Patient Pathways for Med-Surg Nurses – Trauma Patients

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Who You’ll Hear

Kati Kleber, MSN RN– Nurse educator, former cardiac med-surg/stepdown and neurocritical care nurse, author, and speaker.

Hannah Schlake, BSN RN CMSRN – ICU nurse in Surgical ICU, preceptor and a charge nurse.

What You’ll Learn

• Surgical floor description
• Sample report
• Managing pain meds for patients with profound injuries 
• Collaborating with physical therapy
• Reenforcing the doctor’s plan of care

Patient Pathways – Trauma Patient Show Notes

More About Hannah

She graduated from nursing school in 2018 and is currently an ICU nurse at a Magnet-designated, level-one trauma center in Chicago, IL. She works in a Surgical ICU that sees a wide variety of surgical patients including those from vascular, thoracic, transplant, plastics, and trauma services. Previously, she worked for three years on a surgical floor where she served as a preceptor and a charge nurse. Hannah is passionate about helping other nurses develop confidence and positive self-talk, keen critical thinking skills, and a sustainable work-life balance.

Sample Trauma Patient Report Highlights

• ORIF -Open Reduction Internal Fixation Surgery
• PRBC – packed red blood cell
• Packed red blood cells are typically given in situations where the patient has either lost a large amount of blood or has anemia that is causing notable symptoms.
• External Fixators
  • Most common on lower extremities
  • Metal fixator on the outside
  • Pin Care
• Downgraded
• PCA (patient-controlled analgesia)
• Bilateral edema
  • Venous duplex
  • Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• TLSO Brace – Thoracic Lumbar Sacral Orthosis

After Report Priorities

• Managing pain meds for patients with profound injuries
  • Wean off PCA and onto oral meds 
• Collaborate with PT
• Reenforcing the doctor’s plan with the patient

More Resources for Med Surg Nurses

• Mission Accomplished
• Patient Pathways for Med Surg Nurses – OMFS
• Patient Pathways for Med Surg Nurses – Whipple Patient
• Discharge Planning Tips For New Med Surg Nurses

Are you a new Med-Surg nurse?

Med-Surg Mindset from FreshRN is the ultimate resource for nurses new to this complex and dynamic acute care nursing specialty. Whether you are fresh out of nursing school or an experienced nurse starting out in med-surg for the first time, the learning curve is steep. With input from three experienced bedside nurses, this comprehensive course is all you need to learn all of the unspoken and must-know information to become a safe, confident, and successful medical-surgical nurse.

Start Lesson #1