Mental Health Assessment Mental health assessment is a critical component in the neurologic assessment and changes may have pathologic or pharmacologic causes. While the sequence of certain parts of this assessment is important, we must also be flexible in structuring...

Myocardial Infarction Myocardial infarction (MI) is defined as a clinical (or pathologic) event in the setting of myocardial ischemia in which there is evidence of myocardial injury (Anderson, Morrow, 2017; Thygesen, Alpert & Jaffe, 2018). The diagnosis is made...

Neurologic Assessment The neurologic assessment can help to localize neurologic diseases and differentiate between urgent and chronic conditions. It can be challenging to perform a comprehensive neurologic exam especially in infants/young children and in patients with...

Neurovascular Assessment Neurovascular assessment is performed when there is a suspicion of compromised blood flow or nerve damage, to detect early signs and symptoms of acute ischemia or compartment syndrome. Examples of injuries or procedures that place patients at risk...

Pain Assessment All nurses have the ethical responsibility to assess and relieve pain utilizing individualized interventions and plan of care, free of personal biases (ANA, 2018). To assess pain adequately and accurately, a multidisciplinary, measurement-based...

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) The American Psychiatric Association (2022) describes posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a “psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, series of events or set of circumstances. An...

Pulmonary Assessment Focused pulmonary assessment begins with a thorough health history. While doing so, carefully observe for conversational dyspnea and other symptoms. Order of examination is performed as inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation.Optimal...

Recognizing and Managing Adult Viral Respiratory Infections Adult viral illnesses are a common cause of respiratory tract disease, with severity ranging from a mild cold to life-threatening influenza. The mechanisms by which respiratory viruses spread from person to person are variable and include...

Recognizing and Managing Anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening systemic allergic reaction, typically rapid in onset with airway, breathing, or circulatory problems, and often associated with skin and mucosal changes (Cardona et al., 2020).  Anaphylaxis is usually...

Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) for Acute Ischemic Events Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is approved by the U.S. FDA to treat acute ischemic stroke (AIS), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) to reduce mortality and incidence of heart failure, and acute massive pulmonary embolism (PE). Use the following...

Transporting Critically Ill Patients Critically ill patients are transported within an institution or to other hospitals to obtain additional care that is not available at the current location, such as diagnostic studies, specialized care units, or clinical expertise. Transporting...

Understanding Different Types of Pain Pain is an uncomfortable signal that something hurts. Pain intensity may vary between mild to unbearable and can significantly impact an individual’s psychosocial, emotional, and physical functioning (National Institute of Health, 2023...