For many years, epinephrine has been used as treatment for cardiac arrest, but a new study - PARAMEDIC2 - released by the New England Journal of Medicine, challenges that notion.  Nyssa and Lisa discuss the protocols, findings, ethics, and implications of this study, in an effort to introduce nurses to the idea that some big changes in ACLS may be just around the corner.

To Epi or Not to Epi?

Conversations about the tips, tricks, trends, and taboos of emergency nursing. A peek behind the hospital curtain at issues and ideas that seldom get discussed.

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Nyssa and Lisa talk to Up My Nursing Game's host Annie Fulton as part of a special National Nurse's Week Podcrawl - a veritable cornucopia of all things shock related, shared across seven top medical podcasts!  Learn about hypovolemic shock, how your Kool-Aid recipe applies to understanding the qualities of the fluid in your patient's vasculature, what to look out for as warning signs of a dangerous loss of volume, and how to adjust your practice to keep your patients alive.

Hypovolemic Shock

In this episode, we reveal the three (plus bonus) critical phrases that can make all the difference in patient care.  Lisa and Nyssa break down the significance of these ominous declarations, and discuss the swift decisive actions that ER nurses must take when confronted with these signals.

Decoding Urgency

Sometimes, the most complicated problems can be solved with the simplest solutions.  Nyssa and Lisa discuss “the checklist” - an elegant tool which revolutionized safety protocols in the field of aviation, and how they can - and should - be used in emergency medicine to increase favorable outcomes in patient care.

Checklists!

Coin-shaped button batteries are used in many common household items; they are often and easily picked up by toddlers and plopped directly into their mouths., where their alkaline properties can lead to fatal consequences.  Nyssa and Lisa talk to pediatric flight nurse LaKeisha Neely about how to recognize the symptoms of button battery ingestion, and how to treat those patients before damage is done to their bodies.

Button Batteries: Shiny Disks of Danger

RSI is a common high stakes procedure done in emergent airways in the ER, but imagine how your patients must feel if they regain awareness during paralysis. One patient said “it was the worst pain he’d ever had and it was unbearable.” How can your ER team avoid unwittingly contributing to this pain? Nyssa and Lisa examine a study that reveals the prevalence of awareness with paralysis in the ER and discuss how to keep it from happening to your patient.

To Epi or Not to Epi?

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