CVME Insider: Nursing Knowledge That Matters

Is it truly the 3rd leading cause of death in America? According to the CDC , in 2015,  633,842  people died of heart disease,  595,930  died of cancer, and  155,041  died of chronic respiratory disease—the top three causes of death in the U.S.  However, according to Dr. Martin Makary, MD, M.P.H a professor at John Hopkins and a recent study he conducted may prove the CDC wrong putting medical errors as the cause of death behind cancer but ahead of respiratory disease. Dr. Martin goes on to state that;    “Incidence rates for deaths directly attributable to medical care gone awry haven’t been recognized in any standardized method for collecting national statistics,” says  Martin Makary, M.D., M.P.H. , professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an authority on health reform. “The medical coding system was designed to maximize billing for physician services, not to collect national health statistics...

Well it is safe to say that society and nurses have come along way since the 1800's where smoke signals were a form of communication.   Then in 1844 the telegram was invented; and soon after came the telephone in 1876. In 1978 the first email spam was sent to 393 users by Gary Thuerk. However, with the launch of Facebook in 2004 not to mention Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc, etc.  Nurses and other healthcare professionals have been in trouble for social media use at work and away from work. The Risk According to the Nurses Service Organization (NSO); social media is a "Real Risk" for nurses and healthcare professionals.  NSO presents real stories in which healthcare professionals are getting fired, or worse losing their licenses to work due to social media use/abuse.   One story they present is about a physical therapy (PT) licensing board receiving complaints about a PT using his/her cell phone to send emails, text...

Did You Document? This is one of the biggest issues we face in nursing.  I truly feel nurses are awesome at what we do when it comes to actual hands-on.  However, when it comes to documentation; We Suck !   Every nurse I know and have worked with; I would say that less than half; has ever wondered about the legal ramifications of an in-hospital cardiac arrest (code blue). Code blue events happen fast, and documenting the entire event correctly may be a difficult and daunting task. Unfortunately,  in today's nursing environment; especially with the arrival of the EHR(electronic health record) nurses are becoming more vulnerable to legal actions. If you don't document it wasn't done.    Yeah Yeah!!  I know you have heard that a million times; but do you really listen? N urses are being named defendants in malpractice lawsuits, according to the Nurses Service Organization (NSO).  " Of the 549 nurse...

IT's COMING!! January 2018 The AHA's eCards will be mandatory starting January 2018. If you are not ready; then get ready.   Visit http://heart.org/cpr/mycards -- Electronic course completion cards Beginning January 1, 2018, all US-based AHA Training Centers will be required to use AHA's ecards for the issuance of course completion cards to providers and students who successfully complete the requirements of AHA courses. eCards reduce the risk of counterfeits, improve the efficiency of card management, ensure the identity of the issuing TC and Instructor, and allow students to store proof of their course completion electronically. This will be a significant change for students & providers The American Heart Association eCards offer a simple, secure, and efficient way to provide students with their credentials after they complete a course. eCard features and benefits : Electronic course completion cards are viewable online, and offer a...

Is a Respiratory Therapist (RT) more than just a breathing treatment provider? So I have had experience in nursing for over 20 years and have specialized in Infusion Therapy for over 6 years.  Recently, I was teaching an IV class in which the facility was using a Respiratory Therapist to insert and maintain their PICC's.  I was a little taken aback by this discovery as I have never heard of such a thing. Well I contacted the California Board for Respiratory Therapist and they responded back fairly quick and the following was their response; "Good afternoon Mr. Stansbury. The Respiratory Care Board of California (Board) often receives inquiries related to PICC and central line insertion.   In its responses the Board has stated that that licensed respiratory care practitioners are authorized to insert and care for PICC lines, so long as appropriate training, guidelines, and competencies are provided/documented by the licensed health care facility ...

2015 ACLS Summary of Key Issues and Major Changes Vasopressors for Resuscitation : Vasopressin 2015 ( Updated ) : Vasopressin in combination with epinephrine offers no advantage as a substitute for standard-dose epinephrine in cardiac arrest. 2010 ( Old ): One dose of vasopressin 40 units IV/ intraosseously may replace either the first or second dose of epinephrine in the treatment of cardiac arrest. Why: Both epinephrine and vasopressin administration during cardiac arrest have been shown to improve ROSC. Review of the available evidence shows that efficacy of the 2 drugs is similar and that there is no demonstrable benefit from administering both epinephrine and vasopressin as compared with epinephrine alone. In the interest of simplicity, vasopressin has been removed from the Adult Cardiac Arrest Algorithm. ETCO2 for Prediction of Failed Resuscitation 2015 ( New ): In intubated patients, failure to achieve an ETCO2 of greater than 10 mm Hg by waveform capnog...