Up My Nursing Game!

#35 Marijuana

Healthcare has a complex and convoluted relationship with marijuana. Marijuana is a “schedule 1” substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use, yet a synthetic version of it is FDA approved as an appetite stimulant. Dr. Thomas, hospitalist, discusses the relevant historical and political context of the drug, as well as its pharmacology, cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, and some communication techniques for discussing drug use with patients.

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#34 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has a stubbornly high mortality rate with current estimates at about 40%. Critical care veteran Kathleen Vollman, MSN, RN, CCNS lays the foundation of ARDS starting with pathophysiology followed by the “8 Ps” of evidence-based supportive care and summary of long-term prognosis.

#33 Seizures

Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurologic emergency much like an MI is a cardiac emergency and should be treated as such.⁠ From EEGs to medications, Mary Kay Bader, RN CCNS, talks us through both convulsive and non-convulsive SE.⁠

#32 Early Detection of Clinical Deterioration

Signs of clinical deterioration often start appearing hours before an adverse event or arrest. As nurses, we are in the unique position to be able to identify and act on early warning signs. Nurse Alice, from the Ask Nurse Alice podcast, talks about early signs and symptoms of clinical deterioration and how the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) can be implemented.

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#31 The Opioid Crisis

Oxycontin, drug-seeking behavior, co-addiction. Who better to talk us through the current opioid crisis with two former law enforcement officers and emergency nurses turned nurse practitioners? Join us for this memorable discussion with Ben and Tom from Just Some Podcast for Advanced Practitioners.

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#30 A Glimpse Inside the Emergency Department

So what is it *really* like in the ED and why do emergency nurses often feel like they are at odds with the rest of the hospital? Kevin McFarlane from The Art of Emergency Nursing paints a picture of the ED while addressing important topics like frequent flyers, hand-off reports, and admit holds.

#29 Cardiac Arrest

We all know BLS and even ACLS like the back of our hands so now it’s time to understand *why*. Why are VF and VT under the arrest algorithms? Why epi? Why are survival rates so low, even in the hospital?

Former paramedic and current BLS and ACLS instructor, Al Gook, answers some basic yet honest questions we all have about cardiac arrest and what we can do to improve our stubbornly low survival rates.

#28 NephMadness PodCrawl: Blood Pressure and Dialysis

Managing blood pressure for dialysis patient can be complicated. Nephrologists Dr. Daniel Weiner @DanTheKidneyMan and Dr. Bourne Auguste @bourneauguste address intradialytic hypertension and hypotension while giving a huge shout out to the dark horse of nephrology: peritoneal dialysis.

This episode is a part of NephMadness: a nephrology educational initiative that is modeled after the college basketball tournament but with nephrology concepts. It is a noncommercial learning initiative that leverages the tools of social media to teach about the latest and greatest breakthroughs in the field of nephrology!

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#27 Vasopressors

Tina Vinsant, RN, host of the podcast Good Nurse Bad Nurse, joins us for a run through of all the major vasoactive agents given in the hospital. We minimized the jargon and maximized on practical cases, so join us for a memorable discussion of this fundamental subject.

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#26 Hyponatremia

You are in for a treat as Dr. Joel Topf, aka @kidney_boy, gives us the low down on hyponatremia. Dr. Topf discusses this condition in a way that is helpful for nurses by reviewing clinical concepts without getting into unneeded nitty gritty.

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