Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Suppression is the conscious denial of a disturbing situation or feeling. Example: Jessica has been studying for the state board examination for a week. She says, “I won't worry about paying my rent until after my exam tomorrow.”
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Sublimation is an unconscious process of substituting mature, constructive and socially acceptable activity for immature, destructive and unacceptable impulses. Example: A woman who is angry with her boss writes a short story.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Splitting is the inability to integrate the positive and negative qualities of oneself or others into a cohesive image. Example: A toddler views her parents as superhuman and wants to be like them.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Repression is a psychological defense against anxiety. It is the exclusion of unpleasant or unwanted experiences, emotions or ideas from conscious awareness. Example: A man forgets his wife's birthday after a marital fight.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Regression is reverting to an earlier, more primitive and childlike pattern of behavior that may or may not have been previously exhibited. Example: A 4 year old boy with a new baby brother starts sucking his thumb.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Reaction formation is when unacceptable feelings or behaviors are controlled and kept out of awareness by developing the opposite behavior or emotion. Example: A recovering alcoholic constantly preaches about the evils of drinking.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Rationalization consists of justifying illogical or unreasonable ideas, actions or feelings by developing acceptable explanations that satisfy the teller. Example: An employee says, “I didn't get the raise because the boss doesn't like me.”
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Projection refers to the unconscious rejection of emotionally unacceptable features and attributing them to other people, objects or situations. Example: A man who is unconsciously attracted to other women teases his wife about flirting.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Introjection is the process by which the outside world is incorporated or absorbed into a person's view of the self. Example: After his wife's death, a man has transient complaints of chest pains - symptoms his wife had before she died.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Intellectualization is a process in which events are analyzed based on remote, cold facts and without passion, rather than incorporating feeling and emotion. Example: A man responds to the death of his wife by focusing on financials.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Identification is attributing to oneself the characteristics of another person or group. This may be done consciously or unconsciously. Example: A young boy thinks a neighborhood pimp with money and drugs is someone to look up to.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Dissociation is a disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of the environment. It may result in a separation between feeling and thought. Example: Ignoring noise and focusing on work.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Displacement is the transference of emotions associated with a particular person, object, or situation to another nonthreatening person, object, or situation. Example: A patient criticizes a nurse after his family fails to visit.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Denial involves escaping unpleasant, anxiety-causing thoughts, feelings or needs by ignoring their existence. Example: A woman whose husband died 3 years ago still keeps his clothes and talks about him in the present tense.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Conversion is the unconscious transformation of anxiety into a physical symptom with no organic cause. Often the symptom functions to gain attention or as an excuse. Example: A man becomes blind after seeing his wife flirt with men.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Compensation is used to make up for perceived deficiencies and to cover up shortcomings related to these deficiencies to protect the conscious mind from recognizing them. Example: A short man is assertively verbal & excels at work.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
Defense mechanisms are automatic coping styles that protect people from anxiety and maintain self-image by blocking feelings, conflicts and memories. Although used, defense mechanisms are not always apparent to the individual.
Category: Psychiatric Nursing
A person with severe anxiety may focus on one particular detail or many scattered details and have difficulty noticing what is going on in the environment. Learning and problem solving are not possible at this level.
Category: Laboratory Studies
Enoxaparin (Lovenox) is the prototype low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and is obtained by enzymatically cleaving large unfractionated heparin molecules into small fragments. It is available only in injectable form.
Category: Laboratory Studies
INR (international normalized ratio) reflects doses of warfarin taken 36 to 72 hours prior to testing. Advantages of INR testing include the fact that there is more consistency among laboratories and a more consistent warfarin dosage.
Category: Laboratory Studies
When warfarin is prescribed, therapy is often initiated while the patient is still on heparin. This overlapping is done purposefully so that when the heparin is D/C, the blood levels of warfarin have been allowed to achieve therapeutic levels.
Category: Laboratory Studies
Target levels of INR (international normalized ratio) range from 2 to 3. For individuals taking warfarin for treatment of recurring systemic clots, emboli or having mechanical heart valves - the goal of INR may be 2.5 to 3.5.
Category: Laboratory Studies
Therapeutic levels of aPTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) indicate decreased levels of clotting factors and subsequent clotting activity. aPTT is a more sensitive part of PTT and often replaces it.
Category: Laboratory Studies
Partial thromboplastin time (PTT) is a blood test that detects the intrinsic thromboplastin system and is used to monitor anticoagulant/heparin therapy. Normal control values are between 21-35 seconds.
Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
Preterm infants need special formulas or fortified breast milk. These formulas are easily digested and contain concentrated nutrients in smaller volumes of fluid. Preterm infants need 24 kcal/oz, unlike 20 kcal/oz for the full-term infants.
Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
Preterm infants often are fed parenterally or by gavage (feeding tube) initially to conserve energy for growth and basic functioning. The ability to feed orally and the ability to gain weight are important milestones and often criteria for discharge.
Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
Complications from heat loss, such as hypoglycemia and respiratory problems, are more likely to develop in preterm infants. This limits the glucose and oxygen available to increase metabolism as a method of heat production.
Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
Adequate hydration is essential to keep secretions thin so they can be removed by drainage or suction. If infants become dehydrated, secretions will become thick and viscous and could obstruct tiny air passages.
Category: Maternal Neonatal Nursing
The weak or absent cough reflex and very small air passages make the preterm infant's airways susceptible to obstruction by mucus. The nurse checks suction equipment at the start of each shift to ensure it is available and functioning.
