ER Nursing Essentials

Assessment in ER 37:58 Initial impression, ABCs, secondary assessment, and focused respiratory, cardiac, neuro and GI assessments. Triage 6:49 How patients are categorised by acuity, the factors that drive that call, and the five Emergency Severity Index levels. Asking the Right Questions 13:58 SAMPLE and PQRST, complaint-by-complaint question sets, and what to ask emergency services on handover. Diagnostic Workups 16:34 Chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, ALOC, syncope and the sepsis workup: what gets ordered and why. ALS Medications 15:48 Cardiac arrest drugs, doses and purpose, then the vasopressors and the receptors that explain what each one does. H's and T's 0:59 The reversible causes of cardiac arrest, and the treatment for each. Rhythms and their Treatments 3:42 Quick reference for the deadly rhythms: what to give, what to shock, and when to sync. Defibrillate, Cardiovert and Pace 3:06 Step by step on the monitor: pads, joules, sync, charge, capture. ECG's 7:47 The waveform and what each part means, the rhythms to recognise, and reading a STEMI by consecutive leads. Cardiorespiratory Arrest 6:19 Preparing the room before they arrive, running the code, and what the job becomes after ROSC. Cardiac Emergencies 30:36 STEMI, NSTEMI, CHF, hypertensive emergency, tamponade, dissection, aneurysms, A-fib RVR and symptomatic bradycardia. Respiratory Emergencies 15:02 Pulmonary embolism, asthma, pneumo- and haemothorax, pneumonia and anaphylaxis. Rapid Sequence Intubation 4:22 Preoxygenation, hemodynamic optimisation, the equipment, and the drugs that sedate and paralyse. Neurological Emergencies 20:02 Intracranial haemorrhage, seizures, ischemic stroke, and running a Code Stroke from recognition to tPA. Metabolic and Endocrine Emergencies 16:06 Diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperkalemia and hypoglycemia. Substance Abuse, Gastrointestinal, Behavioral 20:45 Alcohol withdrawal and delirium tremens, GI bleeding, and de-escalating and sedating the violent patient. Medications 46:19 The drug chapter: safety checks, vasopressors, arrest drugs, RSI, rate control, sedation, psych, antidotes and the rest. ER Nursing 1-2-3: 3 Steps 3:38 Identify, anticipate, prepare — a three-step way to think about any patient, worked through a fentanyl overdose and a missed dialysis. How to Be a Safe ER Nurse 2:39 The four questions to ask before any task, allergies, the high-risk medication classes that need a second look, and when to stop and ask. Advice You Should Hear at Least Once! 3:50 On being slow at first, asking questions, trusting your gut, changing preceptor, safety first, teamwork, and not getting cocky. Tips for 12-Hour Shifts and Thriving as a Nurse 2:35 Resilience, shoes and compression socks, a post-shift routine, protecting your body, breaks, and the wellness habits that keep the job survivable. Be Proactive, Not Reactive! 2:20 Setting up the room at the start of the shift, gathering what an intubation will need before it happens, and the two questions to ask for every patient. What a New ER Nurse Must Focus On 2:58 ACLS and PALS, the ABCs, the common conditions, getting clinical exposure, and what to do at the end of each day and on your days off. Starting the Day with Critical Patients 3:34 The walk-by before report, what to look for in the room, bedside handoff, what to do after report, and the head-to-toe on an intubated patient. How to Give Report 3:09 Who you are handing off to, the quick essentials, the thorough breakdown, what not to forget, and what a critical patient adds. IV Tips 1:34 Anatomy, gravity, tapping, a second tourniquet, stabilising the vein and practising the motion — how to actually get good at placing IVs. Laboratory Studies You Must Know 11:51 Lactate, D-Dimer, ammonia, CBC, coags, the BMP electrolytes one by one, kidney, liver, pancreas and cardiac markers — what each one means at the bedside. Staying Organized: The Brain 2:03 The folded sheet of paper that keeps several patients straight, its sections, and a worked example for a chest pain patient. Purpose of the Emergency Department and the Role of the ER Nurse 2:07 What the department is for, where the nurse sits in it, and an honest word about the first year.