Dec 4, 2025
New nurses are often handed a long “allergy list” and five minutes to make sense of it. In this episode, Kati Kleber talks with Sophia L. Thomas, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, former President of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and NP at DePaul Community Health Centers, about how to take a focused allergy history that actually improves patient care.
What you’ll learn:
✅ A fast framework to separate side effect vs intolerance vs sensitivity vs true allergy
✅ The exact questions to verify things like “penicillin allergy” and when to consider delabeling
✅ How and when to use allergen-specific IgE blood testing (no antihistamine washout)
✅ High-impact pitfalls: alpha-gal syndrome and heparin; birch–apple cross-reactivity
✅ Documentation that helps providers choose safer meds and diets
✅ When to loop in pharmacy/allergy, and what to tell families about prevention
This episode is great info for new grads, med-surg, ICU/ED, primary care, school nurses, and anyone updating intake workflows.
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