Are you getting ready to start on a cardiac inpatient nursing unit?

Are you terrified your cardiac patient will flip into a lethal arrhythmia and you won’t know what to do?

Have you heard experienced nurses and providers throw around terms like junctional rhythm, chemical DVT prophylaxis, and pleurisy… and acted like you knew what they were talking about when you didn’t really know?

Don’t worry, I was there too. Back in 2010 I was hired onto a cardiothoracic and vascular surgery floor and was so scared my patient would suddenly start to decline and I would be clueless about how to handle it.

Even though I passed my cardiac exams in nursing school, did well on the NCLEX® and landed the job, I still felt very unprepared.

While I had some book knowledge, I didn’t have the practical knowledge and experience to safely get through those shifts caring for cardiac patients.

I would send patients down to the cardiac procedural center having no clue what was actually happening down there.

Cardiologists and cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons would throw around terms like pleural effusion, HIT panel, water seal, Swan, and wedge resection, and I’d just nod along like I knew what they were talking about.

There’s so much information out there about cardiac patients, it’s really hard to know what information the bedside nurse needs to know to get through his or her shift.

Should I spend hours and hours learning how to interpret 12-lead EKGs?

Should I make drug cards for all of the brand new anticoagulants on the market?

Should I buy a cardiac certification textbook and try to memorize it?

My short answer: No.

I’m sorry, you shouldn’t. I know you’ll hear some experienced nurses out there say, “All cardiac nurses should know how to read a 12-lead EKG!”

While, yes, that does sound like a wise thing a cardiac nurse should know… we don’t start there.

That’s an ideal. We don’t live in an ideal world, especially in the hospital.

It would be ideal if all patients took their meds. They don’t.

It would be ideal if we were never short staffed. We are.

It would be ideal if we always had what we needed nearby. We don’t.

It would be ideal if when we graduated nursing school we were completely prepared to confidently care for patients all by ourselves. We aren’t.

Why are we missing this huge educational need?

We’re so focused on where we should be when we graduate or enter a new specialty that we don’t start where we actually are.

Most new nurses or people starting cardiac for the first time know nothing about chest tubes, let alone how to manage them safely and confidently talk to cardiothoracic surgeons about them. Most barely understand 5-lead telemetry monitoring, let alone interpreting 12-lead EKG’s with impeccable accuracy. And honestly, most need a refresher on cardiac med basics and considerations. They don’t have the advanced pharmacology of this major medication class memorized backwards and forwards.

We get so focused on the complicated things we think nurses should know that we don’t actually take the time to ask if they grasp the basics - and starting there.

By the time I started on a cardiac unit right out of school, I had forgotten what preload and afterload was, what stroke volume and cardiac index meant, and what CVP actually measured. I was just trying to figure out how to manage my time and not miss anything major.

I wasn’t trying to optimize my patient care - I was trying to survive.

But what if it didn’t have to be that way?

What if you could walk onto the cardiac unit and have a really solid and realistic cardiac foundation so that you can focus on learning your unique unit’s cultures and norms?

What if your preceptor and the providers you work with could discuss cardiac-specific issues with your patient and you could provide a meaningful contribution to the conversation, increase your credibility, build rapport, and gain trust?

What if that looming fear - that someone could ask you a basic question that you should know the answer to but don't - was gone?

THIS COURSE IS CLOSED FOR ENROLLMENT

We have updated it. You can purchase the most current version HERE.

Click on the image to preview the CABG module!

Try the FreshRN® Cardiac Nurse Crash Course for an entire 30-days, risk free.

If you don’t love this course, I insist you get 100% of your money back. Let me tell you why.

I built this course from my own personal experience on a cardiac med-surg unit together with an emergency department nurse and cardiothoracic nurse practitioner and nurse educator. We all had to start somewhere and we wanted to meet you in that very unique and specific place.

We have walked through the orientation experience ourselves and precepted many others. We know what newbies need who are just starting out in cardiac. We know where we need to focus and what can wait.

Not only do we know it, we’re really passionate about it. We care very deeply about both learning what’s going on in a patient’s body as well as how to practically complete the multitude of tasks your responsible for in an efficient and safe way.

We know it’s not just about memorizing pathophysiology.

It’s about learning it in a deeply meaningful way so that you can explain it to people with low health literacy levels in a way that makes sense to them.

It’s learning what tasks must be done immediately, what can wait a few minutes, and what can wait a few hours.

It’s learning how to rapidly analyze multiple clinical situations and make decisions in an efficient, yet safe manner.

We know that sweet spot of education for newbies, and we know it well.

My simple offer is this: If you don’t LOVE this course, I’ll give you 100% of your money back with no questions as long as you request it within 30 days.

(Continuing education credits must not be claimed for us to issue a refund.)

You can go through the entire course and if it’s not translating to a deeper understanding of cardiac nursing, a smoother orientation process, and less stress - I will absolutely give you your money back.

All you need to do is send one email (listed in the course) and that’s it. No phone call. No awkward conversation requiring you to explain anything. No questions asked. One email.

THIS COURSE IS CLOSED FOR ENROLLMENT

We have updated it. You can purchase the most current version HERE.