AmyCardsNP

AmyCardsNP RN, NP

Cardiology

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About AmyCardsNP

AmyCardsNP is a RN, NP and specializes in Cardiology.


I was a cardiology RN for 8 years (CVICU, Cath Lab) before going back to school to get my FNP. I am now a NP in a cardiology office.

Latest Activity

  1. How Cardiac meds r/t BP and HR

    I think a spreadsheet is a great way to study all of the cardiac meds. Rather than memorizing each drug, learn HOW the class of drugs works in the body.... it will be easier to remember side effects if you can remember the "how" For example, the ACEs...
  2. We use velcro straps to secure high risk patients to the cath table for angiograms. Deciding who is "high risk" is at the discretion of the staff in the room. Personally, I consider any patient who is having difficulty following simple instructions t...
  3. What to do with your rings when you scrub?

    Thanks for the replies everyone - I don't work in a sterile environment all day (I float back and forth), so I would like to be able to wear my rings for the hours that I am not which is why I was asking if there was a way people secured their rings....
  4. As a nurse with experience in an inpatient area as well as a procedural area (as well as a current NP student), I would say that floor nursing will give you a better background for what your long term goals are. While working in the OR will give you ...
  5. Hey everyone- I was wondering what you do with your rings when you scrub? I don't scrub all day long and I don't like being without my rings all day, so leaving them at home or in my locker isn't ideal. Does anyone have any contraptions set up to hol...
  6. how many calories do you think we burn during a 12 hour shift?

    I wear a pedometer (http://fitbit.com) every day to work and depending on how busy I am in the ICU, I walk anywhere from 2-6 miles in a 12 hour shift. It's great to see how far I've walked during the day, especially after an exhaustingly busy shift.
  7. Annual Arrhythmia competency testing

    ACLS recertification does not require you to know rhythm interpretation to pass. It only requires that you recognize fatal rhythms (Vtach, Vfib, Asystole). They do cover heart blocks, afib, aflutter, etc during lecture, but they do not adequately tes...
  8. Once Bitten Twice Shy

    Yesterday, I had a new experience as a nurse.... I was bitten by a patient. I was team leading (same as a relief charge nurse) & helping another nurse admit a patient to the ICU from the cath lab. He was in his 50s, had a heart attack, and the l...
  9. Every once in awhile an article comes along that I love. Heck, I've even been known to rip out an article and put it in the nurses' lounge at the hospital a time or two. In September 2009, they published an article titled "Patients' Perceptions of Nu...
  10. Discontinued/held current medsor never started home meds

    It doesn't sound like you use electronic charting yet at your facility, and when you transition, it gets a lot easier to keep track of medications that your patient is on. Instead of having to flip through a thick paper chart, you can just click a bu...
  11. Are swans going "out of style?"

    It seems to me that the use of Swans depends on the physicians in the unit. I primarily work in a CVICU and all of our patients come back with swans in place s/p open heart surgery. Although, when we have patients with huge MIs (that could benefit fr...
  12. Creatinine levels and need for dialysis

    I definitely agree with traumaRUs's reply - there are a number of factors that go into deciding if a patient needs dialysis. In my unit, we recently started new dialysis on someone whose Crt was only 2.9, but they were not making urine, fluid overlo...
  13. NCLEX in different state than graduation state??

    I graduated in Illinois and took the NCLEX (and am practicing) in Arizona. I didnt have any issues with the process.
  14. Uniforms and dress codes

    We rolled out the same thing about 2 years ago... all of the nurses wear red tops, techs wear navy blue, unit clerks wear teal, etc, etc. When we all learned we were going to have to start wearing uniforms, no one was very pleased- we were happy with...
  15. Heat/cool w/ CVC?

    We induce hypothermia on patients post witnessed cardiac arrest using external blankets. The way I've often seen patients "go to crap" during the rewarming phase is resultant from electrolyte shifts. We don't replace potassium during the 8 hours prio...