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When considering a career as a nurse practitioner, it is important to envision what you would most like to be doing and what population you are most interested or enjoy. Whatever your area of preference is, you may or may not need a specialty certification. But even for areas where the certification is not necessary, obtaining a specialized degree does make you the most marketable for the position and allows you to provide top of the line care and practice to the fullest extent of your education.

HBO's latest offering 'Chernobyl'has grabbed a lot of attention in the last few days since it was released. This mini-series, co-starring Jared Harris, Emily Watson and StellanSkarsgard, is a very grave picturization of one of the worst human disasters in modern history. Written by Craig Mazin (of "The Hangover" Parts II and III fame) and directed by Johan Renck, this five-episode series brings back to life the tragic event of 1986 in erstwhile USSR and does not shy away from showing the horrors committed during that time. It gives the audience a glimpse of the events before, during and after the nuclear explosion, ill effects of which can be seen in Europe till date.

We have listed down all the adamant features that you can find in good billing software. So, if you are thinking about getting one, read this article to know what should be looking for.

Maybe you've heard the term kratom in passing. Maybe you know a little bit about what people say about it but want to do your own research before taking the leap yourself. The following will explore some of the top health benefits of kratom as well as some factors to keep in mind when deciding whether kratom is right for you or not. Kratom is a herbal extract that comes from a type of evergreen tree called Mitragyna speciosa that is native to Southeast Asia. Kratom leaves can be chewed, or they can be dried and swallowed, or brewed into tea. Powdered and liquid supplements are also available on the market. WHY DO PEOPLE TAKE KRATOM? 1. LOW DOSAGE 2. MEDIUM DOSAGE 3. HIGH DOSAGE Kratom has another important effect that probably doesn't apply to everyone equally. Kratom has been used to ease the experience of cutting back on opiates or quitting opiates by minimizing the symptoms of withdrawal. This being said, kratom itself does produce good feelings and bind to opiate receptors in the brain, which means that if you're someone who is susceptible to addiction, you might want to be cognizant of your use and dosage.

Choosing to participate in the medical field is a wonderful opportunity. But perhaps you'd rather branch off a little bit from the norm and pick a slightly different career. If that's what you're hoping to achieve, then becoming a pharmacist may just be the right choice for you. Here's what you need to know before becoming a pharmacist and how you can easily pay for your degree. WHAT DOES A PHARMACIST DO? Honestly, it's surprising to think how many people underestimate the pharmacy profession. Some genuinely think that they're just people who give you medicine over the counter. And while this is certainly one of their duties, a pharmacist is so much more than that. Believe it or not, pharmacists are trained medical professionals.

The UK Health Security Agency on Friday said it had designated a sub-lineage of the dominant and highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant as a variant under investigation. BA.2, which does not have the specific mutation seen with Omicron that can be used as a proxy to easily distinguish it from Delta, is being investigated but has not been designated a variant of concern. "It is the nature of viruses to evolve and mutate, so it's to be expected that we will continue to see new variants emerge," Dr Meera Chand, incident director at the UKHSA, said. "Our continued genomic surveillance allows us to detect them and assess whether they are significant." Britain had identified 53 sequences of the BA.2 sub-lineage as of January 10, with updated figures due to be published later on Friday.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has recalled Labetalol 200mg tablets (Tillomed Laboratories Ltd) directed to pharmacies and wholesalers. Manufacturer, Tillomed Laboratories is recalling one batch of Labetalol 200mg tablets due to an error on the foil blister packaging. The incorrect aluminium foil blister packaging states Labetalol 100mg tablets, however it should be labelled as Labetalol 200mg Tablets. This error has occurred at the primary packing operation. Tillomed Laboratories Limited has confirmed the actual tablet contained in the blister is Labetalol 200mg Tablets, which is the strength stated on the outer carton. This error is limited to the packaging of the batch with 100mg aluminium foil blister and does not impact the lot (batch) number or expiry as printed on the outer carton and aluminium foil blister. Healthcare professionals has been advised to stop supplying the batches immediately. Quarantine all remaining stock and return it to supplier using supplier's approved process.

The Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) has urged the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to collate the data on actively enrolled on an approved course or qualification for Pharmacy Technicians of commencement of training. In a letter from Nicola Stockmann, Vice President APTUK to the GPhC to encourage the collection of data for Pre-Registration Training Pharmacy Technicians, Stockmann said: "We value the GPHC data for Pharmacy Technician registrants to track the growth and diversity of the Pharmacy Technician profession. With ongoing inclusive pharmacy practice priorities, APTUK has an organisational pledge to continue this work of all themes through actions. The demographics of the Pharmacy Technician workforce continue to have a majority of white British registrants and identifying as female; the high-level data collated which is currently available on the GPHC website does not capture those who are actively enrolled on an approved course or qualification for Pharmacy Technicians."

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has launched a four point plan at its parliamentary drop-in event for MPs and peers hosted on Tuesday (15 November). The event lasted for two hours, during which MPs had the opportunity to drop-in and have their blood pressure measured by pharmacists with experience of working on the front-line and were briefed on the urgent need for action to address the pressures on the sector. Outline of the four-point plan: Resolve the funding squeeze: Community pharmacy needs an immediate funding uplift to prevent large-scale pharmacy closures, as well as emergency business relief to get through this winter. Tackle regulatory and other burdens: Pharmacies must be protected from medicines market shocks, supported to help them weather the workforce crisis, helped to free up capacity and freed from red tape that does not enhance patient care. Help pharmacies to expand their role in primary care: Pharmacies could do more to support the delivery of primary care for example through offering clinical services for long-term conditions - like hypertension, diabetes and respiratory disease, supporting people to adopt healthier lifestyles and prevent the development of long-term conditions, medicines optimisation, and a much wider variety of NHS vaccinations.

Growing up with a family that worked in pharmacy, our dinner time conversation was not like that of other families. Ours would centre around medicines, prescriptions, and the health challenges within our local community. I quickly came to understand the importance of the role played by community pharmacists. So I can't help but be concerned that the current direction being taken by digital health innovation threatens to leave community pharmacies behind. Whilst it is brilliant that patients can easily access their prescriptions through the rise of online pharmacies, many of these cut out the vital knowledge and expertise of local community pharmacists, and threaten to end the traditional close ties between local community pharmacists and their patients. Nine out of 10 NHS users believe that pharmacists play an unrivalled role when it comes to keeping patients in the community safe. We must ensure that digital health does not replace this important source of advice for health problems and injuries, but instead preserves and enhances this vital, personal role and enables pharmacists to continue delivering care in new and effective ways. A vital connection with patients Community pharmacies provide crucial support to local patients with managing their medicines safely, particularly older and more vulnerable people. The specific expertise and knowledge held by pharmacists can help inform the long-term management of a patient's condition and ensure they are kept safe from potential side effects and complications.

Living in challenging times means that the world seems to be constantly changing, and it can be hard to keep up. Along with all the other challenges you face, it's more important than ever to stay healthy. But what does that mean for you? What are the health tips that everyone should follow? There's a lot of information out there about health and wellness, and it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what's best. That's why you should check this list of the top seven health tips that everyone should follow. GET REGULAR EXERCISE Everyone needs to make time for physical activity and aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. This can be anything from walking or swimming to dancing or aerobics classes. Exercise not only strengthens your body, but it can also help you manage stress and improve your mood, while also boosting your immune system. If, for any reason, you're not able to get the recommended amount of exercise, try breaking up activities into smaller chunks and incorporating them into your daily routine.

There are few conditions that bring the degree of isolation, embarrassment and self-consciousness that bowel and urinary incontinence does. In the UK, about 14 million adults experience bladder control problems and 6.5 million have bowel control difficulties. Additionally, there are just under a million children in the UK experiencing continence conditions at any one time. Over £200 million is spent on personal incontinence products; this is in addition to over three times the same amount spent by the NHS. With a rapidly ageing population and unaddressed contributing factors, the significant financial burden, but importantly, the impact on the quality of life and dignity is devastating. We also know that cultural and communication difficulties can create barriers making treatment access and symptom alleviation more difficult. Considering the demography that this has a greater impact on - patients with a learning disability, non-English speakers and disabled patient - it becomes apparent this is a form of health inequality. However, pharmacy teams are best placed to tackle this head-on. Incontinence is the inability to control your bladder or bowel, so you accidentally lose urine from the bladder (urinary incontinence) or faeces from the bowel (bowel incontinence).

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will acquire biotechnology company Neogene Therapeutics for up to $320 million, the London-listed drugmaker said on Tuesday (November 29) as it seeks to build its pipeline of cell-based cancer treatments. Though AstraZeneca's oncology portfolio accounted for more than a third of the company's revenue last year, it does not have an approved cell-based cancer therapy and is behind rivals such as Novartis and Gilead. "Neogene's leading (T-cell receptor) discovery capabilities and extensive manufacturing experience complement the cell therapy capability we have built over the last three years," said Susan Galbraith, AstraZeneca's executive vice president of oncology research. Cell-based treatments are a relatively new approach to treating cancer, most of which involve drawing the body's own immune cells and processing them in the lab to target and kill cancer cells. Neogene's approach goes one step further in that its experimental T-cell receptor therapies seek to target DNA mutations specific to tumours, not only certain proteins on the surface of cancer cells.

Drugmakers GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim on Tuesday were spared thousands of US lawsuits claiming that the heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, as a judge found the claims were not backed by sound science. The ruling by US District Judge Robin Rosenberg in West Palm Beach, Florida, knocks out about 50,000 claims in federal court, though it does not directly affect tens of thousands of similar cases pending in state courts around the country. "We are extremely surprised by this miscarriage of justice," and "fully expect" the ruling will be reversed on appeal, lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a joint statement. A Sanofi spokesperson said the decision "significantly decreases the scope of the litigation potentially by over 50 per cent," with the remaining litigation being only in state court. A spokesperson for GSK said the company welcomed the decision and Pfizer said it was pleased by the outcome. Privately-held German drugmaker Boehringer said in a statement that it looked forward to "continuing our vigorous defense of the remaining cases in state courts."

What skills does a pharmacist need these days? You'd think it would be sufficient to have a good understanding of pharmacy and the ability to offer a great patient service. Whilst this is true of course, the reality of the day to day role demands skills which most pharmacists have not been trained for as part of their formal qualification. At the very least, pharmacists find themselves responsible for running the pharmacy, managing people, managing processes and dealing with issues relating to customers, suppliers, surgeries, regulators and stakeholders. Even the most junior pharmacists quickly find themselves being accountable for the financial performance of their department and having to work within budgets or deliver on targets. Remarkably, despite the apparent lack of any formal training in these areas, pharmacists have been able to adapt and meet the challenges of whatever their job has thrown at them. Many pharmacists go even further, bringing out their inner entrepreneurial spirit to set up their own business. There are now over 6,000 pharmacy businesses owned by independent pharmacists, with this segment growing. Whilst pharmacists have historically adapted to their environments and picked up the necessary business skills, the rapidly changing landscape of pharmacy will require pharmacists to establish new skills to help ensure their businesses survive and thrive.

As we transition in England through yet another NHS organisational change, I ask myself what does this mean for community pharmacy? I would like to think that this change will bring about opportunity and a chance for community pharmacy to showcase and continue the excellent work that was carried out during the height of the pandemic and is still ongoing today. I hope that it allows community pharmacy to be regarded as part of the NHS rather than sitting on the side lines. This change has to lead to better funding for community pharmacy, without sufficient funding we will see more pharmacies close. We are hearing a lot about winter pressures but this year it feels like all year round pressure. What I have seen, whilst the NHS is under such pressure, is North East London (NEL) CCG transitioning to an integrated care board (ICB) almost seamlessly. I have seen people transitioning into new roles, whilst working hard to ensure that all plates are still spinning, which at the moment is no mean feat. I spent a day out recently visiting pharmacies with the chief medical officer of NHS NEL, Dr Paul Gilluley. The visits were positive, we felt listened to and understood. The feedback was great, it was recognised that community pharmacy is often the informal front door to the NHS and that we have so much to offer in terms of ill health prevention. Community pharmacy can offer a total solution as long as we have the tools to do so, which can save so much time and money. An example is the GP CPCS service, which has launched well across NEL.

A winter NHS crisis is inevitable unless the government acts now to reverse the worrying decline in community pharmacies. Years of government underfunding could see 3,000 pharmacies in England - around a third of the network - having no option but to shut their doors to patients in the next few years. That figure is based on independent assessments from Ernst & Young and UCL/LSE healthcare professors: it is not scaremongering - it is the reality the country faces. Fifty per cent of pharmacies are already in financial distress because government funding has been falling in real terms since 2019 and that figure is predicted to rise to 75 per cent within the next two years. The government needs to act now and invest in pharmacy or sleepwalk into a healthcare disaster as we have seen with access to dentistry care. Prescription volumes have risen consistently year-on-year by roughly 2 per cent which means fewer pharmacies doing more work and under greater pressure than a decade ago. Ten years ago around 11,200 pharmacies in England were dispensing roughly 79,000 prescriptions; nowadays around 11,500 are dispensing roughly 89,000 prescriptions. The secretary of state recently asked pharmacy to do more to avoid a winter NHS crisis and at the same time said there will be no new money to pay for those additional services. This at a time when the network is in decline with random unplanned pharmacy closures - 640 closures since 2016 - and pharmacy staff face huge workload pressures as prescription demand is increasing year-on-year. The government's approach to pharmacy literally does not add up: the pharmacy contract is not fit-for-purpose now let alone dealing with a NHS winter crisis.

Maintaining good dental health is important for everyone. Not only does it help you look and feel your best, but it's also essential for your overall health. Poor dental hygiene can lead to a variety of health problems, including heart disease, stroke, and even diabetes. That's why it's so important to make sure you are taking care of your teeth and gums properly. But with so many different dental treatments and products available today, how do you know which ones are right for you? Here are some helpful tips to follow: UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT DENTAL TREATMENT CATEGORIES There are three main types of dental treatments: preventive, restorative, and cosmetic. Preventive treatments include things like brushing and flossing your teeth every day, getting regular checkups, and using mouthwash. Restorative treatments involve repairing the damage that's already been done to your teeth. Cosmetic treatments improve the appearance of your teeth without necessarily fixing any damage. Which type of treatment is right for you depends on your individual needs. If you have a lot of cavities, for example, you may need restorative treatment. If you have crooked teeth, you may need cosmetic treatment. And if you just want to make sure your teeth stay healthy overall, preventive treatment may be the best option for you.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has urged its member - employed pharmacists and locum pharmacists to share their view on UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership report. The four government Chief Pharmacists have published their commission's proposal for how pharmacy leadership may develop in the UK. The association 'strongly' believes that just as it was the members of the profession that established their previous pharmacist professional leadership bodies, so it is for pharmacists to determine if they agree with these proposals and to decide what arrangements they want in future. "As an organisation that has exclusively in its membership the employed and locum pharmacists in the UK, the PDA wants to ensure that it can reflect the views of frontline pharmacists in any future discussions and decisions that could impact upon their careers. Pharmacists are encouraged to read the report, to consider its content and then ensure they respond to the forthcoming communication from the PDA." The commission report says that existing leadership bodies have "relatively low levels of membership" but does not provide details. It has also stated that it has received submissions to its consultation from many pharmacy organisations.

The collapse of the three trading entities in the Converse Pharma Group (Testerworld Limited, Doncaster Pharmaceuticals Group Limited and Eclipse Generics Limited) (the Group) in May 2022 undoubtedly caused ripples throughout the pharmacy industry. The Group, a major supplier of pharmaceuticals, had a combined turnover over £300m, employed 1,000 staff members and supplied over 4,000 pharmacies throughout the country. The Group is licensed and regulated by the MHRA. At the beginning of 2021, a breach of the MHRA licensing regulations caused a temporary (but prolonged) cessation of trading. The Group was able to secure the ongoing support of its secured creditors during this time, however, when the licenses were subsequently reinstated, they came with restrictions. Unfortunately for the Group, the period of the suspension and the subsequent restrictions over the licences caused a significant reduction in revenue, from which the Group was unable to recover. Ultimately, by May this year, the companies in the Group had exhausted their working capital and had no prospect of raising the funding they required to continue to trade.