American Academy of Physician Assistants Conference

At AAPA 2017 in Las Vegas, Jennifer Carlquist PA-C, ER, CAQ said that she believed clinicians are trained in medicine to think heart disease is "an old person's disease," so they don't have it on their radar for the young people (teen years through mid-30s).

200,000 to 400,000 people die annually from medical errors.

Expert speaks on management of patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Treatment options for end-stage renal disease should include peritoneal dialysis.

Jane McDaniel, MS, MLS (SCP) SC, Wake Forest School of Medicine explained that typically, the most common forms that are talked about are the thyroid panel, but most physicians will end up ordering a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to start with.

CDC task force has recommended not using LAIV (nasal spray) for influenza prevention.

CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) are published for the current US influenza season.

According to Tatsiana Singh, PA-C, Indiana State University Sycamore Center for Wellness, at an individual level, each Physician Assistant (PA) or healthcare provider should aim at staying up-to-date, reflecting on their workdays, and discerning whether there was a situation that was a close call and how it could be prevented in the future. Being a good team player is critical for PAs particularly and not being frightened to solicit another opinion and verify the diagnosis.

At AAPA 2017, Benjamin Smith, PA-C, DFAAPA, Florida State University College of Medicine, discussed the tremendous advances in both treating and diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis. About 15 years ago, the CCP lab tests came about, which certainly help with specificity for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Many patients with COPD have had exposure to tobacco smoke or environmental irritants that caused the COPD, or have genetic COPD, meaning, the patients affected would likely be adults.

"ACOS is not an entity unto itself; it's not a typical syndrome."

For women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, there is still a very real danger of being exposed to the Zika virus.

The recent rise in hepatitis C cases in pregnant women and young people warrants further study.

"One of the big problems we're having right now is trying to identify these patients with hepatitis C," Rick Davis, PA-C, University of Florida College of Medicine told MD Magazine. "We've found that the birth cohort of baby boomers (1945-1965) has the highest prevalence of infection, and now we're starting to see the results of that."

Stephanie Chen, MSN, MPH, NP-C, Barrow Neurological Institute, also discussed goals of The VA Epilepsy Centers of Excellence, a national consortium aiming to provide high quality epilepsy care and educational resources to patients and their caregivers.

Current standard of care for treating epilepsy and seizure for a patient who has a first time seizure involves getting a high resolution MRI, EEG, and history.