Abstract:
Mistakes happen everyday and everyday a patient dies because a healthcare worker did something that caused harm. This session focuses on critical actions for preventing complications and errors when caring for the patient with pulmonary alterations. Key content will include: Tracheostomies: cuffed and uncuffed, the beauty and danger of speaking valves, tips for safe suctioning and details of a sentinel event involving a tracheostomy; Urgent interventions for tachypnea and bradypnea; Safety when caring for chest tubes, dressings, to clamp or not to clamp, dry vs. wet, assessment and interventions for air leaks and accidental removal or disconnection; Strategies to lessen pulmonary complications in post-surgical patients – oxygen and it’s toxic effects, pre-operative teaching for incentive spirometry, difference between BiPAP and CPAP and the importance of coaching, and risk factor assessment of DVT and PE. Nurses need to bring a desire to provide safe care and a basic understanding of pulmonary physiology as prerequisite knowledge.

Objectives:
Describe nursing interventions that promote patient safety in the pulmonary patient
Discuss strategies to less pulmonary complications in the post-surgical patient
Identify actions to prevent sentinel events in tracheostomy patients

Format and method on instruction:
90 minutes expandable to 2 hours
Interactive lecture, audiovisuals, case studies

Additional Information:
This session can follow “Wheezes, Pops and Whistles” as part of an all day seminar.
This session received outstanding evaluations from Presbyterian Health System Medical – Surgical Conference in September 2003.

Primary Speaker Information:
Julie Miller, RN, BSN, CCRN
President:  Paws to Learn
7313 CR 2192
Whitehouse TX 75791
C:  903–245–1223
Fax:  903–839–0894
Email:  Julie.miller@pawstolearn.com

© 2003 Paws to Learn


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