Up My Nursing Game!

#42 Kidney Transplant

Kidney transplant is, by far, the most common type of transplant procedure performed and therefore the most commonly seen in clinical practice. Dr. Norman Silas, MD, transplant nephrologist, discusses pertinent topics for clinical nurses such as the pre-transplant work-up, post-transplant medications, and potential pitfalls when caring for transplant recipients.

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#41 Acute Agitation

Hostility, uncooperativeness and impulsivity: acute agitation can be one of the most stressful aspects of a nurses job. With forty years of nursing experience, Dee Henderson, RN, MSN, joins us to discuss how both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions can be used to de-escalate the crisis cycle.

#40 Ostomies

Here is the definitive episode about ostomies for the bedside nurse. From comparing and ileal conduit v. ileostomy v. colostomy to coaching your patient on what to expect in life with an ostomy, Sarah Baumgart MSN, APRN, CWOCN, answers many of the questions nurses have about their patients with ostomies.

#39 Stroke

Time is brain. Rapid response nurse, Sarah Lorenzini MSN, RN, is frequently working against the clock to get patients with stroke symptoms to CT and ultimately receiving definitive care. We will discuss what nurses can do to help facilitate fast interventions including tPA, thrombectomy, ventriculostomies, stroke center designation and post-CVA complications.

#38 Ketamine

Ketamine seems to be the new “it” drug. Pharmacist Victoria Arsenault returns to the podcast to discuss how Ketamine’s dissociative properties can be used as an analgesic, anesthetic, and antidepressant.

#37 Rural Emergency Medicine

Emergency departments in rural areas work in austere conditions that often require critically ill patients to transfer to larger hospitals that can provide a higher level of care. Kent Herbert, emergency physician, discusses what resources are available at rural hospitals and the process for transferring patients to higher levels of care.

#36 Nutrition

A patient’s nutrition status is often an afterthought for nurses. Clinical nurse specialist, Janice Powers, PhD, RN explains how nutrition improves patient outcomes and reviews evidence based enteral feeding practices in hopes that nurses will play a more central role in facilitating adequate nutrition for our patients.

#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.⁠