The Q Word Podcast

Conversations about the tips, tricks, trends, and taboos of emergency nursing. A peek behind the hospital curtain at issues and ideas that seldom get discussed.

Hypovolemic Shock 05/07/2024

Hypovolemic Shock Nyssa and Lisa talk to Up My Nursing Game's host Annie Fulton as part of a special National Nurse's Week Podcrawl - a veritable cornucopia of all things shock related, shared across seven top medical podcasts! Learn about hypovolemic shock, how your Kool-Aid recipe applies to understanding the qualities of the fluid in your patient's vasculature, what to look out for as warning signs of a dangerous loss of volume, and how to adjust your practice to keep your patients alive. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/31167632

Decoding Urgency 02/28/2024

Decoding Urgency 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. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/30143788

Checklists! 08/22/2023

Checklists! 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. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/27820014

Button Batteries: Shiny Disks of Danger 05/09/2023

Button Batteries: Shiny Disks of Danger 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. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/26791191

Paralysis Awareness in the ER 01/24/2023

Paralysis Awareness in the ER 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. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/25707204

The Curse of the Q Word 11/14/2022

The Curse of the Q Word 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. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/25007448

TikTok Challenges Gone Wrong 07/20/2022

TikTok Challenges Gone Wrong 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. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/23804540

Human Trafficking and the ER Nurse, Part 2 06/04/2022

Human Trafficking and the ER Nurse, Part 2 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. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/23247455

Human Trafficking and the ER Nurse, Part 1 05/27/2022

Human Trafficking and the ER Nurse, Part 1 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. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/23247167

The Emotional PPE Project 04/13/2022

The Emotional PPE Project 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 can you! /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/22780979

The Nurse Honor Guard 02/17/2022

The Nurse Honor Guard 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. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/22163408

Three Case Studies 12/20/2021

Three Case Studies Nurses can learn a lot from case studies but they run the risk of being pretty snoozey. Not these three stories! Check out these bizarre case studies and the ER lessons that we learn from them. Nyssa originally presented this lecture live, in front of an audience at the excellent Southeastern Seaboard Symposium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Enjoy "The Chef Without a Tongue", "Eleven Blue Men" and the "Pitcher Who Struck Out Murderer’s Row". /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/21432233

RSI = Resuscitative Sequence Intubation 12/04/2021

RSI = Resuscitative Sequence Intubation In the critically ill trauma patient, optimizing airway, breathing, and circulation is not always as easy as the ABCs. In this episode, Nyssa and Lisa discuss resuscitative sequence intubation and how it differs from a crash intubation or a delayed sequence intubation. We also consider how to handle the special cases of TBI patients and the combative trauma patient. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/21378641

Truth, Justice, and a Better Supraglottic Airway 10/19/2021

Truth, Justice, and a Better Supraglottic Airway Supraglottic airways are getting more and more spotlight time. Nyssa and Lisa discuss how, when you have a patient that comes in from the prehospital world with a SGA airway in place, the best practice is to leave it alone if it's working until you've addressed bigger issues. Seems simple, right? Let's find out why this paradigm shift is so important, and how to incorporate it into your practice. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/20871032

All Ox is Not Equal 07/13/2021

All Ox is Not Equal In this special episode, recorded live at the FlightBridge ED FAST21 conference in Nashville in May, 2021 , Nyssa and Lisa reveal how and why one of the most ubiquitous tools used in every hospital and doctor's office may be inaccurate in up to 13% of the population, and what you can do to correct this serious and pervasive issue in your practice. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/19789538

You're Under Arrest! 06/02/2021

You're Under Arrest! Let's face it: treating arrest after a blunt trauma may very well be a daily experience in your practice, but the standard protocols for resuscitation can actually do as much harm as good. Nyssa and Lisa talk to Dr. Amanda Humphries-Ventura about her approach to reviving a profusely bleeding and broken patient, so that nurses in both the ER and the pre-hospital environment can make simple but important changes in how they treat arrest when acute injuries raise the stakes. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/19329833

Managers vs. Makers 01/30/2021

Managers vs. Makers Nyssa and Lisa review Paul Graham's classic productivity argument (link below!), and reframe it in the context of hospital employees, where the administration (a.k.a. managers) and the boots-on-the-ground medical personnel, specifically nurses (a.k.a. makers), are often at odds because of their wildly divergent schedules. So how is a 9-5, M-F management team supposed to train, meet with, evaluate, and develop an everything *but* 9-5, M-F nursing and hospital staff? /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/17746856

Neurodivergent Trauma, Part 2 11/15/2020

Neurodivergent Trauma, Part 2 In the second half of this special episode, Britanny Smith shares her carefully cultivated "Toolkit" with The Q Word Podcast audience, explaining to Lisa and Nyssa how to assemble one to use in your practice when facing the complex interactions required when dealing with the neurodivergent population. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/16819199

Neurodivergent Trauma 10/11/2020

Neurodivergent Trauma Sponsored by the Georgia Region V Regional Trauma Advisory Committee (RTAC), Nyssa and Lisa talk with educator Brittany Smith about how to care for what can be considered the most special, at risk population of patient: the neurodivergent. In this first part of our two-part series, learn how to recognize the signs of ASD, ADD, ODD, and other psychiatric disorders, especially in the pediatric population, and get tips on how to treat them without causing more distress. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/16355030

Special Populations: The Geriatric Trauma Patient 08/24/2020

Special Populations: The Geriatric Trauma Patient The four part Special Populations in Trauma series is sponsored by the Georgia Region V Regional Trauma Advisory Committee (RTAC). We discuss the epidemiology, the assessments and interventions, special considerations including ethical issues, and end of life concerns in in the special populations of the pregnant trauma patient, the pediatric trauma patient, the bariatric trauma patient, and the geriatric trauma patient. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/15733724

Special Populations: The Bariatric Trauma Patient 08/17/2020

Special Populations: The Bariatric Trauma Patient The four part Special Populations in Trauma series is sponsored by the Georgia Region V Regional Trauma Advisory Committee (RTAC). We discuss the epidemiology, the assessments and interventions, special considerations including ethical issues, and end of life concerns in each population.: the pregnant trauma patient, the pediatric trauma patient. the bariatric trauma patient, and the geriatric trauma patient. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/15651056

Special Populations: Pediatric Patients 08/10/2020

Special Populations: Pediatric Patients The four part Special Populations in Trauma series is sponsored by the Georgia Region V Regional Trauma Advisory Committee (RTAC). We discuss the epidemiology, the assessments and interventions, special considerations including ethical issues, and end of life concerns in each population: pregnant trauma patient, the pediatric trauma patient, the bariatric trauma patient, and the geriatric trauma patient. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/15554219

Special Populations: Pregnant Trauma Patients 08/03/2020

Special Populations: Pregnant Trauma Patients This four part Special Populations in Trauma series is sponsored by the Georgia Region V Regional Trauma Advisory Committee (RTAC). /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/15464315

Climbing the Airway to HEAVEN 06/05/2020

Climbing the Airway to HEAVEN The LEMON mnemonic device works well for scheduled surgeries or other stable pre-op patients, but not so great in the ER. Nyssa and Lisa are joined by airway innovator Dave Olvera, who has developed a new way to think about how to assess difficult intubations. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/14714885

A Perfect Storm for a Lightning Strike 06/05/2020

A Perfect Storm for a Lightning Strike It is undeniable that the COVID19 pandemic has forced everyone to operate differently, so Nyssa and Lisa investigate how to take advantage of this moment to effect positive, lasting changes in how healthcare professionals welcome this next, new generation of post-pandemic nurses. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/14714822

Love, from Nyssa and Lisa 04/07/2020

Love, from Nyssa and Lisa We see you. We're with you. We love you. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/13887464

Churning and Burning ER Nurses 02/21/2020

Churning and Burning ER Nurses It's no secret that working in the ER is a stressful job, but what is the real cost of carrying all the emotional burden inherent in life-and-death situations? Nyssa and Lisa have an in-depth discussion with Workr Beeing's Patricia and Katina, two IO psychologists dedicated to making the workplace a safer place for the self. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/13248740

Nurse Led ACLS 01/19/2020

Nurse Led ACLS When team resuscitation is the goal, let the nurses run the algorithm, and let the doctors customize the code to the patient with differentials and Hs and Ts. So says Ashley Liebig in a discussion with Nyssa and Lisa about Nurse Led ACLS, and why it is important to keep egos out of the equation. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/12796967

The Pause 11/05/2019

The Pause Nyssa and Lisa have a heart to heart (to heart) with nurse Jonathan Bartels, pioneer and author of the Medical Pause - the practice of taking a moment to stop after the death of a patient. Learn how this simple, lovely, and healing gesture helps everyone - from patient to practitioner - reflect, honor, and acknowledge what, and who, has just passed. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/11917835

Shining a Light and Moving the Needle 09/24/2019

Shining a Light and Moving the Needle Nyssa and Lisa sit down with photo-journalist and documentary filmmaker Carolyn Jones, whose fascination and respect for the nursing profession launched the 2014 film The American Nurse, 2017's Defining Hope, and her upcoming project, In Case of Emergency, which focuses exclusively on the ER nurse. Learn why she thinks nurses - what they do and what they know - need to be brought front and center into the most important conversations of today. /episode/index/show/theqwordpodcast/id/11375555

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