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Innovative Educational Programs for Rheumatology APNs and PAs

Karen L. Kerr, MSN, NP, CPNP, APRN-BC  |  

Arthritis and other rheumatic diseases affect more than 46 million adults and 300,000 children in the United States. With the aging of the U.S. population, the number of adults with rheumatic disease is expected to increase to 67 million by 2030.1 While the demand for rheumatology services is increasing, the supply of practicing rheumatologists is diminishing. The ACR Rheumatology Workforce Study (published earlier this year) predicts that there will be little or no increase in the number of practicing rheumatologists, resulting in a critical shortage of rheumatologists by 2020.

Engage Patients as Partners in Shared Decision-making

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Engaging patients in shared decision-making about their health management is increasingly important to improving health outcomes and quality of life for persons with arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. In shared decision-making, the patient and the provider are partners who share information and determine together the best therapeutic interventions to achieve desired health outcomes and patient goals.

Evidence-Based Practice: Making it a Reality

Karen L. Kerr, MSN, NP, CPNP, APRN-BC  |  

Evidence-based practice has become the standard of care in the 21st century. Evidence-based practice is “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.” It requires the integration of a health professional’s clinical expertise, the best available scientific evidence, and patient values and preferences to guide clinical decisions for individual patients.