Nursing Skills

Wound VAC review for nursing students and nurses – Skills   While there may be several different models of wound vacs in the healthcare setting, the basic concepts are the same.  Please check your facilities policies and procedures prior to using these machines. Vacuum-Assisted Closure Therapy also known in the …

How to insert, remove and care for a patient with a Foley catheter Policies/Procedures: 1. Identify the patient using the required two patient identifiers. 2. Verify that the patient is not allergic to latex, iodine or betadine. If the patient is sensitive or allergic to latex, replace the catheter in …

The Eyes Here is a quick picture on the eyes and the abbreviations that go with them.                                   OU = Both eyes OD = Right eye OS = Left eye Anatomy of the eye …

How to check pulses This article will give a brief synopsis on how to take your pulse or your patients pulse. The pulse is the heart rate, or how many times your heart beats per minute (BPM).  While pulses rates differ from person to person, it is also important to …

Normal and Adventitious Lung Sounds   What are lung sounds Lungs sounds are the same as breath sounds or respiratory sounds, these sounds can be heard (auscultated) on the anterior (front) and posterior (back) of the patients chest wall using a stethoscope. Normal Breath Sounds Normal lung sounds are classified …

How to measure blood pressure – Nurse skills   Blood pressure is typically recorded as two numbers, written as a ratio like this: Read as “117 over 76 millimeters of mercury” Systolic The top number, which is also the higher of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries …

Epistaxis is the term for a nose bleed. It may be spontaneous or caused from trauma. It has also been seen in chronic or acute infection, chemical irritation, leukemias, HTN, anticoagulant therapy and other blood dyscrasias. In children, it tends to be mild and anterior in the nasal cavity. In …

This tutorial is for educational purposes only. Please consult your facilities policy and procedures.

What is ACLS Certification for Nursing? Nurses who work in critical, urgent, or emergency care units are required to be ACLS certified. Other nursing positions where cardiac-related emergencies are common, such as senior care facilities, also typically require ACLS certification. RNs and LPNs are required to be certified and familiar …

  AED instructions. What Is an Automated External Defibrillator? An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable device that checks the heart rhythm and can send an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm. AEDs are used to treat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). SCA is …