It is with great pleasure that the ARP congratulates the 2019 recipients of the Mentored Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award for Workforce Expansion. The purpose of the NP/PA Award is to increase the supply of rheumatology healthcare providers to better meet the needs of people with rheumatic diseases across the U.S., particularly in geographically underserved areas….
Has your practice recently hired a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician’s assistant (PA) to help provide care to a growing patient population? Are you considering hiring, but unsure if you have the time or resources to adequately train someone new to the specialty? The Training Rheum is designed to give your professional staff a solid…
The College’s principal journals have been telling the tale of workforce woe, exploring the reasons for our predicament and potential solutions for the long and short term.1,2 Among the medium-term remedies is increased use of advanced practice clinicians (APCs), as we collectively refer to nurse practitioners and physician assistants in rheumatology practices. Solutions Estimates of…
A note from ARP President Hazel L. Breland, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA: Some time has passed since the ACR first published its NP/PA Rheumatology Curriculum Outline. Originally developed to serve as a guide for rheumatologists to onboard a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA) into the rheumatology practice setting, the ACR has realized this valuable resource…
More than two decades ago, Charles King, MD, was completing his final year of residency in internal medicine, fairly confident he was headed for a career in gastroenterology. Then he took a rotation in rheumatology. The rest, as they say, is history. “It’s a complicated field, and it requires a balance of left brained-ness and…
GLENDALE, ARIZ.—Arizona is a microcosm of America’s challenges in reconciling the rheumatology workforce to growing patient demand, as quantified in the ACR’s Workforce Study of 2015.1 So it was timely this year for the Phoenix Rheumatology Association to sponsor its 1st Annual Strategic Training for Rheumatology Advanced Practice Clinicians Symposium. (Note: Advanced practice clinicians [APCs]…
With their ability to provide treatment and manage chronic illnesses, nurse practitioners can aid rheumatologists in the care of their patients…
Questions that come to mind when you are specialized within a subspecialty: How can I build a network of peers? Where can I find resources and tools that apply to me? Do organizations exist that can provide me with opportunities for growth and leadership? As a pediatric nurse practitioner in rheumatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital…
A recent study examined the outcomes of care for RA patients provided by nurse practitioners or physician assistants working in tandem with rheumatologists, compared with that provided exclusively by rheumatologists. Over the two-year course of the study, results indicated that not only was care not compromised, but RA disease activity control may actually have been slightly better in these practices…
Tips to establish collaborative patient care models with your PAs, NPs