Courses

Advanced Practice for Nurses

OVERVIEW

Develop a confident and safe approach to emergencies. Essential for nurses working in medical admissions units, hospital at night and outreach teams. The course develops knowledge and skills required for the recognition, assessment and immediate care of the ill medical patient.

"Excellent course, very well presented & enjoyable!"

"Expert training, enjoyable, useful, informative!"

"Fantastic! Very engaging and encouraging!"

Past course delegates comments

CONTENT

Acute Emergencies

• Anatomy and physiology of respiration
• Disease processes including asthma, COPD; pneumonia; lung cancer
• Gastro-intestinal emergencies
• Understanding shock - aetiology; assessment and management of hypovolaemia; anaphylaxis; septic. Fluid replacement therapy

Cardiac Emergencies

• Review of cardiac anatomy and physiology
• 12 lead ECG interpretation - atrial, junctional & ventricular
• Cardiac failure; Acute Myocardial Infarction; Unstable angina
• Cardiogenic shock; Heart failure
• Reperfusion therapy; Thrombolysis
• Emergency cardiac drugs
• Life threatening arrhythmias
• Thromboembolic disease

Bloods & X-rays

• Indications for radiographs
• The chest X-ray; The abdominal X-ray
• Blood results: parameters of the full blood count
• Haemoglobin & erythrocyte physiology
• ESR; INR and blood transfusion
• Differential white cell count
• Clinical electrolyte and water homeostasis
• Hypo/hypernatraemia Potassium
• Homeostasis Liver function tests

Physical Assessment

• The Interview: active listening and communication,
• Taking a clinical history and documentation
• Systems review and physical examination
• Cardiovascular
• Respiratory
• Central nervous system
• Abdominal
• Prioritisation: patient's medical need
• Legal Issues: the law; accountability; duty of care; reasonable behaviour scope of practice; consent; confidentiality

AIMS AND OUTCOMES

• To develop assessment, diagnostic, reasoning and patient management