UCSF Advanced Practice Providers September 2025

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IMPORTANT UPDATES

FREE virtual UCSF APP Conference on Friday October 17, 2025. We anticipate offering up to 6.5 free CMEs to participants. Save the date.

Applications being accepted to serve on the UCSF APP Advisory Board. Learn more.

Take this 2-question APP wellness survey

APP SPOTLIGHT

Cardiac Surgery Announces New Lead APP

Submitted by Nikki Chokshi, APP Manager Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Michelle Rhee, PA has been with part of the UCSF Cardiac surgery for the past 7 years but has 23 years of experience in CT surgery. She is now the lead APP for the inpatient cardiac surgery team and will be instrumental in helping the team grow and evolve under the new appointment Chief, Dr. Jason Smith and APP manager Nikki Chokshi. Congratulations Michelle.

PRIDE Team Award Recognizes

Cancer Diagnostic Services

Submitted by Gabriel Schwartz, APP Manager

Congratulations to the Cancer Diagnostics Service (CDS) - recipients of the 2025 Q2 Team PRIDE award. An APP-led clinic, CDS won the PRIDE award for transforming cancer care through timely, compassionate, and patient-centered innovation. By ensuring patients are seen quickly and coordinating seamlessly across disciplines, they’ve set a new standard for speed and excellence in treatment. Their respectful, inclusive, and deeply human approach ensures every patient feels seen, supported, and never alone. Led primarily by APPs Patricia Zendejas, Lisa McNey and Angela Laffan, the CDS team exemplifies the value APPs bring to our patients and healthcare system: access to compassionate and expert interdisciplinary care. Learn more about PRIDE awards and click here to nominate an individual or team for Q3, Q4 PRIDE awards.

Molly Szuminski named as Cross Bay APP Manager for the Children's Center for Cancer, Blood Disorders, and Cellular Therapies

Submitted by Tara Valcarcel, Director for Pediatric Services

We are excited to announce Molly’s Szuminski, RN, MS, CPNP-AC promotion to Cross Bay APP Manager for the Children’s Center for Cancer, Blood Disorders, and Cellular Therapies. Molly has served BCH Oakland for 16 years as a nurse practitioner in inpatient oncology, contributing to quality initiatives, APP education, and leadership development through the LeAP program. She will officially start in her new role on September 28th, 2025. Please join us in congratulating Molly on this well-deserved achievement!

Updates On Our APP Leaders

The following APP leaders have recently pursued other APP opportunities.

Will Wood, PA has served as the supervisor or manager in the UCSF ED APPs since 2014. He is now working with UCSF ambulatory pediatric ENT patients on the Oakland campus. APP Infusion Center Supervisor Tammy Baltic, NP retires after a 35 year career as an oncology clinician. Occupational Health NP Supervisor Diana Alloco, NP relocates to the East coast to pursue a career as a Director of Occupational Health. After 7 years of serving adult critical care medicine, Keith Jabonillo, NP critical care supervisor, is relocating to UC Irvine Health to provide direct patient care at their new ambulatory surgery center. Joining the critical care medicine team as the APP supervisor is Robert Kelleher, PhD, AGACNP-BC. He joins UCSF Health from UCSF Fresno, where he served as acting lead of the MICU APP team.

APP Led Team Significantly Lowers Inpatient Admissions From the ED

Within the UCSF ED there are a team of APPs that provide Age-Friendly Emergency Consults (AFED). The AFED is accredited by the American College of Emergency Physicians as Level 1, which signifies the highest status and demonstrates an exemplary experience for older adults. The AFED care team recently published a study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine on the impact of a modified comprehensive geriatric assessment (mCGA) by the UCSF Nurse Practitioners. While the ED length of stay and ED revisit rate were similar between groups, the group who received the mCGA had 11.6% lower levels of inpatient admission. Read more.

EDUCATION

APP Grand Rounds

Update: there will be no Grand Rounds this month (September).

Journal Club--Save the Date October 21

Submitted by Emily Kelly, Critical Care APP

The Collaborative Critical Care APP Journal Club will occur on Tuesday, October 21, 2025

4-5pm PST. This will be held in person and by Zoom. Topic is TBD.

Location: 505 Parnassus Ave, room M919. Or zoom in meeting ID 968 5223 1069

Password: 634634 For more information contact Emily.kelly3@ucsf.edu.

All are welcome to attend.

BRIDGE: A Shared Medical Appointment Program

Submitted by Lisa Catalli, Hepatology APP

Learn about the pilot study results of the UCSF APP-led BRIDGE group telehealth program at the upcoming 2025 Clinical Inquiry Conference, "Empowered Nurses, Engaged Communities, Enhanced Care" on September 25th, 2025, virtual podium session 9:45 am.

Behavioral Resources and Intervention through Digital Group Education (BRIDGE) is a group psychoeducational program implemented in 2020 in the UCSF Hepatology clinic as a series of six group telehealth medical visits. Group psychoeducation is a therapeutic intervention that involves educating individuals about how health behaviors are linked to mental, emotional and physical health. BRIDGE’s mission is to efficiently communicate health-related information, provide health promotion resources, and through peer engagement foster proactive health-related behavior. The aim of our ongoing BRIDGE study is to empower patients in self-management through building knowledge and self-efficacy.

OtoUpdate 2025 Coming to San Francisco

The UCSF Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery will host an in-person conference in San Francisco on September 18-20, 2025. There is a special APP breakout session on September 19. Attend this conference to hear expert UCSF and national guest faculty with the latest updates in otolaryngology clinical practice. Topics in facial plastic surgery, rhinology and sinus surgery, laryngology, pediatric otolaryngology, health economics, general otolaryngology and much more. For more information.

APP Town Hall

Topic: DNP and Teaching/Precepting, APP week, Discharge Follow up

Two Presenters: Ivette Becerra-Ortiz and Aurora Snyder

Date/Time: Thursday September 17, 2025 12:10-1:00PM

Zoom information meeting ID 913 3559 8984 Password: 040954

To view any prior recorded Town Halls, click here.

Pediatric Grand Rounds (West Bay)

Full schedule and archive videos and Zoom link.

Email Marcella.azucar@ucsf.edu for more information

No Grand Rounds July, August, September, October

Pediatric Grand Rounds (East Bay)

Every Tuesday 8-9AM

For Zoom login information, contact: Cristina Fernandez crfernandez@ucsf.edu, 510-428-3885 ext 4343. Full schedule and archived videos (Password: CHRCO).

Tuesday, September 9, 2025 TODAY

“Sleep Challenges in Neurodivergent Children" Presented by Terry Katz, PhD Senior Instructor, Pediatrics-Developmental University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

"GI Problems in Autism: Clinical Implication & Harnessing the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis to Develop Novel Therapies""

Presented by Kara Margolis, MD Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics NYU Grossman School of Medicine (this Presentation will not be recorded)

2025 UCSF Clinical Inquiry Conference

Registration for the 2025 Clinical Inquiry Conference is now open. Day 1 will be virtually hosted on Thursday, September 25 from 830-1pm. Day 2 will be in person at UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center on Friday September 26, from 8am-5pm. 11 contact hours available. Learn more about the 75+ poster presentations, workshops, panel discussion at tinyurl.com/UCSFCIC25.UCSF employee discount pricing is $75 (Sept 25) and $150 (Sept 26).

STANDARDS & COMPLIANCE

Are You Wondering How Many wRVU are Earned With Each Visit Type?

Click here to view a chart of how many wRVU are associated with each visit type.

Are You Wondering What Has Changed In APeX Recently?

I npatient Provider APeX Updates September 2025

To obtain an eConsult, use the standard order. "inpatient eConsult order" will be retired on September 9, 2025.

Unsigned, inpatient notes will only be retained 60 days after discharge.
Meds to beds Ordering updates. Open on weekends and Pages can now be sent 9-5pm daily.

Ambulatory APeX Updates September 2025

Anticoagulation Referral Changes
Patients can now upload Advance Care Planning documents via MyChart

Patient Access APeX Updates September 2025

There will be 3 categories for appointment cancellation reasons (Clinician, operations, patient)

Renew your DEA

Reminder: UCSF employees are exempt from paying the $888 DEA registration fee for new or renewal applications. Instructions are found here. Also, learn about the one-time DEA education requirement (effective in 2023) to complete 8 hours of continuing education on the topics of treatment and medication management of patients with opioid and other substance use disorders.

UCSF HEALTH

We're Celebrating APP Week September 22-26

APP week for the following UC Medical Centers, including UCSF, will be September 22-26, 2025. There will be daily talks at 12 noon moderated by each UC. Each talk will have an APP panelists from each campus. Be on the lookout for emails and calendar invites that contain more details.

Monday September 22: UCLA- Innovations in Women's Health Pediatrics

Tuesday September 23: UCSF- Off the Beaten Path

Wednesday September 24: UCSD- Expedited Care Clinics

Thursday September 25: UCD- Interventional Radiology Best Practices

Friday September 26: UCI-Integrating Technology Into Practice

We honor the contributions of PAs, CRNAs, CNM, NPs as providers who are certified and licensed to assess, diagnose, treat, manage illness, prescribe medications, perform clinical procedures, and conduct clinical research in management of the whole individual. Read more about National APP week.

Please share in the viewing of the UCSF Exceptional APP Awards winners video. More information with link forthcoming.

UCSF School of Nursing Seeking Site Liaisons

Submitted by Annette Carley, Associate Director DNP program and APP board member

UCSF School of Nursing (SON) DNP program has a three-year BSN-DNP pathway that leads to the DNP as an academic degree as well as licensure/certification eligibility as an APRN. This year there are 57 learners who are about to start their DNP Scholarly Project work, as part of two-learner teams and we need your help.

The make-up of the teams is 2 faculty members, two learners and 1-2 Site Liaisons. The Site Liaison is a key partner for the scholarly project team, who will help us align the projects with UCSF organizational priorities. We want the site liaison role to be the driver of the project idea, and we estimate this ongoing work to be about 3-5 hours/month. Learners will have 5-6 quarters to complete this evidence-based quality improvement (EBQI) work, and they are just starting preparatory EBQI coursework now.

We are hoping to generate many of these project teams at UCSF Health. This is an opportunity for you as a Site Liaison to fulfill expected hours related to prior voluntary faculty appointments or activities recognized with NP3 promotion or reappointment applications. We are planning to open teams in September 2025. Contact Annette.carley@ucsf.edu with any questions. Complete this intake form and you will be contacted.

Abridge will be available for Ambulatory Providers and Existing Ambience Users

Your feedback shaped our shared vision to offer AI scribe to everyone who wants to use the technology, and add new functionality such as pre-charting, pended orders, and easier recording.

In last September UCSF Health will be moving forward with Abridge--a nationally leading solution and an Epic co-development partner ensuring workflows are integrated into APEX. Abridge will be available to new ambulatory providers, including in the UCSF Health Network, and existing Ambience users. This gives existing users time to make the switch before Ambience is decommissioned at the end of October. Click here to learn more about the AI scribe program. Email aiscribes@ucsf.edu with your feedback and questions.

23 APP Job Openings (September)

Full list of job openings as of September 2025

Justice, Equity and Inclusion

How You Can Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Submitted by Rubi Alva de Hickson, Chair APP Advisory Board, Critical Care APP

Make a meaningful impact on our profession by helping educate patients on the correct professional titles in both English and Spanish. Your voice matters. By promoting accurate titles, we help elevate and honor our roles within the healthcare system and the communities we serve.

Nurse Practitioner - Enfermera (o) Practicante Avanzada (o)

CRNA - Enfermera (o) Anestesista Certificada (o)

CNM - Enfermera (o) Partera Certificada (o)

PA - Asociada (o) Medica (o)

UCSF Health Equity and Anti-Racism Research Symposium (HEAR)

Wednesday October 8, 2025 8am-3pm. The annual HEAR Symposium showcases research and action to advance health equity. The goal of the symposium is to build community among researchers across disciplines and across units, schools, and campus sites and the wider Bay Area. Learn more.

QUALITY & SAFETY

Relationship Centered Communication Training

Complimentary Training for all new ambulatory and inpatient APPs

(within 2 years of hire). Upcoming dates Monday September 22, 2025, Monday October 29, 2025, Tuesday October 28 and Friday October 31, 2025. Learn more.

Press Ganey Comments about NPs, PA, CRNAs, Midwives

PREPARE Bayfront: Prepare NP was very personable and made the prepare process enjoyable

Anal Neoplasia Center: Vasean Patel, NP is always compassionate, genuine, a very clear communicator, discuss the care plan with me and answers any questions I may have. I feel very fortunate to be able to receive his care.

Urology Bayfront: NP Katrina [Morishita] was excellent. I was nervous and her calm, kind, professional demeanor immediately made the appointment a success. She was so thorough in her explanations and kindly listened to all my many details.

Women's Health Primary Care: Sara Almasian, NP is the best provider because she takes good care [of] her patients. With her help, i [am no longer thinking of suicide].

Look up your own patient experience comments on this dashboard

WELLNESS

Miles for Migraine San Francisco

Submitted by Annika Ehrlich, Lead Ambulatory Neurology

The annual Miles for Migraine San Francisco event will take place in Golden Gate Park on Saturday October 25, 2025. This walk/5K race started b a patient advocate here in San Francisco is in its 17th year. Funds raised help benefit migraine research and training at the UCSF Headache Center. Register with this link (or donate towards our efforts), and please make sure to select "UCSF Headache Center" to be the beneficiary of your fundraising.

UCSF Mentorship Program is Kicking off in October 2025

Submitted by Jacquie Gould, Chair, Wellness Committee

Lets promote the advancement of APPs, professional growth and develop community. If you are seeking to be a mentor or mentee, complete the QR code survey and let us know where you want the Thursday October 23, 2025 4-6pm kickoff event to take place--Mission Bay or Parnassus. Please submit by October 1, 2025. Read more.

Pursuing NPIII Promotion in the Near Future?

The members of the NPIII Clinical Ladder committee are offering mentorship to NPIIs who are thinking about pursuing NPIII. They will provide tips for your application and guidance about the NPIII process. Click here for more information and video link for recorded info session.

Campus Life Services Offers Many Discounts

August 29-September 21 UCSF exclusive invite to shop

Columbia Sportwear Company Employee Store. Click here for pass and bring up 4 guests (must be logged into MyAccess).

Giants Access Pass is a program that provides employee with tickets to most Monday through Friday Giants games at Oracle Park. Click here. Shopping Discounts: click here

Activities, Sports , Event Ticket Discounts: click here

Free Tickets to Cobb's Comedy Club and The Punch Line

Click here to see the September dates and shows titles for free comedy tickets for Cobb's Comedy Club and The Punch Line SF

REMINDERS

Sunset District to Stonestown Galleria--Survey

Would you be interested in a shuttle route in and round the Sunset District?. Click here for the survey. Read more about transportation news. Find all the Park and Ride locatio ns that work for you. A tip from the Commute Concierge Team: The Mission Bay TMA shuttle’s Transbay/Caltrain route is an alternative to the Lilac Shuttle. For those commuting to Parnassus Heights, the MUNI’s N-Judah is the quickest route.