Happy Tuesday! We hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend! As summer blazes on so does our motivation for a healthy start to the school year. We are bringing you all the healthy resources this week along with education resources to reduce grad-school applicant stress!

In Today’s Edition:

• Re-boarding options for PAs

• Nutrition in a nutshell, breaking down the importance of nutrient intake

• Tips for healthy eating

• The physiology of weight loss

• Regular exercise balances the mind and body, it’s science

• Summer temperatures aren't slowing down, the latest on sun protection

• Worth a Repeat: Meet Karli Burridge, MMS, PA-C, FOMA, our Inspirational APP of the Week

• Pro-Tips for Professional School Applicant Prep

• Looking for free CME? Check out these free resources from Pri-Med

🩺 APP Trending News

Re-Boarding Options for PAs

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) now provides two recertification options for PAs: introducing the PANRE and the PANRE-LA

The 10 year recertification process for PA's is a rough one. However, the NCCPA recognizes the burden and is now offering an alternative track to re-boarding. Check out this resource that spells out the pros and cons. We appreciate the individualized approach to education as much as we encourage individualized patient care! 🙌🏼

⚙️ The More You Know

Updates on Wellness and Nutrition to Keep you Going

Nutrition in a nutshell, breaking down the importance of nutrient intake

Tips for healthy eating

We are all for moderation, and sharing helpful resources for our colleagues and patients.

The physiology of weight loss

We cannot treat what we don’t understand. We found the evidenced based resources helpful from Rethink Obesity. Interested in more? Visit our edition on all things weight loss, featuring Gaining Health, an incredible resource created by one of our own!

Regular exercise balances the mind and body, it’s science

Hot off the press: A massive study (over 500k participants), published in JAMA is flipping the exercise conversation. It appears that engaging in aerobic physical activity at more intense levels, both moderate and vigorous, may result in even greater reductions in the risk of all-cause and cancer mortality compared to current recommendations.

Summer temperatures aren't slowing down, the latest on sun protection

Did you know mineral sunscreen is better in a heatwave? As the unrelenting summer blazes on, be sure you are up to speed on the latest updates for all things sun protection. Our kiddos need it during recess and don't forget about that work commute! Yes, we can have damage through our windows.

💡Inspiration for Aspirations

Worth a Repeat: Meet Karli Burridge, MMS, PA-C, FOMA, our Inspirational APP of the Week.

She is a leader, patient advocate, entrepreneur, educator, and champion in obesity medicine.

Karli Burridge, MMS, PA-C, FOMA graduated from Midwestern University and is a board-certified physician associate (PA) and a fellow of the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) and has been in practice for 14 years. She is the president of PAs in Obesity Medicine and serves on the board of the Illinois Obesity Society. She is the founder and owner of Gaining Health, a company that provides resources for clinicians and organizations who want to start or optimize obesity treatment programs. She is also the host of the Gaining Heath podcast and works at the Ascension Medical Weight Management program in Westmont, Illinois.

Her background is based in psychology and a master’s in physiology which formed her strong belief in providing holistic care. By becoming a PA, it gave her the opportunity to do just that; provide care for the whole person — mind and body. She’s not new on the bandwagon folks!

What interested her in obesity medicine?

Did you know that obesity medicine was previously left out of traditional medical training? Obesity was not even recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association (AMA) until 2013. Which is why we inquired about her current endeavors, founding the organizations, PAs in Obesity Medicine, and Gaining Health.

While working in bariatric surgery, she learned about the complexities of obesity and the numerous hormones and neuroendocrine systems that can make it exceedingly difficult for people with obesity to lose weight and maintain weight reduction. It’s not just a stigma of self-control. She was able to truly help her patients by combining her passion for healthy lifestyle changes with evidence-based tools like bariatric surgery and/or pharmacotherapy, as well as a thorough assessment of other factors that may be contributing to the development of obesity. She states, “I individualize treatment for my patients and make a significant difference in their health and well-being.”

Q: Tell us about Gaining Health

A: Today, 42% of the US adult population and 20% of the pediatric population have obesity; this number is projected to reach 58% of adults by 2035, according to the World Obesity Federation’s 2023 report. We need more clinicians who are trained in evidence-based, compassionate obesity care. However, training and education are just the beginning. Taking that education and then developing a comprehensive obesity treatment program can take a lot of time and effort, and many busy clinicians just don’t have the time and bandwidth to develop a program from scratch.

I started Gaining Health so that clinicians wouldn’t have to recreate the wheel every time someone wanted to start an obesity treatment program. With Gaining Health, we provide a roadmap and resources that clinicians use to develop their programs. They can get their programs up and running faster, more efficiently, and at a much lower cost. It has been very fulfilling to see so many clinicians start their obesity management programs. As a bonus, the clinicians are also finding a renewed love for their profession because they are getting to do what they have always wanted to do: help their patients get healthier and feel better.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?

I encourage clinicians to become educated in obesity medicine! PAs are perfectly positioned to be the leaders in this field and we need PAs in all kinds of specialties to be able to help patients with obesity. Obesity causes or contributes to the development of over 236 other medical conditions. When we treat obesity, everything else gets better, too! You can learn about obesity through the AAPA Obesity Toolkit and you can join PAs in Obesity Medicine. The OMA is another great place to receive education on obesity. Lastly, if you want to start an obesity treatment program, check out www.Gaininghealth.com, and listen to our weekly podcast, The Gaining Health Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1649411537).

📈Future APPs

Pro-Tips for Professional School Applicant Prep

Prepping for PA school applications? It’s not easy. The PA Life has excellent resources and tips for pre-PA students and active applicants!

NP School Prep, no problem!

The AANP has excellent resources on preparing for your application.

🧪Clinical Conundrums: Because We Love a Challenge!

Looking for free CME? Check out these free resources from Pri-Med

• Let the experts keep you abreast on updates for guidelines (diabetes mellitus, COPD, asthma, hepatitis B screening, and major depressive disorder)

• Addressing the Needs of Patients with Unexplained Chronic Cough: New Strategies for an Ongoing Clinical Challenge

• New Cholesterol Guidance—How Should This Impact My Practice?

• Addressing the Needs of Patients with Unexplained Chronic Cough: New Strategies for an Ongoing Clinical Challenge

🔎ICYMI

Speaking of all things weight loss, check out our earlier edition: Bigger is Definitely Not Always Better

• PA co-founds PAs in Obesity Medicine & guides for obesity treatment

• The AAP establishes guidelines for pediatric obesity

• Will new weight loss regimens render bariatric surgery obsolete?

• For better or worse, weight loss apps join the semaglutide craze

• As overweight patients seek care for back pain, a new trial warns against the use of opioids

• Free CME is resources to complete the new DEA requirement

• Our inspiration of the week is Karli Burridge, PA-C, FOMA, educator, leader, advocate, obesity specialist and founder of Gaining Health!

• Clinical conundrums: Altered mental status (AMS) case debrief

You don’t want to be the only interesting APP at the water cooler. Please share, subscribe, and let us know what you would like to see in upcoming editions! Aspire to add content contributions to your CV or your accomplishments? Please share your knowledge. We would love to hear from you!

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