Anatomy of a crash cart

[delphine22]

I have asked at every ACLS renewal if we can have a "crash cart petting zoo," where we play around with the meds, learn WHICH ONES ARE WHERE, and which ones require syringes vs abboject, etc. I think it's crazy that they don't do this. They say it's a cost issue, blah blah blah, whatever. I think it's dumb that the first time a nurse reaches into that cart is when someone's life is on the line.

I even had people send a nurse running during a code to get a suction setup, without realizing there is a suction machine right on the cart!

Are crash carts set up the same everywhere in the US? Is there maybe an online resource that shows the layout, if they are all the same. I'm talking adults obviously, not the peds carts.

[AOx1]

Next time the cart is opened and restocked, but not yet locked, take a digital picture of each drawer. Ours are set up the same throughout the hospital, but they are not the same in different hospitals where I've worked.

[Student Mom to Three]

Carts are all different where I've worked. You need to get friendly with the one that is closest to you!

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

That's odd. Every year we have an inservice on the crash cart. The meds are expired or just the empty packaging. The supplies is expired. We have a scavenger hunt and race in teams to find and set up everything.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I'm not sure if every cart in our hospital is set up the same...however, I know for sure, that different hospitals in our system each set up their crash carts differently.

[RN403, BSN, RN]

That's odd. Every year we have an inservice on the crash cart. The meds are expired or just the empty packaging. The supplies is expired. We have a scavenger hunt and race in teams to find and set up everything.

I think this is a great idea.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

If you have monthly crash cart counts, volunteer to do them. We'd always have the newbies do them so they could get an idea of where things are.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

The facility I worked at had an annual mandatory inservice where mock codes were done. This included review of the crash cart contents.

You could approach your nursing ed and suggest this.

Before that, I would go through the cart after a code, before it was sent for restocking.

[Vana21, ADN, BSN, RN]

My hospital has a couple of "practice" adult and pedi crash carts stocked with expired supplies and all the carts in the hospital are organized the same. Theres a label on each drawer saying what is in what drawer with the suction on the side, aed on top, and a binder on top with some extra things and the inventory for what the cart contains and a quick list which is helpful.

The list is basically alphabetically, so if you need something like adhesive tape, you look for it, and it'll say drawer 3 left side back row.

[minirn]

There were several good comments here with some good ideas. (I love the scavenger hunt idea) But annual inservice or not, nothing beats repeated hands-on exposure. And if you work on a floor that doesn't get many codes, you are still going to be fumbling around at a critical time. Volunteering to restock is good too. We all get better with practice. Imagine if we only set up a new IV bag once a year - how proficient would we all be?

[SierraBravo]

We have 2 code carts on our unit and each one must be thoroughly checked to make sure everything is present and not expired each month. Each cart has a binder with laminated pages which details each and every item contained on and in the cart. During nursing orientation at my hospital we had code simulations where we had to use the code carts, which were actually stocked just like the real ones on the units.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

"Hi can you send me a new lock, I cracked this cart for education purposes but didnt use anything. Thank you"

Thats all I do.