Summary Mark Klimek Lecture 12

Mark Klimek Lecture #12 February 3, 2018 Prioritizing  You are deciding which patient is the sickest patient.  Four parts usually in the answer o Age o Gender o Diagnosis o Modifying phrase  Gender or age are irrelevant when it comes to prioritizing  Modifying phrase is the most important o If the patient had angina pectoris vs. MI = MI is priority o If the patient had angina pectoris with unstable vital signs Vs. MI with stable vital signs – angina pectoris is priority Four rules of prioritization 1. Acute beats chronic 2. Fresh post-op (within 12 hours) beats medical or other surgical 3. Unstable beats stable Stable Unstable If it says they’re stable in the question Use of the word unstable Chronic illness Acute illness Post-op greater than 12 hours Post-op less than 12 hours Local or regional anesthesia General anesthesia Lab abnormalities of A or B level Lab abnormalities of C or D level “Ready for discharge”, “to be discharged”, admitted longer than 24 hours ago “Newly admitted”, “newly diagnosed”, admitted less than 24 hours ago Unchanged assessments Changed assessments, something new and different Experiencing the typical expected signs and symptoms of the disease with which they were diagnosed Experiencing unexpected signs and symptoms 4. The more vital the organ the higher the pr