Helpful Information for the CCU and other Critical Care Units

[sirI]

i decided to start a thread with helpful information in the ccu. here are a few links to websites that i think ya'll will find very helpful:

www.icufaqs.org excellent all around

http://www.cvphysiology.com/ cardiovascular physiology

http://connection.lww.com/products/smeltzer10e/ch27.asp management of patients with dysrhythmias and conduction problems

http://www.ekgusa.com/ceol/abgmap/abgindex.html abg tutorial

http://realnurseed.com/abg.htm abg tutorial self-learning

http://www-isu.indstate.edu/mary/abgpract.htm abg practice questions

http://www.ccmtutorials.com/rs/intubate/in_vent3.htm - the patient in respiratory distress

http://www.txai.org/edu/education.htm texas arrhythmia institute

http://www.gwc.maricopa.edu/class/bio202/cyberheart/cardio.htm cyberheart, cardiotutorials

http://www.12leadecg.com/intro/ - introduction to 12-lead ecg, the art of interpretation

http://www.ccmtutorials.com/rs/intubate/in_vent4.htm - to intubate or not

http://www.ccmtutorials.com/rs/index.htm critical care and ventilators

http://www.jicu.de/besim/ vent simulator (free demo)

icu/ccu procedures

http://www.openheartsurgery.com/heart_murmur.html normal heart sounds, aortic insufficiency, aortic stenosis, mitral insufficiency, mitral stenosis

http://sprojects.mmi.mcgill.ca/mvs/ the virtual sethoscope

http://www.wilkes.med.ucla.edu/intro.html heart and breath sounds

http://www.stethographics.com/main/physiology_ls_introduction.html basic lung and heart sounds

http://www.rale.ca/ breath sounds

(http://www.emory.edu/whscl/grady/inetgrp/hplung.html) .. lung sounds from emory school of medicine

blaufuss multimedia - heart sounds and cardiac arrhythmias

http://sprojects.mmi.mcgill.ca/dir/heart.html myocardial infarction ecg tutorial

http://homepage.mac.com/edutainment/photoalbum6.html ecg tracings

http://www.ecglibrary.com/ecghome.html cardiac tracings - advanced

http://themdsite.com/ website by dr. dale dubin, author "rapid interpretation of ekg's"

www.randylarson.com ecg's - mock codes

http://www.mdchoice.com/cyberpt/acls/acls.asp acls scenerios

http://www.skillstat.com/learn.htm learning

http://library.med.utah.edu/kw/ecg/index.html ecg learning center

http://www.rnceus.com/course_frame.asp?exam_id=16&directory=ekg ecg strip identification and evaluation

http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/ekg/ekg.html ecg

http://www.ecglibrary.com/ ecg library

http://sprojects.mmi.mcgill.ca/dir/ekg_puz.html - super ekg puzzler - 215 rhythm strips to diagnosis—includes the answers- click on "go to this site now" to enter the quizzing from mcgill university molson medical informatics student projects site

http://butler.cc.tut.fi/~malmivuo/bem/bembook/19/19.htm the basis of ecg diagnosis

http://www.medi-smart.com/tutorials.htm medical patient simulators and tutorials from medi-smart

www.skillstat.com/home2.htm ecg recognition with time limit

http://medi-smart.com/card-demo.htm ecg strips with time limit

http://www.icumedicus.com/casesgallery.php?photo=10&album=4 icu case of the week

we can add to the list as we go along.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

i know these are more for the er forum, but many critical care trauma nurses consider seeking this certification:

board of certification for emergency nursing (bcen) ~ certified emergency nurse

others consider enp:

emergency nurse practitioner (enp) scope of practice

the emergency nurse practitioner (enp) program prepares advanced practice nurses with the knowledge and skills needed to provide emergency and urgent health care services to individuals of all ages. emphasis is on the management of acute illnesses, trauma, and/ or chronic unstable illnesses requiring immediate attention, stabilizing the individual’s condition, and determining appropriate referral and follow-up care. enps provide care in ambulatory, urgent care, and emergency department settings. many graduates are prepared to be recognized as advanced practice nurses by the board of nurse examiners and to take the family nurse practitioner national certification examination through the american nurses credentialing center or the academy of nurse practitioners

and, many consider the apn role as a critical care/trauma specialist:

american association for critical care nurses ~ ccns

the critical care/trauma clinical nurse specialist

because inpatient care focuses increasingly on treating the sickest of the sick, the need for advanced practice nurses to provide and coordinate care in emergency rooms, trauma, critical care, and intensive care units has never been greater.

critical care/trauma clinical nurse specialists fill that role. they bring clinical expertise to acute care across a variety of health care settings, and lead the care management processes that are essential in today's health care environment. many also play a vital teaching and research role; from the front lines they lend a unique and essential perspective to understanding a range of issues confronting nurses.

university of texas - arlington

university of texas - houston

university of south alabama - college of nursing

vanderbilt university school of nursing

emory university school of nursing

university of california, san francisco

just thought ya'll might be interested in these links.

[calicofrog]

these links are fantastic, especially for me being a completely green nurse starting my life in the CCU....

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

glad to help, mahirn and calicofrog.:balloons:

[Searchangel]

How long do sticky notes stay on the forum? Just wandered lot good sources but do I need to store them somewhere? I am new here.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

hello, searchangel,

good question. depends on the sticky. if the information is no longer up-to-date and/or is irrrelevant, then it will be retired.

but, this sticky will remain in view. if links are no longer viable, i will delete that link only, but this thread will remain a sticky.

thanks for the question.

[christymwinn]

Siri,

Thank you for your posts. I just spent a good amount of time on http://www.icufaqs.org and I have to say that is some of the BEST info I have read on some the hardest to understand subjects. I have been in the ICU for one year but we are not a very heavy ICU. We don't have cardio thoracic or neuro here, so we do have to ship alot of our patients out at times. I think I might just print a copy of those and keep a little booklet for myself:wink2:

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

Hello, christy. Yes, you are correct. That site is wonderful. Glad to help.

[heysmalls]

Hey Siri,

Thanks for all of these sites. I have started working in CCU/ICU a few months ago. However, these sites will realy help.

Heysmalls:clown:

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

You are quite welcome, heysmalls.

[TNNurse92]

These are good images of the heart and internal cardiac anatomy.

http://www.vhlab.umn.edu/atlas/atlas.html

A

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

Thank you, TNNurse92, for the link.

[TNNurse92]

You are very welcome siri.

A