Disclaimer: this is a short and sweet explanation of a nursing assessment of an unconscious neuro patient. References are included at the end with supplemental information. Always refer to your hospital’s policies and procedures to guide your practice. This post contains affiliate links. A neuro assessment is a critical skill for any nurse (not just neuro […]
critical care
Nursing Considerations for 3 Neuro ICU Meds
This is some quick info on a few very common meds you run into in the neuro intensive care unit. However, please always follow your hospital’s policies and procedures. This is for informational purposes only and focuses on nursing considerations.. not going in depth on the drug. Nursing Considerations for 4 Neuro ICU Meds Propofol […]
Perfecting Your Craft – Week 2, ICU Time Management Tips
Craft beer this week: Coffee is for Closers, an iced coffee stout by Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, NC. The ICU is dynamic and things change constantly and quickly. Patient conditions and staffing change significantly in an instant. No two shifts will be the same. However, it is important to know what your routine would be […]
How to Manage Your Time in Critical Care for Nurses: Part II
This post contains affiliate links One of the most important things to master in critical care is prioritization.. what do you do first? It’s kind of like prioritization on the floor, except the stakes are higher. Instead of doctors rounding, patients being hypertensive, patients in pain, families wanting you to discharge them 10 minutes ago, […]
How to Manage Your Time in Critical Care For Nurses: Part I
I’ve worked on both the floor and intensive care. In both units time management is absolutely essential. However, time management on the floor is very different from time management in critical care. I’m going to go through some tips to help you appropriately managing your time in a critical care setting. I know it […]
Nursing Drip Basics
I’m going to do a few posts on various drips that are geared towards newer nurses. Here are my 11 points of enlightenment when working with drips! 1. When you get an order to start a drip, that becomes your priority. Yes, I know Mr. Roberson in bed 28 really wants his suppository but he will have […]
The Death of a Heart
I recently saw this video on YouTube and thought it was necessary to share. Nurslings, new grads, nurses new to telemetry.. check out this 1 minute video of a cardiac arrest:
How to Survive in the ICU
This guest blog post comes from Natalie Bridges, RN. She’s a critical care nurse who jumped into ICU nursing straight out of school. Below is her guest post about ICU survival for newbies. After my first shift in the Intensive Care Unit, I thought to myself, “maybe this was a mistake.” Not knowing any […]