Basics of Heart Anatomy & EKG
EKG can be a difficult concept to understand. Many healthcare providers struggle with EKG because of the inadequate professors and/or lectures they had during their college years. In actuality, EKG is very easy. In fact, the secret to understanding EKG is to have a GREAT instructor or professor. However, to better understand EKG’s, healthcare providers must first possess a better understanding of heart anatomy and certain key terms. In all honesty, most EKG instructors expect students to already know heart anatomy and cardiac terms, and accordingly, many instructors will choose to omit these concepts. To facilitate the learning of EKG, this article will provide more insight into essential key terms…
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Nurses Eat their Young
Lateral violence is a form of nurse bullying For instance, lateral violence occurs when another nurse deliberately instills harmful behavior in the workplace to another employee. Most noteworthy, nurse to nurse bullying remains extremely common in various hospitals and healthcare facilities. Nursing remains one of greatest occupations at risk for lateral violence. As a matter of fact, roughly 44% to 85% of nurses reported being victims of bullying (Christie and Jones, 2014). Most notably, 93% of nurses reported witnessing lateral violence in the workplace. In most cases, the experienced nurse served as the perpetrator, whereas the New Grad and Student Nurse served the role of the victim (Jacobs & Kyzer,…
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How I Survived ACLS
Before I begin to describe how I survived ACLS let me remark on the impact of the initial American Heart Association ACLS class in the early 1990’s As the owner of Nurses Educational Opportunities, a recognized American Heart Association ACLS, BLS and PALS certification provider, I have come across countless of veteran nurses who remain scarred, particularly, by the first-ever Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support class (ACLS). In fact, the trauma many nurses experienced inspired a T Shirt with the statement, I survived ACLS. Aside from my own experience, I often ask nurses what is was that made ACLS so difficult. Reasons why nurses find the ACLS course difficult include: The…
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The Baby Friendly Initiative History
Congratulations Southern California Nurses, for your efforts in promoting the Baby Friendly Initiative. Hospitals and Maternal-Child Health departments have set a powerful example for women nationwide. To summarize, in 2007 only 29% of USA hospitals used breastfeeding measures. By 2013, this percentage increased to 54%. Additionally, in California, rates increased to as much as 94% for some breastfeeding and 70% for exclusive breastfeeding. Indeed, the attainment of Baby Friendly designation has proven to be a strenuous, but worthwhile journey. More than one million infants die worldwide every year because they are not breastfed exclusively for 6 months. If 90% of babies were breastfed exclusively for 6 months, 911 lives could…
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How to Develop your Critical Thinking Skills
“Inquiring minds want to know” Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do. Nurses with critical thinking skills are able to understand the logical connections between patient adversities and treatment. To illustrate, a reciprocal connection exists between a nurse and his/her patient where the nurse is the patient’s advocate and the patient relies on the nurse to be his or her advocate. Moreover, nursing is an honorable profession, and nurses are the heart and soul of the healthcare system. It is the nurse that the patient spends the most time during his or her stay in the hospital, therefore critical thinking for nurses is a…
Preparing for the Neonatal Resuscitation Program NRP Skills
Understanding how to carry out appropriate Neonatal Resuscitation is an essential skill for every single Obstetrical healthcare provider. For these reasons, many hospitals require that healthcare providers who come into contact with the mother and child dyad obtain the American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Program or NRP certification. Being entrusted by parents to provide care for their newly born baby is both a privilege and an extraordinary responsibility. Therefore, nurses, midwives, doctors, respiratory therapists and other auxiliary staff should acquire additional evidence-based education regarding current women’s, children’s and neonates health practices. To enhance the chances of an optimal outcome in case of an emergency healthcare providers must be ready…
2018 Stroke Care Guidelines
The brain is a convoluted organ with many highways and byways. It’s amazing how the brain sorts out millions of messages and allows us to communicate and move about. However, damage caused to the brain by a stroke can immensely impair a person’s ability to communicate and function effectively. For these reasons in 2017 the American Heart Association announced they were reaching beyond their boundaries of heart disease to encompass Brain Disorders, specifically that of stroke. To begin breaking down the vast and intricate details of the brain we must perceive the brain like the passengers in a flight. Are you ready! “Passengers, we are ready for take-off. Put your seats…
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Klebsiella pneumoniae and Healthcare Acquired Infections
Do you know why Healthcare Acquired Infections are on the rise? One reason is Klebsiella pneumoniae. Actually, Klebsiella pneumoniae CAN be a friendly bacterium, especially to our environment and GI tract; but nurses don’t turn your back! These little capsule wearing, sticky suckers can cause serious havoc to the fragile lungs. To put it briefly, Klebsiella pneumoniae can be an opportunistic bacterium. In fact, it can cause a dangerous form of bacterial pneumonia in children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Contact with feces allows people to serve as reservoirs and transmit the bacteria from person to person. Under those circumstances, these individuals can become severely ill or die from complications.…
