Critical Care Test 1 With Correct Answers Grade A Certified 2025/26

Two main professional organizations mentioned that support critical care practice. - correct answersAmerican Association of Critical-Care nurses (AACN) and Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Which organization best supports critical care nurses out of the two mentioned? - correct answersThe AACN's mission is to assist acute and critical care nurses to attain knowledge and influence to deliver excellent care using the "synergy model". The SSCM is targeted more toward the entire health care team in critical care, so AACN would serve nurses more. What is the mission of AACN? - correct answersassisting acute and critical care nurses to attain knowledge and influence to deliver excellent care What is the Vision of AACN? - correct answersa. creating a health care system driven by the needs of patients and families in which critical care nurses make their optimal contributions (described as synergy) What is the Values of AACN? - correct answersAccountability, advocacy, integrity, collaboration, leadership, stewardship, lifelong learning, quality, innovation, and commitment Explain the Synergy Model and how it is used in practice? - correct answersPatient needs (medically, emotionally, culturally, etc.) drive the nurse competencies required for patient care - when competencies stem from patient needs, and the characteristics of the nurse and patient match, synergy occurs and enables optimal outcomes - Many organizations use this model as a basis for developing frameworks for nursing practice, this is also used to implement appropriate staffing by ensuring the best nurse is matched with the patient that matches that nurse's competencies What types of certifications are available for ICU nurses? - correct answersCCRN (nurses who provide care for critically ill adult, peds, or neonatal populations) and PCCN (nurses who provide acute care in progressive care, telemetry, and similar units) Why are critical care certifications important? - correct answersThey validate knowledge of critical care nursing, promotes professional excellence, and helps nurses to maintain a current base of knowledge What 3 specific projects/organizations are in place to assist nurses in providing safe care? - correct answersi. Quality and safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project ii. Joint Commissions National Patient Safety Goals iii. Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Quality and Saftey Education for Nurses (QSEN) - correct answersdefines 6 core competencies that provide a foundation for safe nursing care - patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, informatics, and safety Joint Commission- National Patient Safety Goals - correct answersgoals updated annually to ensure facilities implement actions and protocols to address safety - ex. improve accuracy of patient identification, improve communication among HC providers (report critical values/test results), improve medication safety (labeling meds, contraindications, harmful side effects), use alarms safely, reduce risk of healthcare-associated infections (hand hygiene, aseptic techniques), identify safety risks (self-harm patients, fall risks), and prevent complications associated with surgery and procedures Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) - correct answersproduced an action plan for reducing healthcare-associated infections and preventing infections with multidrug-resistant organisms - action plan includes bundles of care to reduce harms Explain what a Bundle of Care is? - correct answersCare bundles are a set of 3-5 EBP (interventions) that when used together cause significant improvement in patient outcomes 1. All elements of the care bundle must be performed in a series of steps by 1 healthcare team within a single time frame Bundles of Care Example at Bedside - correct answersEx: caring for central lines, practicing meticulous hand hygiene, using full barrier precautions during central line insertion, applying chlorhexidine to the patient's skin as a cleansing agent, avoiding central line insertion into femoral vein, removing unnecessary IV caths What are some barriers to effective handoff communication? - correct answers1. Physical setting- background noise, lack of privacy, interruptions - ex. giving report in a noisy/busy hallway causing the recipient of the handoff to miss important information due to noise 2. Social setting- organizational hierarchy and status issues - ex. a nurse needing to communicate a critical value to a MD but they aren't answering the page or a new nurse feeling anxious to call the MD promptly 3. Language- differences between people of varying racial or ethnic backgrounds or geographical areas - ex. different languages between healthcare providers or even patient-to-healthcare provider 4. Communication medium- limitations of communications via telephone, e-mail, paper, or computerized records vs. face-to-face communication - ex. a peer missing a page, computer glitch causing messages to fail sending What standardized measures have been implemented to help prevent communication breakdown at shift change? - correct answersi. Ask-Tell-Ask (a strategy for encouraging nurses to assess concerns before providing more information, especially when discussing stressful issues with patient and families) ii. Tell Me More (tool that encourages information sharing in challenging situations) iii. SBAR (useful tool with especially physicians) Can you give examples of things you may need to communicate during multi-professional rounds? - correct answersDischarge needs, greatest safety risk, critical care "bundles", assessment and recommendation follow-up (Head to toe status), assess needs for all meds ordered, identify central lines and caths and tubes and if they can be removed, issues that need to be addressed (family needs, code status, advance directives), treatment goals and strategies, and plans for discussing care/needs with families What types of things contribute to this sensory overload/deprivation? - correct answersi. Noise level (call-bell, oxygen or chest tube bubbling, loud conversations, voices over intercoms, telephones ringing, Tv, raising or lowering the bed, cardiac monitor, ventilator sounds, pneumonic tubes) ii. Environment is very different from their usual surroundings iii. Lighting issues (not enough natural light= deprivation and too much artificial light= overload) - Sensory deprivation in critical care unit due to the increase in perceptual disturbances (hallucinations), lack of interaction with family, introduction to a foreign environment, and artificial light disrupting a patient's circadian rhythm What types of interventions can nurses implement to combat sensory overload/deprivation? - correct answersi. Placing patients in private rooms, providing "sedative" music, avoid excessively loud talking, responding to phones quickly, assessing alarms quickly ii. Encourage friends and family visitations, posting family photos and providing music or TV that the patient usually enjoys iii. Utilizing natural light in rooms, diming artificial lighting What types of stressors do patients identify from their critical care experience? - correct answersDifficulty communicating, pain, thirst, difficulty swallowing, anxiety, lack of control, depression, fear, lack of family and friends, physical restraint, feelings of dread, inability to get comfortable, difficulty sleeping, loneliness, and thoughts of death and dying