May 18, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals
An advance directive is a general term used to describe documents that give instructions about future medical care and treatments and who should make them in the event the person is unable to communicate.

May 17, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Secondary injuries occur after the initial impact and may be more difficult to control. These injuries include hypoxemia, ischemia, hyperemia, cerebral edema and hemorrhages leading to increased ICP, seizures and metabolic abnormalities.

May 16, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Primary injuries of the brain result from the forces imparted at the time of the accident. These forces includes disruption of scalp (lacerations), bone (cranial vault or skull base), vasculature (SDH/EDH/IPH/IVH) or brain parenchyma (DAH).

May 15, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
The two errors of triage include undertriage, or the inappropriate assignment of critically injured casualties to a delayed, nonurgent category and overtriage, or the assignment of noncritical casualties to immediate, urgent care.

May 14, 2013

YouTube Vlog | How To Reduce Nursing Burn Out

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Tension pneumothorax should be suspected whenever the following three criteria are identifed: respiratory distress or difficulty ventilating with a bag valve mask (BVM) device, decreased or absent breath sounds and hemodynamic compromise.

May 13, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
An open pneumothorax (when air moves between atmosphere and pleural space) should be sealed with an occlusive dressing. One of the four sides of the dressing may be left untaped so that air can decompress from the pleural space as needed.

May 12, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Intracranial hypertension may cause cerebral herniation and brain death. Signs of possible intracranial hypertension include the following: sluggish or nonreactive pupil, development of hemiplegia/hemiparesis or Cushing's phenomena.

May 11, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Transport time is the length of time requires to transport the patient from the scene to an appropriate facility. The factors that affect this time are distance from the facility, weather, transport modality (air vs. ground) and traffic conditions.

May 10, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
On-scene time (scene time) is the interval from the arrival of EMS at the scene until their departure en route to the receiving facility. This time will vary according to geography, accessibility, injuries present and requirements for transport.

May 9, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Response time is defined as the period that starts when an emergency call is received by the EMS dispatch center and ends with the arrival of the ambulance at the scene. The response time depends on the number of ambulances needed.

May 8, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals
Notification time represents the time interval between the injury and notification of the EMS dispatch center. In the United States, most requests for EMS arrive via the 911 phone system or Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).

May 7, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
BiPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure) consists of inspiratory positive airway pressure (IPAP) and expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP). IPAP is similar to positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on mechanical ventilation.

May 6, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
A spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) is a test to see if and how a patient will breathe on his or her own. Artificial ventilatory support (but not the ETT) is removed and the pattern of the patient's ventilation is observed.

May 5, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Clenched fist or "fight bite" injuries occur when the patient strikes the mouth of another person. This most commonly involves the metacarpal head of the long finger because of its prominence in the clenched position.

May 4, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
High voltage electrical injuries cause a conversion of electrical energy into heat which causes coagulation necrosis of tissue and also causes thrombosis of blood vessels, which occlude major blood vessels.

May 3, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Maternal Neonatal Nursing

Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
Chorioamnionitis, a bacterial infection of the amniotic fluid, is a major cause of complications for mothers and newborns. Chorioamnionitis is usually caused when organisms that are part of the normal vaginal flora ascend into the amniotic cavity.

May 2, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Maternal Neonatal Nursing

Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
Mastitis, an inflammation in the breast, can affect women soon after childbirth, most of whom are first-time mothers who are breastfeeding. Mastitis is almost always unilateral and develops well after the flow of milk has been established.

May 1, 2013

Nurse Meets Newborn | CRM & New Game Plan

Today, I had to pleasure of visiting The Center For Reproductive Medicine. My physician, Dr. Randall A. Loy was amazing and took the time to explain what was going on in my body and the individualized plan of care based on my medical results. He introduced himself and went over my chart thoroughly, considering I had two previous fertility specialists. We went over my medical history and what could be the possible culprits regarding my infertility. He was patient, allowed me to speak my mind and educated me on how my body was working against me. As a nurse, I love medicine and what it can accomplish. My other previous fertility physicians recommend uterine drilling or IVF as my only available options, I went to this facility for a second opinion. I felt that these options were premature, invasive and there had to be other options out there. I care for patients who receive entire livers (nearly 2 kilograms) and survive, medicine is amazing. There had to be other options out there and Dr. Loy provided additional routes for conception. I love this office, I plan on sticking with this facility until I conceive and thereafter. The staff was professional, warm and welcoming. I can't wait to start this new journey and see the outcomes of this new game plan. I'm glad I went with my gut and sought a second option before settling on a procedure I wasn't comfortable with. Having PCOS is a battle but after the conversation with Dr. Loy, I know I have his full attention and medical expertise to get me to my goal in a safety manner.

Game Plan
1. DHEAS Level
2. Cycstic Fibrosis & SMA Screening
3. High Protein | Low Carbohydrate Diet
4. Daily Aerobic Exercise

Medication # 1: Prenatal Vitamins, PO, 1 TAB, QDAY
Medication # 2: Vitamin D3, PO, 50,000 IU, 1 TAB, QWEEK
Medication # 3: Metformin, PO, 1-4 TABS, 500-2,000 MG, QDAY
NOTE | Metformin: Weekly increases per protocol & instructions

YouTube Vlog | Giving Detailed End of Shift Report

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Maternal Neonatal Nursing

Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
Endometritis is the most common type of postpartum infection. It usually begins as a localized infection at the placental site but can spread to involve the entire endometrium. Incidence is higher after cesarean birth.

April 30, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Maternal Neonatal Nursing

Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
HELLP syndrome is a laboratory diagnosis for a variant of severe preeclampsia that involves hepatic dysfunction and often injury, characterized by hemolysis (H), elevated liver enzymes (EL) and low platelets (LP).

April 29, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Maternal Neonatal Nursing

Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
The amniotic fluid index (AFI) evaluates the quantity of amniotic fluid to determine adequate uteroplacental function. Decreased (oligohydramnios) or increased (polyhydramnios) amniotic fluid volume is frequently associated with fetal disorders.

April 28, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Maternal Neonatal Nursing

Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
Amniocentesis is performed to obtain amniotic fluid, which contain fetal cells. Indications include prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders or congenital anomaly, assessment of pulmonary maturity and diagnosis of fetal hemolytic disease.

April 27, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
External chest compressions provide approximately 20-25% of baseline cardiac output, with 10-20% of normal cerebral perfusion. This degree of vital organ perfusion can provide reasonable salvage for 15 minutes.

April 26, 2013

Nursing Student | 5 A's of Alzheimer Diagnosis

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Patients with corneal abrasions present with intense pain and photophobia. Trauma to the cornea from a fingernail, paper cut, thrown objects and contusive injury can result in the superficial corneal epithelium being stripped away.

April 25, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
"Ping-pong" fractures are greenstick-type fractures usually seen in newborns due to the plasticity of the skull. They show a local concavity of the skull, without sharp edges and usually do not require intervention as the skull remodels during growth.

April 24, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Septic shock, also known as vasodilatory shock, is a clinical syndrome that occurs as part of the body's immune and inflammatory response to invasive or severe localized infection, typically from bacterial or fungal pathogens. 

April 23, 2013

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Succinylcholine acts at the acetylcholine receptor in a biphasic manner to produce muscular paralysis at the motor end plate. Due to rapid onset of action and short half-life, succinylcholine remains the gold standard for emergency intubations.