Straight A Nursing: Study for nursing school exams & NCLEX

Prone positioning can be so intimidating when you're a nursing student or a brand-new ICU nurse. In this episode, I'm covering the basics and potential complications of prone positioning so you actually understand why we do it, rather than just feeling like you’re trying to keep up. Imagine walking into your patient's room and finding them lying on their stomach instead of their back. They are intubated and sedated, with cushions tucked around their face, chest, and hips, and the monitor leads are sitting on their back. It’s startling if you've never seen it! But it’s also one of the most effective nursing interventions we have for critical care patients fighting ARDS or severe respiratory distress (I saw this a ton with COVID-19 patients, too). Hit play to review what you actually need to know about prone positioning for your nursing school exams, clinicals, and NCLEX, including: What is prone positioning? The "why" behind the pathophysiology and indications of prone positioning Awake Prone Positioning (APP) Two ways to prone a ventilated patient (Roto-Prone beds vs. the manual "burrito method") High-risk nursing complications to watch for Preventing unplanned extubation: Safety checks used to protect the airway during a turn Protecting skin integrity: Crucial nursing interventions for pressure injury prevention How to approach urgent situations with limited access, including emergency response steps and CPR in the prone position Why you should take advantage of hands-on training whenever it's offered Current evidence-based practice guidelines you'll see in the ICU FREE CLASS - If all you've heard are nursing school horror stories, then you need this class! Join me in this on-demand session where I dispel all those nursing school myths and show you that YES...you can thrive in nursing school without it taking over your life! 🎧 #137: The Basics of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) 🎧 #64: Atelectasis Nursing Interventions 🎧 #46: V/Q Mismatch Explained Simply 🎧 #488: The Perfusion Problem 💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode…and share with friends so you can help other nurses thrive!  ___________________ The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP) is one of the most common lab tests ordered for your patients. This episode breaks down the 8 components of the BMP, which are sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, carbon dioxide, glucose, BUN and creatinine. You can read the article "The BMP Decoded" ⁠here⁠. Get the framework that makes nursing school concepts feel more manageable with my free Nursing School Survival Blueprint.  In it, I walk you through: - the key shifts that separate struggling students from thriving ones,  - how to study with intention,  - how to reduce cognitive load in real study sessions, and  - how to build the kind of understanding that actually shows up on your exams and in clinical.  Take control of your nursing school experience with this free Blueprint as your guide. 👉 Download the Blueprint I'm cheering for you!  This is a throwback to episode 303 of the Straight A Nursing School Podcast, where nursing school help is at your fingertips with hundreds of episodes covering your journey from taking the TEAS through passing NCLEX and having success as a new-grad nurse.  💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode! ___________________ The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Straight a Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Picture this: You're a nurse in the PACU and are receiving a patient who is a 34 year old male with a past medical history of obesity and loud snoring reported by his spouse. Although he does not have diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea, you suspect it. He was given general anesthesia with some ketamine mixed in during an elective septoplasty. Once he gets to the PACU, he has a rapid onset of significant respiratory distress. His SpO2 is dropping even with supplemental oxygen, he has pink frothing sputum, and diffuse crackles bilaterally. What's going on with this guy? How serious is this? In this episode, I'm breaking down noncardiogenic pulmonary edema, including: - Pathophysiology and common causes - Two types of negative-pressure pulmonary edema (NPPE), which is the cause you'll see most often in the OR or PACU - Who is most at risk for NPPE - Nursing care for patients with noncardiogenic pulmonary edema using the Straight A Nursing LATTE method which includes common signs and symptoms, priority assessments, key tests utilized to evaluate the condition, treatments, and follow-up education - A side-by-side breakdown of cardiogenic pulmonary edema vs noncardiogenic pulmonary edema with references to the patient mentioned above and the patient mentioned in episode #515, so you'll walk away knowing exactly how to quickly tell these two conditions apart at the bedside If you've ever looked at a patient with crackles and hypoxemia and immediately thought "heart failure," this episode is going to change how you approach that assessment. Episodes mentioned: #515: Cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema #137: The Basics of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) To thrive in nursing school, you need a study system that helps concepts like this actually stick, instead of just memorizing lists of symptoms. I get you started building that system in my free Nursing School Survival Blueprint. 👉 Download the Blueprint 💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode! ___________________ The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a hypermetabolic crisis that is fatal if left untreated. It occurs in individuals with a specific genetic condition when they are exposed to certain anesthetic gasses or the medication succinylcholine. By the end of this episode you'll have a thorough understanding of what you need to know about malignant hyperthermia for your nursing school exams and NCLEX, including: Malignant hyperthermia pathophysiology Complications of MH Who is most at risk for experiencing malignant hyperthermia Signs and symptoms Important assessments for a patient with malignant hyperthermia Tests utilized to diagnose and evaluate MH Treatments for malignant hyperthermia (and why you’ve got to act fast and get help!) Key patient education Read the article "Nursing Guide to Malignant Hyperthermia" and view references here. Episode 173 – Learn more about DIC Episode 251 – Learn more about rhabdomyolysis Episode 119 – Learn more about compartment syndrome Do you need my ⁠⁠Nursing School Survival Blueprint⁠⁠? If you've got the nerves about nursing school, ease them by downloading my Nursing School Survival Blueprint. In it, I walk you through: 🗝️ the key shifts that separate struggling students from thriving ones,  📖 how to study with intention,  🧠 how to reduce cognitive load in real study sessions, and  💡 how to build the kind of understanding that actually shows up on your exams and in clinical.  Take control of your nursing school experience with this free Blueprint as your guide. I'm cheering for you! This is a throwback to episode 302 of the Straight A Nursing School Podcast, where nursing school help is at your fingertips with hundreds of episodes covering your journey from taking the TEAS through passing NCLEX and having success as a new-grad nurse. 💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode! ___________________ The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A patient is stable going into surgery and comes out of anesthesia fine. Twenty minutes later in the PACU, she's gasping for air, her neck veins are bulging, and she's coughing up pink, frothy sputum. Yikes! What just happened? And why did it happen so fast? In this episode, I'm breaking down cardiogenic pulmonary edema, including: - A walk through the actual blood flow pathway that explains why pressure backs up into the lungs in the first place - Two distinct processes that can cause cardiogenic pulmonary edema: ☝️ the classic fluid overload picture <-- you probably learned about this in school ✌️ vascular failure <-- a pattern less commonly taught, where a patient can develop flash pulmonary edema without carrying any excess fluid at all. - Common signs and symptoms - Priority assessments - Key tests utilized to evaluate the condition - Treatments - Follow-up education - References to the patient described above, so you can see exactly how her history, her labs, and her imaging all tell the same story once you know what you're looking at. If you've ever memorized 'crackles plus JVD equals heart failure' without really understanding the mechanism behind it, this episode connects those dots. To thrive in nursing school, you need a study system that helps concepts like this actually stick instead of just memorizing lists of symptoms. I get you started building that system with my free Nursing School Survival Blueprint. 👉 ⁠Download the Blueprint⁠ 💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode! ___________________ The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This encore episode features a brief update to discuss some new medications that are currently being utilized to treat Parkinson's disease. By the end of this episode you'll have a thorough understanding of what you need to know about Parkinson's for your nursing school exams and NCLEX. Read the article "Parkinson’s Disease NCLEX Review" and view references here. If you found this episode helpful, I've got lessons and comprehensive study guides on over 57 more topics in my course Med Surg Solution. Learn how Med Surg Solution can help you thrive in your Med Surg class (and on NCLEX!) here. This is a throwback to episode 198 of the Straight A Nursing School Podcast, where nursing school help is at your fingertips with hundreds of episodes covering your journey from taking the TEAS through passing NCLEX and having success as a new-grad nurse. 💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode…and share with friends so you can help other nurses thrive!&nbsp; ___________________ The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heading into clinical? Ease your nerves by building a mental map of a typical clinical day. Hit play and I'll show you what I mean as I walk you through how I used to run a typical shift in clinical, from start to finish. Have you grabbed the Nursing School Survival Blueprint yet? If you're heading into your first clinical rotation soon, going through this blueprint will help you build the kind of structure that makes clinical days and the rest of your nursing school journey feel a whole lot more manageable. Grab it here for free: Nursing School Survival Blueprint 💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode…and share with friends so you can help other nurses thrive!&nbsp; ___________________ The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices