Managing Nursing Emergencies

Identify the Red Flags

Triage: Every Nurse Needs It

• Identify red flags in patient presentation
• Critical thinking
• Advanced identification skills
• Prioritizing patient acuity

Rapid Assessment and Medical History Techniques

• Triangle triage
• ABCD assessment in less than 10 seconds
• The importance of asking the right questions to get the most important information
• Quick and thorough rapid assessments
• General
• Neurological
• Cardiovascular
• Pulmonary
• Psychosocial

Neurological Emergencies

Prevention, Presentation, Action for:
Intracranial pressure: Concepts of volume and pressure
Malignant headache
Cerebrovascular accident (CVA)
Delirium
Autonomic dysreflexia

Cardiac Emergencies

Prevention, Presentation, Action for:
“I’m having chest pain…”
Acute coronary syndromes

• Ischemia: Stable vs. unstable
• Non-STEMI
• STEMI

Heart failure
Pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary Emergencies

Prevention, Presentation, Action for:
Respiratory failure
COPD: Emphysema and chronic bronchitis
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

Endocrine Emergencies

Prevention, Presentation, Action for:
Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA)
Hypoglycemia

Fluid Imbalance/Circulatory Emergencies

Prevention, Presentation, Action for:
Sepsis

• SIRS to Septic Shock

Hemorrhage and Delayed Hemorrhage

• Shock
• Delayed hemorrhage in trauma
• GI bleeds
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm

Compartment Syndromes

• Extremity
• Abdominal