AIDS Certified Registered Nurse (ACRN) practicing in primary care in the areas of HIV/STDs and hepatitis. Dr. Ferri is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. He served as national president for the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) and the HIV/AIDS Nursing Certification Board (HANCB). Dr. Ferri is a writer and editor whose work has been featured in the Boston Globe, POZ, NUMEDX, and The Advocate. He is also an on-air commentator for National Public Radio. Dr. Ferri is the author of the bestselling novel, Confessions of a Male Nurse, and is presently working on a sequel.
Margaret "Peg" A. Fitzgerald, DNP, FNP-BC, NP-C, FAANP, CSP is the Founder, President, and Principle Lecturer with Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc., an international provider of NP Certification Preparation and ongoing continuing education for healthcare providers. In addition, she is a family nurse practitioner at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and adjunct faculty for the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center Family Practice Residency Program. Dr. Fitzgerald is the Lab Logic Column Editor for The Nurse Practitioner Journal, Co-Chair, MinuteClinic National Clinical Quality Advisory Council, and Editorial Board Member for The Nurse Practitioner Journal, Prescriber's Letter, and American Nurse Today.
Reneé S. Holleran, RN, PhD, CEN, CCRN, CFRN, CTRN, FAEN, is a Nurse Manager of Adult Transport Services at International Life Flight, Intermountain Medical Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Holleran is also the editor of several journals, including the Journal of Emergency Nursing, Emergency and Transport Nursing Review, and Air and Surface Patient Transport: Principles and Practice. She is also the Past Editor of the Air Medical Journal.
Tracy A. Klein, RN, MS, WHCNP, FNP, is a board-certified Family and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner. She is currently the Advanced Practice Consultant for the Oregon State Board of Nursing since 1998. In this position, she is responsible for policy and regulatory program management for all Advanced Practice Nurse categories and serves as an expert consultant for scope of practice on a national and international basis. Her article Scope of Practice and the Nurse Practitioner: Regulation, Competency, Expansion, and Evolution has been widely used by educational programs as well as Boards of Nursing in the United States and in Canada. Ms. Klein serves the College of Registered Nurses in British Columbia as a clinical test examiner for new NP graduates as well as a credentials advisor for licensure. An adjunct faculty member of Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine and School of Nursing, Ms. Klein is a frequent lecturer on the topic of scope of practice, roles, and pharmacology for graduate nursing students. She also serves as a clinical faculty for the Washington State University Vancouver FNP program. She is the current chair of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Credentials Committee for the state of Oregon. 
Ruth M. Kleinpell, PhD, RN-CS, FAAN, FAANP, FCCM, is currently the Director of the Center for Clinical Research and Scholarship at Rush University Medical Center and a Professor at Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago, Illinois. In addition, she is a Nurse Practitioner at Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. She is an experienced researcher, clinician, and educator in the areas of acute and critical care, acute care nurse practitioner practice, and outcome assessment. She is an active member of several critical care organizations including the Society of Critical Care Medicine, American College of Chest Physicians, and the American Association of Critical Care Nursing. She publishes widely and is a member of the editorial boards of the American Journal of Critical Care, Critical Care Medicine, Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and Nurse Practitioner. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the Institute of Medicine of Chicago, and the American College of Critical Care Medicine. Most recently, she received the 2007 Society of Critical Care Medicine's Norma J. Shoemaker Award for Critical Care Nursing Excellence and the 2007 Clinical Scholarship Award from Sigma Theta Tau International.
Cindy Lamendola, MSN, NP, is a Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Research Coordinator in the Department of Cardiology at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California. Cindy's time is divided between clinical research and clinical practice. Her clinical research focus is on insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and their relationship to cardiovascular disease. Her clinical practice is focused on caring for complex patients with type 2 diabetes. Cindy is a founding member, past president, and current board member of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association. She is also a member and fellow of the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Nursing as well as a member of the American Diabetes Association. She currently serves on the review board for the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. Cindy is Past President of the California Society for Cardiac Rehabilitation and a fellow of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. She has spoken nationally on insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, lipid management, and cardiovascular risk factors and prevention and has also published articles in peer-reviewed journals on these subjects. She was a recent contributor to Cardiac Nursing - A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease by Debra Moser, DNSc, RN, FAHA, FAAN, and Barbara Riegel, DNSc, RN, CS, FAHA, FAAN.
Judith Shannon Lynch, MS, MA, APRN-BC, FAANP, has been a family nurse practitioner for 30 years and has practiced in a wide variety of clinical settings. She has also held academic appointments at Binghamton University and Yale University and was the Program Director and Associate Professor of Nursing at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Ms. Lynch is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor of Nursing at Yale University and a nurse practitioner in otolaryngology and allergy, one of the first NPs in the country to practice this surgical subspecialty. Ms. Lynch was inducted as a Charter Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in June 2000. She was Guest Editor for the issue of Lippincott's Primary Care Practice dedicated to ENT clinical and research issues. Ms. Lynch is a faculty member of the national Outcomes Management Educational Workshop on Otitis Media. She speaks locally, regionally, and nationally on various otolaryngology topics. Her particular areas of interests include allergic rhinitis, sinus disease, and asthma.
Mary E. Muscari, PhD, CPNP, APRN-BC, is a pediatric nurse practitioner, psychiatric clinical specialist, and forensic clinical specialist. She is the author of over 100 publications, including the parenting book series Not My Kid. Dr. Muscari is an Associate Professor and Director of the O' Connor Office for Rural Studies at the Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York.
Mary L. Puchalski, MS, RNC, APN/CNS received her Master of Science degree from Northern Illinois University and is currently the Neonatal-Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Family Birthing Center, a level II perinatal center in Elmhurst, Illinois. She is certified as a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse, a regional trainer for the Neonatal Resuscitation Program, and a lead instructor for the S.T.A.B.L.E.(r) Program. With more than 20 years of clinical experience, Ms. Puchalski has worked in all areas of maternal-child nursing, including mother/baby, labor and delivery, neonatal intensive care, pediatrics, pediatric intensive care, and perinatal outreach education. She is the coauthor of the N-PASS Neonatal Pain, Agitation and Sedation Scale and has published articles and given presentations nationally on neonatal topics. Ms. Puchalski is an adjunct faculty member of the graduate nursing program at University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a member of the Perinatal Nursing Advisory Council for the Chicago Area March of Dimes; Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Consulting Group, and the 2009 AWHONN convention planning committee.
Barbara Resnick, PhD, CRNP, is currently a Professor in the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, holds the Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology at the School of Nursing, and maintains a clinical/faculty position with clinical work at Roland Park Place, a Lifecare community. Dr. Resnick holds a BSN from the University of Connecticut, an MSN from the University of Pennsylvania Gerontological Nurse Clinician/Nurse Practitioner program, and a PhD in Nursing from the University of Maryland. Dr. Resnick's research interests and extensive publications focus on care of the older adult and include: health promotion and disease prevention; outcomes following rehabilitation, functional performance, and a special focus on motivation related to functional activities and exercise behavior; and testing outcomes of restorative care nursing programs and other innovative long-term care projects.
Jane C. Rothrock, DNSc, MSN, BSN, CNOR, FAAN, Professor and Director of Perioperative Programs, Delaware County Community College, Media, Pennsylvania. Dr. Rothrock's courses include entry-level perioperative nursing for RNs, and the RN First Assistant Program (RNFA), for advanced practice nurses as well as for those who are certified in perioperative nursing (CNOR). She is a Past President of AORN, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, and the 2007 recipient of the AORN Award for Excellence in Perioperative Nursing.
Theodore D. Scott, RN, MSN, FNP-C, DCNP, earned his BS in Health Science and his RN while on active duty in the US Navy. After retiring, he finished his MSN at the University of San Diego. After graduating, he joined Kaiser-Permanente in San Diego, first in Family Practice and then moved to Dermatology, and has been practicing medical and surgical dermatology since 2002 at KP's San Marcos Medical Offices.
Laurie Scudder, MS, PNP, Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, and Curriculum Coordinator, Nurse Practitioner Alternatives, Inc., Ellicott City. She is a nurse practitioner with the Baltimore City School-Based Health Centers.
Wendy Wright, MS, RN, ARNP, FNP, FAANP, is a 1992 graduate of the Adult Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. She completed a family nurse practitioner post-masters program in 1995. She is an adult and family nurse practitioner and co-owner of Wright & Associates Family Healthcare. In addition, she is a partner with Partners in Healthcare Education, a medical education company. She is the Past President of NPACE and is currently the Senior Lecturer for Fitzgerald Health Education Associates. She is the recipient of numerous awards and was chosen by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 1999 to receive the New Hampshire State Excellence in Clinical Practice Award. In addition, she was recently inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, a position held by only 200 other nurse practitioners throughout the country. She presents nationally to a variety of different audiences and has been a speaker at over 300 conferences in 42 states. Wendy is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Wyoming - Graduate Nursing Program, on Medscape's Ask the Expert Nurse Practitioner Web site, and is an editorial board member for Medscape's e-journal. She is Editor-in-Chief of APCToday.com - a Web site designed for the Advanced Practice Clinician.
Susan J. Wysocki, RNC, NP, FAANP, is President and CEO of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH) and a nationally recognized speaker and opinion leader in the field of women's health.
Ms. Wysocki is the editor of multiple publications including: Women's Health Care: A Practical Journal for Nurse Practitioners. Further, she is a contributing Editor and Washington, DC Bureau Chief for Nurse Practitioner World News. Ms. Wysocki also serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal for Nurse Practitioners, The Forum, Dialogues in Contraception, and Contraceptive Technology Update.
In 1999, Ms. Wysocki was selected by a national panel of nurse practitioners convened by the Nurse Practitioner Journal for a Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognized 10 nurse practitioners who made a difference in the history of the nurse practitioner movement. In 2000, she was chosen as a charter Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She has served as the chair of the National Alliance of Nurse Practitioners and was the founding President of the American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP). In 2003, she was presented ACNP's Sharp Cutting Edge Award for her leadership and an award from the Nurse Practitioner Journal for political activism. In 2005, she was awarded the Alan Guttmacher Lectureship by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. In addition, in 2005, an award for leadership was established in her name, by NP Communications and NPWH. She is a cofounding board member of the Adult Women's Health Alliance, a multidisciplinary organization focused on predictive and preventive health that was established in January 2007.
Ms. Wysocki is a graduate of Boston College School of Nursing and attained her certificate as a nurse practitioner through the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.- Coordinator
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS, Staff Nurse, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children, Falls Church, Virginia; editorial board member and section editor, Advances in Neonatal Care