Decoding Urgency
The Q Word Podcast
In this episode, we reveal the three (plus bonus) critical phrases that can make all the difference in patient care. Lisa and Nyssa break down the significance of these ominous declarations, and discuss the swift decisive actions that ER nurses must take when confronted with these signals.
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Checklists!
The Q Word Podcast
Sometimes, the most complicated problems can be solved with the simplest solutions. Nyssa and Lisa discuss “the checklist” - an elegant tool which revolutionized safety protocols in the field of aviation, and how they can - and should - be used in emergency medicine to increase favorable outcomes in patient care.
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Button Batteries: Shiny Disks of Danger
The Q Word Podcast
Coin-shaped button batteries are used in many common household items; they are often and easily picked up by toddlers and plopped directly into their mouths., where their alkaline properties can lead to fatal consequences. Nyssa and Lisa talk to pediatric flight nurse LaKeisha Neely about how to recognize the symptoms of button battery ingestion, and how to treat those patients before damage is done to their bodies.
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Paralysis Awareness in the ER
The Q Word Podcast
RSI is a common high stakes procedure done in emergent airways in the ER, but imagine how your patients must feel if they regain awareness during paralysis. One patient said “it was the worst pain he’d ever had and it was unbearable.” How can your ER team avoid unwittingly contributing to this pain? Nyssa and Lisa examine a study that reveals the prevalence of awareness with paralysis in the ER and discuss how to keep it from happening to your patient.
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The Curse of the Q Word
The Q Word Podcast
Superstitious behavior is one thing, but Nyssa and Lisa have found proof that saying the dreaded Q word in the ER may indeed have a quantifiable impact on whether or not you have an out-of-control shift. Dive deep into the cause and effect relationship between luck and chaos, and learn all about the pandemonium an errant utterance can have on your practice.
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TikTok Challenges Gone Wrong
The Q Word Podcast
Dumb people doing dumb things is nothing new, but Lisa and Nyssa - with special guest Dr. Cory Nonnemacher - examine how the viral challenge trend has led to a whole new generation of dangerous stunts being performed for likes and lolz by today's social-media hungry kids. Learn what challenges like the "Skullbreaker", "Milk Crate" and "Scalp Pop" look like when they present in your ERs, and what downstream health implications these internet exploits might mean to your patients.
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Human Trafficking and the ER Nurse, Part 2
The Q Word Podcast
In the second half of this special two-part episode, Lisa and Nyssa continue their discussion of human trafficking, this time investigating how and why an ER visit offers a potential escape route to victims of this global criminal enterprise. Learn how to recognize it, how to stop it, and how to protect yourself and your patient when you encounter it.
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Human Trafficking and the ER Nurse, Part 1
The Q Word Podcast
Whether you know it or not, as a healthcare professional, you have probably encountered a victim of human trafficking at least once in your practice. People of all ages, genders, backgrounds, and origins are trafficked every day, in every town in America. In this first half of a special two-part episode, Lisa and Nyssa discuss the particulars and statistics of this widespread and rapidly growing crime epidemic.
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The Emotional PPE Project
The Q Word Podcast
Patients rely on nurses to alleviate their suffering, but what can nurses do to protect themselves from the weight and stress of providing care for the sick and dying? Nyssa and Lisa talk to Ariel Brown and AnnMarie Papa about The Emotional PPE Project, an initiative born out of the overwhelmingly increased burden placed on healthcare workers during the COVID crisis. This no cost, no insurance resource connects mental health professionals eager to help professional caregivers shield themselves from the harm face-masks and hand sanitizer can't prevent. Nyssa made the call - and so...
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The Nurse Honor Guard
The Q Word Podcast
The contribution a nurse makes to their community is heroic, and the Nurse Honor Guard was created to celebrate that contribution each time one of these heroes passes away. Nyssa and Lisa speak with Julie Murray about this important and necessary program to pay tribute to fallen nurses, one that can be easily established in every city and town to honor the work these healthcare professionals do to make the world a better place.
info_outlineWelcome to the Q Word Podcast, where Nyssa - an ER and flight nurse - and her friend Lisa - an occasional and perpetually potential ER patient - have conversations about the tips, tricks, and taboos of emergency nursing. Take a peek behind the hospital curtain at the issues and ideas nurses - and their patients - often think about, but seldom talk about.