Valuable clinical resources

[DNP Inc.]

The following was published by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and was shared by Grif Alspach, the Consulting Editor for AACN in Annapolis, MD.:

Pulmonary Management Pocket Reference Card
Quick and convenient resource for pulmonary management information, including: pulmonary assessment, blood gas analysis, ventilator settings and spontaneous breathing trail.
Commonly Used IV Cardiac Medications for Adults Pocket Reference Card
Quick and convenient resource for vasoactive intravenous medications.
Cardiovascular Assessment Pocket Reference Card
Quick and convenient resource for cardiovascular information, including: assessments, distinguishing between types of chest pain, evaluating for signs and symptoms of cardiovascular compromise, and more.
Dysrhythmia Recognition Pocket Reference Card
Quick and convenient resource for dysrhythmia recognition information, including: steps for ECG rhythm analysis, risk factors for common dysrhythmias, waveform characteristics of common dysrhythmias and images of various dysrhythmias.
Hemodynamic Management Pocket Reference Card
Quick and convenient resource for hemodynamic information, including: hemodynamic response, oxygenation, hemodynamic alterations in shock, and factors affecting heart rate, preload, afterload, and contractility.
Pulmonary

Evidence-Based Early Recognition and Management of ARDS Drives Outcomes: The Why and How
Standard vs. Alternative Vent Modes: What’s the Difference?
Why Prone? Why Now? Improving Outcomes for ARDS Patients
Extracorporeal Life Support: RN Management of ECMO Patients
Cardiovascular

Keeping COVID-19 Acute Cardiovascular Effects Top of Mind
Infection Prevention

Infection Prevention and Control: Critical Role of the Bedside Nurse
Education

Professional Development Nurses Respond to the COVID-19 Crisis

[Xochitl Torres]

Greetings,
Thank you for sharing resources about the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. I read the one on Professional Development Nurses Respond to The COVID-29 Crisis. As the article described, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged nurses and health care professionals at large in very new and unexpected ways. Probably, one of the hardest hit challenges has been staffing. On the one hand, nursing shortage was a phenomenon already present due to routine high levels of physical and emotional stress. With the pandemic the need for nursing personnel increased significantly. The health care system had to adapt, and hospitals started proving training non critical care nurses such as ER nurses, etc. to be able to meet the demand for nursing staff specialized in critical care. The pandemic created modalities of work that were not as common. As the article mentioned hospitals started to hold live orientations and classes to train nursing personnel. They started to provide teleconferencing and self-study skills labs. We are two years into the pandemic and staffing is a continuous issue. My hope is that innovative strategies are created to alleviate burden of care in nurses.It was good to learn through your post about the different trainings and resources nurses and nursing managers can access through the American Association of Critical Care Nurses website.

[Alma Rodriguez]

Good day,
I found the Keeping COVID-19 Acute Cardiovascular Effects Top of Mind very insightful. Working in a cardiac ICU I found it very interesting to read how COVID has not only affected the respiratory system but has had an impact on the cardiac as well. At the beginning of COVID I remember encountering multiple patients that had critical cardiac symptoms, surgeries and poor prognosis. This doesn’t seem abnormal for a cardiac unit, however, at some point it felt that there was a wave of heart attacks, new onset heart problems, and now as we learn more about COVID, I realize that it wasn’t only because patients were delaying their trips to the hospital in fear of catching COVID, but because of COVID itself causing cardiovascular issues as well. ECMO appears to be successful in certain COVID patients, in some cases i have seen these patients get transfer while on ECMO to receive a lung transplant. As COVID becomes something we are still encountering, it is crucial that we continue to learn more about the different effects this virus has on the body, especially on our cardiovascular system. Thank you for sharing this information from the AACCN.

[Rafael Cruzado]

Hello!
Thank you for the great amount of information on the covid crisis. Your topic was introduced at the very beginning of the pandemic. A lot of water under the bridge! It has been almost two years since the pandemic started, and all these articles and resources are still current and extremely helpful. I remember when all this nightmare started, we nurses were in fear and clueless about what we were dealing with. I remember almost all covid ICU patients with respiratory difficulty were intubated as a first-hand intervention. It soon changed to delay intubation as much as the patient could take it given the bad outcomes obtained from immediate intubation as a first-hand intervention. Then proning the patients was introduced with its challenges on putting a team together composed of doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and CNAs in super cluttered rooms. This pandemic unveiled our healthcare systems deficiencies such as nursing short staffing and lack of appropriate amounts of personal protective equipment. I hope this brings awareness in our medical institutions and ruling bodies of being prepared for future similar events in the world since globalization only makes us more exposed to crises like the covid one. Thank you for sharing.

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