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Check out the December 2008 edition of the NHSPA newsletter.
In this issue: A Message From Your Incoming President
AAPA's new catch phrase says, "It's a new day at AAPA". I think we can also say, "It's a new day at NHSPA". NHSPA 2009 Board Meeting Schedule
All meetings for 2009 will be held at the Mass College of Pharmacy, 1260 Elm St., Manchester, NH at 6:30 p.m. Clicnical Corner
A discussion on Fracture Description between Providers by Mark Rescino 2008 Silent Auction
At the annual NHSPA Conference this fall, an exuberant and inspiring silent auction was held by the MCPHS PA class of 2009 NHSPA Fall Conference
This year's NHSPA Annual Fall Conference at The North Conway Grand Hotel was very well received by all who attended.
A Message From Your Incoming President
AAPA's new catch phrase says, "It's a new day at AAPA". I think we can also say, "It's a new day at NHSPA". This last year, your Board of Directors ran as a committee rather than a board due to lack of involvement. Despite this, I think the NHSPA BOD accomplished some good things. We kept our ties with the NH Medical Society strong with Dave Pendleton agreeing to continue to attend monthly meetings as our representative. In addition, he agreed to be the contact for our society for outside groups seeking clarification or information on PAs in NH. I personally want to thank him for that commitment! In conjunction with the NH Musculoskeletal Society and The Orthopedic Center, we conducted a spring conference in Nashua, in addition to our annual fall conference in North Conway. Without committed volunteer PAs, these events would not have taken place. I thank all the PAs involved in those endeavors! In the coming year, I am excited to report that NHSPA has several newly nominated PAs joining our BOD and it's committees. We welcome our new VP, Mark Rescino, a PA in orthopedics in Nashua, Member-at-Large, Moe Paquette, a PA in occupational medicine and emergency medicine in Londonderry, Member-at-Large, Sarah Lynch, a PA in ENT in Nashua, Member-at-Large, Vonda Rueda, a PA in internal medicine in Windham and CME committee member Ed Laverty, a PA in emergency medicine from Colebrook. Not to forget returning BOD/ committee members, Dave Pendleton, immediate Past President and CME committee member, Secretary Monica Ball, Treasurer Kelly Gillis, Member-At-Large Tammy Noury, CME committee chair Tim O'Brien, , CME Committee members Joanne Manson, Steve Steiner and Scott Evans, along with Website contact John Stallman. I am looking forward to 2009 and an opportunity for NHSPA to get energized and positioned within the healthcare community. We can be an active part of the solution to the "access to healthcare" problem and it's time to step up again and be proactive within our profession. The NH Medical Society Executive Committee requested that Dave Pendleton and myself plan to get involved in initiatives that will work towards these goals. NHSPA will reach out to you, our fellow PAs to help us in this effort. Happy Holidays to all of you. May the new year bring you health and happiness. - Susan Finerty
NHSPA 2009 Board Meeting Schedule All meetings for 2009 will be held at the Mass College of Pharmacy, 1260 Elm St., Manchester, NH at 6:30 p.m. 2009 Meeting Dates Tuesday, January 6th
Wednesday, February 4th
Tuesday, March 3rd
Wednesday, April 1st
Tuesday, May 5th
No meeting in June due to AAPA Conference
Tuesday, July 7th
Wednesday, August 5th
Tuesday, September 1st
Wednesday, October 7th
Tuesday, November 3rd
Wednesday, December 2nd
Clicnical Corner - Mark Rescino Fracture Description between Providers
A fracture is defined as a disruption in the integrity of a living bone, involving injury to the bone marrow, periosteum, and adjacent soft tissues. It is important to be able to communicate a description of the fracture with other providers so they may understand and formulate a virtual image of the fracture and the potential need for surgical intervention, even though they are unable to see the actual x-rays. When a fracture occurs, it should be described radiographically and clinically in terms of the following (8) factors: - Anatomy: Which bones are involved and the location within the bone (diaphysis, metaphysis, physis, epiphysis or proximal / middle / distal for long bones). Also the side of the body the bone is on.
- Articular surface involvement: Does the fracture have intra-articular involvement? Is there intra-articular displacement or gapping?
- Direction of the fracture:
Oblique - a fracture which goes at an angle to the axis
Transverse - a fracture that goes across the bone's axis
Spiral - a fracture which runs around the axis of the bone
Greenstick - an incomplete fracture in which the bone bends
- Comminution: A comminuted fracture is one that has several breaks in the bone, creating more than 2 fragments.
- Soft-tissue involvement:
a. Is the fracture open or closed? Closed (simple) fractures include any fracture where the bone does not penetrate the skin (the skin stays closed). Open (compound) fractures occur when a bone or bone fragment breaks through the skin or the skin and bone are broken in a traumatic, crushing injury.
b. Is associated neurologic and/or vascular injury present? Is there muscle damage evident? - Displacement: Is the distal fracture fragment displaced compared with the proximal fragment? To what degree or percentage is the fracture displaced?
- Angulation: The angular deformity is defined in degrees in terms of the distal fragment in relation to the proximal fragment or with respect to the proximal apex of the distal fragment.
- Rotation: Rotational deformity of the distal segment is described both clinically and radiographically.
References
In This Season of Giving…The 2008 Silent Auction was a great success! At the annual NHSPA Conference this fall, an exuberant and inspiring silent auction was held by the MCPHS PA class of 2009. The proceeds were donated to David's House, a very deserving charity located in Lebanon, NH. David's House was founded for the purpose of providing housing for families of children undergoing treatment at Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD). Its namesake, David, was a young cancer patient undergoing treatment for leukemia at CHaD. David's parents, along with the parents of other patients, would stay in cars, motels, and even on the floor of their child's hospital room because of the remote location of the hospital. David, with vision beyond his years, put his own needs aside to raise money so that these families would have a place to stay. He raised $300.78 by himself before passing away. Following his death, his parents honored his wishes and headed a project to begin David's House, a home away from home for the families of CHaD patients. The silent auction pieces consisted of knitted items, artwork, a kit of scrapbook supplies, and a variety of gift certificates. Much excitement was generated over the live auction items, which included two autographed photos and a script from the TV series, “House,” a handmade Pakistani rug, a round of golf at the Quechee Club in VT, and a $500 gift certificate for laser hair removal. With hard work by the MCPHS students and the enthusiasm of the bidders, more than ten times David's initial $300.78 was raised. The children and their families thank everyone who contributed for their support and generosity. -Sarah Bean & Charleen Buczek (MCPHS PA Students, Class of 2009)
NHSPA Fall Conference 2008 This year's NHSPA Annual Fall Conference at The North Conway Grand Hotel was very well received by all who attended. The attendees enjoyed the beginning of the foliage season, the shopping at the outlets was also a attraction for attendees and their families. We had somewhat fewer attendees than previous years, but the conference reviews where excellent overall. We would like to again thank Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Physician Assistant Program for helping to sponsor the annual post lectures reception on Friday night. We had excellent speakers this year that received stellar ratings and hope to have some of them back in the future. 
We will be moving the conference to The Lake Opechee Inn and Spa in Lakeport, NH on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee for 2009. We hope you are able to join us on Friday, October 23rd and Saturday, October 24th for the conference. Save the date and we hope to see you there.
Dave Pendleton, PA-C
CME Committee |
