CDC Guidelines for the Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections

Career fatigue is a staggering epidemic where not only the healthcare professionals suffer, but so do their patients and family members. Join Dr. Jennifer Caudle as she speaks with Dr. Joanna Petrides, Clinical Psychologist and Resident Research Director of Family Medicine at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, about the warning signs physicians need to be aware of and the preventative measures that can be implemented to help keep them healthy.

One in two adults in the United States has a total cholesterol over 200 mg/dL, while one in three has diagnosed cardiovascular disease. The ACC/AHA's recently released Lipid Guidelines have provided new recommendations for treatment of dylipidemia, but they have also created some controversies and confusion in expert circles around best practices moving forward. Helping to dissect these Guidelines and shed light on the rationales behind the new recommendations is Joyce Ross, certified registered nurse practitioner and clinical lipid specialist.

The annual cost of chronic pain in the United States is as high as $635 billion a year, which is more than the yearly costs for cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Over 100 million Americans are affected by chronic pain, and by extension, pain is the number one diagnosis in primary care. Joining host Mimi Secor to discuss new insights on this ever-present malady is Brett Snodgrass, Family Nurse Practitioner in private practice in Bartlett, TN specializing in pain management and palliative care. She is President of the Greater Memphis Area Advanced Practice Nurses, and also hosts a popular blog called The NP Mom.

Nurse Practitioners were first introduced into healthcare systems in 1965 by Loretta C Ford, and since that time the role has expanded to include over 189,000 NP's in practice today. Joining host Mimi Secor to review the first half-century of the Nurse Practitioner profession and its ongoing priorities and challenges is the founder of the NP movement herself, Dr. Loretta Ford. Dr. Ford is past Dean and Professor Emerita at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, and is an internationally known leader in the nursing field.     

There are approximately 55 million women of menopausal age in the US. In fact, about 6,000 women reach menopausal age every day. For many, the spectrum of physical changes and their associated impacts on daily life aren't always anticipated or well understood. Clinicians of all levels have unique opportunities to provide guidance and treatment options for patients experiencing more severe effects of menopause; however, they don't always know what to ask, or how to ask it. To address this knowledge gap, host Mimi Secor welcomes Barbara Dehn, popularly known as Nurse Barb, a practicing Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, award winning author, and a nationally recognized health expert, to discuss clinical approaches to helping patients through the more difficult symptoms of menopause.

Host Mimi Secor welcomes Women's Health Foundation founder and Executive Director, Missy Lavender, to talk about innovative ways to bring women into pelvic health programs across the U.S. Through her foundation, Ms. Lavender helps address issues of ignorance and intimidation that often pervade both patient and medical professional circles when it comes to gynecological and bladder health maintenence.

Mimi Secor is joined by Nurse practitioner Helen Carcio, Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Director of the Health and Continence Institute in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. Ms. Carcio trains doctors and advanced practice clinicians in how to set up community based continence centers.

Modern clinical practice places high value on the skill of multitasking. Yet recent date indicate that multitasking leads to increased errors and decreased productivity. To better understand how multitasking impacts patient safety and personal wellbeing, host Mimi Secor welcomes Dr. Joanne Perron, Co-Chair of ACOG's District IX Committee on Physician Work-Life Balance. Dr. Perron lectures extensively on traditional and novel mindfulness practices to mitigate burnout among the medical community.

Nurse Practitioners often put their patients' health and well being before their own. A career as an NP can be stressful, overwhelming and the pressure of juggling work and home can make life feel like it is spinning out of control. Pratt Bennett owner of Make That Leap!, a Boston, Massachusetts life coaching company focused on Nurse Practitioners joins host Mimi Secor to talk about how NP's can reduce stress to be happier on the job and at home.

The CDC has recommendations when it comes to the treatment, testing and counseling of patients who may have sexually transmitted infections or at high risk of contracting an STI. There are a number of ways to test for diseases like gonnorhea, chlamidiya, and syphillis and that can be confusing for NPs and their patients. Nurse Practitioner Terri Warren with the Westover Clinic in Portland, Oregon explains to host Mimi Secor some of the most important changes recommended by the CDC to help reduce the number of sexually transmitted infections in the country especially among teens.