Cardiac Meds!!!

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Specializes in CARDIO, FAMILY PRACTICE, GERIATRICS,URO.

hello Everyone; I Am Taking My Nclex-pn In November. I am praying that I Pass My Nclex-pn. i was thinking To Work On The Cardiac Floor, Tele, Post Cardiac Cath, Cardiac Step Down...anything With The Heart. is this a good idea? would it be too overwhelming to start in these floors? and as a lpn? I Know There Are Alot Of Meds To Be Covered But I Was Wondering If There Are A Group Of Meds That You Have To Know For Sure No Matter What In Order To Survive This Floor...like I Know For A Fact Lasix And Digoxin(and The Antidote For Digoxin), But Like In The Beta Blockers And Ca+ Channel Blockers Lists Of Meds...or Any Other Heart Related Meds...are There Specific Meds Name I Should be able to resite in my sleep?

it Would Really Help Me Out If Any Of You Can Give Advise Since Many Of You Or All Of You Have Lots Of Experience In Nursing And Different Floors!!! Thank Alot!!! any advise is well received!!!

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Specializes in cardiac, ortho, med-surg.

it is good to have a healthy fear of a specialty like cardiac. i started in the cardiac stepdown when i only had 6 months experience as an lpn. i was so intimidated and doubted i could get by. no facility worth their salt will let you out on the floor cold. more than likely you will have to complete a telemetry class, which is a treasure trove of information. the biggest meds in cardiac i came across were heparin drips, lovenox, metoprolol, amiodarone. don't forget the nitro! ntg is the first line in responding to chest pain on our floor, then if it is not relieved, morphine, that an rn will give through the iv access. if the pain is bad enough to do that, another nurse will be at the bedside with you anyway. to toot florida's horn, i must say that when i was forced to leave due to hurricanes in 2004, the nurses here in tenessee were impressed that i was a florida nurse. they said if you could get through a florida nursing program, you gotta be good! be proud you graduated from a florida school! you will be surprised how well-prepared you are. just don't be afraid to ask questions...ever! patient safety is always first. let me know how it goes!!!

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Specializes in CARDIO, FAMILY PRACTICE, GERIATRICS,URO.

hello southernurse, thank you soooo much for replying!!! it is a big help!!! i have a question you might be able to help me out with also...like i have mentioned before i really would like to go for any cardiac floor, but i was told on a webpost that lpn's are only able to care for patients that are stable (which i am aware of...lpn scope of practice) but i have seen and heard and spoken to lpn's that work on critical units before!!! i just feel that of course we can also help, learn, and still do lots in a critial care units....any thoughts on that? i think we can work o tele, cardiac stepdown, maybe post cardiac cath??!!!

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Specializes in Oncology, Research.
hello southernurse, thank you soooo much for replying!!! it is a big help!!! i have a question you might be able to help me out with also...like i have mentioned before i really would like to go for any cardiac floor, but i was told on a webpost that lpn's are only able to care for patients that are stable (which i am aware of...lpn scope of practice) but i have seen and heard and spoken to lpn's that work on critical units before!!! i just feel that of course we can also help, learn, and still do lots in a critial care units....any thoughts on that? i think we can work o tele, cardiac stepdown, maybe post cardiac cath??!!!

this isn't entirely true, at least in the hospitals that i have worked in. many hospitals do not use lpns to take a group of patients (as they cannot perform all required patient care) but they use them on a team with an rn.

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Specializes in cardiac, ortho, med-surg.

i worked on a cardiac stepdown that all of the post cabg and caths were a day out (or longer) of their surgeries. we got them when they were deemed stable enough to move to our floor. i never had anyone with more than a heparin drip. even then, i could change a bag but not initiate. naturally i could not do blood other than monitor. other than that, the patient load was shared by rn's and lpn's, with the rn's performing our out-of-scope care. one of the things i loved about working on this floor was watching the post-ops turn pink again and walk the hallway, so proud to take the first tangible steps to recovery. all of the lpn's knew what was within scope, and what our facility's policies were. we were never made to feel "less than" by our rn's, or made to feel incompetent by comments of the "real" nurses. like i said before, any facility worth its salt will make sure patient safety is strictly adhered to, and any nurse worth their license will stay within scope. i am glad you want to get a jump on the meds and familiarize yourself. also, see what you can find out about pacemakers and stents. sometimes when a cath is done, a patient gets a stent or angioplasty. believe it or not, the most difficult part for the patients i have come in contact with was keeping them still in the bed post cath. some of the ones i had were smokers.....and that was the first thing they demanded to do!:smokin:

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Specializes in CARDIO, FAMILY PRACTICE, GERIATRICS,URO.

i can not thank you enough!!!! you have been such a big help!!! again thank you for all the info and encouragement!!! it is very nice to receive encouragement and positive feed back from other nurses!!! specially when you are a new at this!!!! :up::yelclap:

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