NP Pulse: The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner (AANP)

118. Hepatitis A&B Prevention by Vaccines: Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Care (CE)

Hepatitis A and B combined cause chronic disease leading to the deaths of more than 1.3 million people across the globe. Despite widely available and effective vaccines, the vaccine rates for eligible adults are insufficient to achieve the U.S. goal of reducing new infections by 2030. In this edition of NP Pulse, nurse practitioners (NPs) Audrey Stevenson and Jessica Crimaldi review adult and child vaccination programs, the eligibility status of adults, which populations are most at risk for infection, the NP’s role in promoting vaccines and solutions for vaccines during outbreaks. Finally, NPs will be called upon as vaccine champions in their communities.
*This is an accredited podcast*
Learners desiring CE credit should listen for the participation code at the end of this podcast. In order to access this course, please visit the AANP CE Center.
Additional materials (Provider tool and Patient tool) may be found at:
NP Tool
Patient Tool
 
Funder statement: This educational activity is supported by an independent medical education grant from GSK.
 
 

117. Meningococcal Vaccine: Prevention of Meningococcal Disease in Adolescents and Young Adults (CE)

On this episode of NP Pulse: The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®, Drs. Mary Koslap-Petraco and Ruth Carrico will discuss meningococcal disease, the maze of meningococcal vaccines, ACIP recommendations and the use of shared clinical decision-making. Meningococcal disease — a life-threatening infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis — demands our attention. It strikes swiftly, leaving devastation in its wake. Still, we have powerful tools at our disposal: MenACWY and MenB vaccines, and a new, game-changing pentavalent vaccine that covers serogroups A, B, C, W and Y. Additionally, a meningitis point-of-care tool will be available on AANP’s Tools and Resources page.
To earn 1.0 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credit, you will need the participation code provided at the end of the podcast. To claim your CE credit, log in and register for the activity within the AANP CE Center, then enter the participation code and complete the post-test and evaluation. CE credit is available for this podcast through June 2025.
This educational activity is supported by an independent medical education grant from GSK.

116. AANP Goes Worldwide: Talking International Memberships

Earlier this year, AANP announced the opening of international memberships — the culmination of years of work to extend the benefits of our membership to NPs and APNs living outside of the U.S. To speak with us today about the creation of international memberships, the benefits of joining AANP as an international member and some of the goals of the international membership program is Liz Messner, Vice President of Membership at AANP. 

115. Prioritizing Women’s Health: Testing and Treatment Updates for NPs (CE)

Nurse practitioners (NPs) in a wide variety of settings are key to the identification and treatment of numerous conditions affecting women of all ages. As guidelines change — and occasionally seem to conflict — NPs must be able to individualize guidance for screening, testing and treatment using the most current recommendations and a shared approach to decision making.
In this second of a two-part series, women’s health expert faculty Kahlil Demonbreun, Lisa Chism and Nancy Berman discuss key updates in women’s health, including guidelines related to sexual desire disorders, vasomotor symptoms of menopause, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, overactive bladder and abnormal uterine bleeding (including anemia).
Today’s podcast is intended as a broad overview of the most recent changes.
To earn 1.0 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credit, you will need the participation code provided at the end of the podcast. To claim your CE credit, log in and register for the activity within the AANP CE Center, then enter the participation code and complete the post-test and evaluation. CE credit is available for this podcast through May 2025.

114. Prioritizing Women’s Health: Screening Recommendation Updates for NPs (CE)

Nurse practitioners (NPs) in a wide variety of settings are key to the identification and treatment of numerous conditions affecting women of all ages. As guidelines change — and occasionally seem to conflict — NPs must be able to individualize guidance to screening, testing and treatment using the most current recommendations and a shared approach to decision making.
In the first of a two-part series, women’s health expert faculty Kahlil Demonbreun, Lisa Chism and Nancy Berman discuss key updates in women’s health, including guidelines related to cervical cancer screening and testing, osteoporosis and breast health. Today’s podcast is intended as a broad overview of the most recent changes.
To earn 1.25 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credit, you will need the participation code provided at the end of the podcast. To claim your CE credit, log in and register for the activity within the AANP CE Center, then enter the participation code and complete the post-test and evaluation. CE credit is available for this podcast through May 2025.

113. Plan Ahead for Hypoglycemia

In this podcast, diabetes experts Debbie Hinnen and Dr. Shannon Idzik provide an overview of hypoglycemia, its treatments and the critical importance of having a plan in place for your patients to manage hypoglycemia when it occurs. They discuss the use of an educational tool that you can use to provide education about hypoglycemia with your patients and to establish an individualized, written plan for them to prepare for and manage hypoglycemia. Print this hypoglycemia resource tool, listen in and follow along as diabetes experts Hinnen and Idzik prepare you to ensure that all of your patients at risk have a hypoglycemia plan in place.
 
To earn 1.0 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credit, you will need the participation code provided at the end of the podcast. To claim your CE credit, log in and register for the activity within the AANP CE Center, then enter the participation code and complete the post-test and evaluation. CE credit is available for this podcast through May 2025.
 
This activity is supported by an independent educational grant from Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

112. Ovarian Cancer: What Not To Miss And How To Identify Those At High Risk (CE)

Speakers, Sarah Rossi, NP, and Lauren Mahon, NP, review identification of ovarian cancer and initial work up for patients suspected to have ovarian cancer in this dynamic and informative podcast.
 
To earn 0.5 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credit, you will need the participation code provided at the end of the podcast. To claim your CE credit, log in and register for the activity within the AANP CE Center, then enter the participation code, and complete the post test and evaluation. CE credit is available for this podcast through May 2025.
 
This podcast developed and funded by AANP.

111. A Rumble in the Tummy: Identifying Patients with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) is a condition caused by damage to the pancreas that results in reduced capability to produce or deliver digestive enzymes which break down fats, carbohydrates or proteins — or to a decrease in the enzyme activity in the small intestine. EPI is most commonly associated with chronic pancreatitis (in adults), cystic fibrosis (in children), diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) and other etiologies such as acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer or resection, celiac and Crohn’s disease. Consequently, individuals with EPI may suffer malnutrition and fat-soluble vitamin deficiency; loss of bone mass; growth and immune deficiencies; and may experience poorer outcomes such as longer hospital stays and lower survival rates of underlying medical conditions secondary to malnutrition.
Listen to guests Kimberly Kearns MS, APRN, ANP-BC and Amy Stewart FNP-C discuss EPI on this episode of the official podcast of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP), NP Pulse: The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®
Additionally, two new tools are also available on AANP’s Tools and Resources page in both the Gastroenterology and in the Pulmonology and Respiratory therapeutic areas:
Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) – Patient Guide to diet and lifestyle modifications, and to the self-administration of PERTs to help reduce symptoms including gas, bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea caused by undigested food in the gut.
Diagnosing and Managing Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) – Provider Resource including evaluation of symptoms and common high-risk conditions, diagnostic testing and management goals combining diet, lifestyle and therapies to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Your voice counts here: EPI Podcast Follow Up Survey (surveymonkey.com)
 
**This podcast is unaccredited.
 

110. Tackling Military Health In And Beyond The VA

To speak about the environmental and occupational health of veterans from an NP’s perspective, NP Pulse is proud to welcome Lt. Cashmere “Cash” Miller, a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officer working in the Atlanta VA Health Care System. With host Sophia Thomas, Miller discusses toxic substances, from burn pit particles to Agent Orange, that veterans may have been exposed to while serving. Miller also shares what the PACT Act — an expansion of VA health care for veterans exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving in the military — means to affected patients and their NPs. Finally, Thomas and Miller talk about the importance of whole-person care, and why NPs are crucial to providing the best health care possible to veterans.

109. Modern Weight Loss: The Individualized Journey

Many of us have questions after we step on a scale and see how much we weigh. How closely does that number correlate to our overall health? What is the best way, as nurse practitioners, to talk about weight with patients by emphasizing the positives of exercise and diet without reinforcing obesity bias?
Today’s guest on NP Pulse, AANP’s new Vice President of Professional Practice Dr. Johnnie Sue Wijewardane, walks us through her personal weight loss journey and discusses the pros and cons of surgery, the very topical GLP-1s and even a fascinating aside into yo-yo trends like the “cabbage diet.” With her combination of expert analysis and trademark openness, Wijewardane guides us through the minefield of weight loss over-information into useful takeaways for both nurse practitioners and patients.
For more resources on treating obesity and talking with patients about weight loss, visit aanp.org to find newsfeed articles and CE courses related to the topic.