Post-MI Care

[tensilversaxes]

Hi everyone!

I'd like to introduce myself, my name is Scott and I'm a first year medical student. We are in our cardiovascular block right now, and my small group and I are currently carrying out a small "interview-based" project. I joined this forum in hopes that I would be able to gather some input from the nursing community.

We are interested in learning about aspects of post-myocardial infarction care from the perspectives of the various members of the health care team. I've been talking with nurses, and I'm hoping to have some feedback from those of you who can take a few minutes and share your input on your roles.

I'm especially interested in the roles of nurses on the cardiac wards, as well as nurse practitioners involved in cardiac care and nurses in the family doctor's office that deal with cardiac patients.

1) Tell me about your role as part of the multidisciplinary team that cares for the post-MI patient.

2) How does this role change depending on the patient's life situation? (ie. age, family/friend support...etc)

3) What are some of the problems you face as a nurse in post-MI care?

In advance, I'm very grateful for the help. Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions!

Scott

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[Nurse1966]

As a former telemetry nurse, I can answer #3...time. Time is the biggest factor I faced, not enough time to answer questions, patient education, etc...with six patients, I was just glad they were being discharged on a beta-blocker and alive. Most of the follow up care was done by referral from the doc's office to cardiac rehab. Sad to say, cardiac rehab is hit and miss on some telemetry floors. Good luck...maybe you can join in the fight for better staffing guidelines.

[tensilversaxes]

Thanks for your response, nurse1966!