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Discussion

Hints & advice

Hi everyone! Im a senior nursing student and Im being allowed to do clinical time at a local CCU. Cardiac care just fascinates me and I really had to be on top of my game to be allowed clinical time on this floor.

Here's my issue. I want to study up on things I may see/do on the floor. I only have eight weeks here and I want to make the absolute best of it. Ive already started reading all the CCU posts and looking up anything Im not familiar with. What other things should I be looking up and studying in the two weeks I have before I start. I have a few months of floor experience as an extern on a med surg floor. I want to extern here before graduation and work here after I graduate so I need to make a great impression!

Any advice would be wonderful...

Featured Replies

Abcd Of Ecg Is The First And Vital Thing To Learn And Work In Ccu Because Cardiac Patients Dint Give U Enough Time To Hang On Ecg And All So You Have To Be Through In This.

Mahirn

Abcd Of Ecg Is The First And Vital Thing To Learn And Work In Ccu Because Cardiac Patients Dint Give U Enough Time To Hang On Ecg And All So You Have To Be Through In This.

Mahirn

Wow... what?

  • Author

Yea...can you rephrase that?

I think what youre saying is that I need to study up on my ECGs

Im working on that too! I took an extra cardiac drug, basic arhythmia & ECG seminar and Ive been reviewing my handouts and notes for that.

Thanks for the advice!

Once in awhile I'll see a balloon pump on my floor. It's something that was never even mentioned in nursing school, so that could be something :) It's an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) to be exact.

We also pull lots of sheaths on the floor with post PCI patients. With this, it's important to know what to do if your pt vagals or develops a hematoma...and to know to check those pedal pulses!

Knowing hemodynamic parameters is a good thing too.

You seem eager to learn... Great trait to have as a RN! You'll do great, and good luck to ya anyways.

When you are pulling out a sheath it is always important that you keep an eye on the cardiac monitor and frequently ask your patient how he is feeling. Secondly always keep inj. atropine in your hand if patient developes vasovagal so we can revert him immediatly.

To prevent hematoma only you need a good pressure post sheath removal in bitween check the pedal pulses and ask the patient if he is feeling numbness below the pressure point in leg.

Mahirn

Try studying your ACLS stuff cuz you can bet your gonna have a code and need to know what drugs they are using and in what order and why.

Check out icufaqs.org lots of great files with need to know information for the ICU.

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