The Nurse Practitioner Mentor Blog
Learn. Grow. Simplify Your NP Practice.
Weekly blog posts with practical tips, clinical pearls, and real-world guidance for new nurse practitioners in primary care.
Bone health comes up constantly in primary care, and as a new NP you'll read a lot of DEXA reports that say "osteopenia" or "osteoporosis." Knowing the difference, and when to treat versus monitor, is what makes you safe and steady with these patients.
Definitions at a glance
- Normal bone density: ...
Osteoporosis is usually silent until a fracture happens, and by then you've missed the window. The whole job in primary care is knowing who to screen and how to read the result. Here's a no-fluff workflow you can use in clinic.
Who needs screening
Women
- Age 65 and older: screen all women with a DE ...
Abdominal aortic aneurysms are usually silent until they rupture, and a rupture is almost always catastrophic. The upside is that one ultrasound at the right time can catch it early. As primary care providers, we're in the best spot to do that.
Who should be screened
- Men age 65 to 75 who have ever...
Colorectal cancer screening saves lives, and a lot of it runs through primary care. For most adults, screening begins at age 45 and continues through 75. After that, decisions get individualized.
Who should be screened
- Age 45 to 75: screen everyone.
- Age 76 to 85: individualize based on health, pri ...
Iron-deficiency anemia is common in early childhood and usually silent. Universal screening catches kids before learning and behavior take a hit.
Universal vs selective screening
Universal screening is recommended.
- All children: screen once at 9 to 12 months.
- If a child is on iron-fortified formul ...
Lead poisoning is usually silent. There's no rash, no fever, no obvious sick kid in front of you. That's exactly why screening matters, because the damage happens before anyone notices.
Lead shows up in homes built before 1978, some toys and jewelry, parent or caregiver jobs with lead exposure, soil...
You ordered the screening mammogram. The patient actually completed it, which is a win on its own. Now the result comes back abnormal, and you have to decide what happens next.
Here's a practical workflow you can use in primary care so you're not guessing.
Step 1: Order the right test
Start with th...
