Allergy Assessment for Nurses: True Allergy vs Sensitivity, IgE Testing, and Safer Care

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. 🔗 Resources & Links: Connect with Dr. Sophia Thomas on LinkedIn and X Join the FreshRN email list for free resources & updates: Nurse leaders: Looking for a comprehensive residency program for your new grads? Check out: 🎧 Follow &

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Allergy Assessment for Nurses: True Allergy vs Sensitivity, IgE Testing, and Safer Care is an episode from FreshRN by Kati Kleber, MSN RN.

This episode is 34:34 long.

This episode was published on Dec 4, 2025.

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