Caring for the Poisoned Patient

Course #34444 - $30 -

Overview

Many nurses—even experienced ER and ICU nurses—are uncomfortable caring for a patient who has taken an overdose. Toxicology is often more art than science, and there is often a limited amount of easily available information a busy nurse can use for practical advice. Also, poisoning emergencies are far less common than medical emergencies such as myocardial infarctions and cerebrovascular accidents, and without a background of hands-on experience, comprehensive care is difficult. This activity will provide nurses with the knowledge they need to provide comprehensive care for a patient with an overdose. This activity will stress that taking care of the poisoned patient requires specific knowledge, but also flexible and creative thinking.

Education Category: Infection Control / Internal Medicine
Release Date: 04/01/2024
Expiration Date: 03/31/2027

Table of Contents

Audience

This course is designed for nurses who may care for patients who have taken an overdose or who have unintentionally been poisoned.

Accreditations & Approvals

In support of improving patient care, TRC Healthcare/NetCE is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Designations of Credit

NetCE designates this continuing education activity for 5 ANCC contact hour(s). NetCE designates this continuing education activity for 3 pharmacotherapeutic/pharmacology contact hour(s). NetCE designates this continuing education activity for 6 hours for Alabama nurses. AACN Synergy CERP Category A.

Individual State Nursing Approvals

In addition to states that accept ANCC, NetCE is approved as a provider of continuing education in nursing by: Alabama, Provider #ABNP0353, (valid through July 29,2025); Alabama, Provider #ABNP0353, (valid through July 29, 2025); Arkansas, Provider #50-2405; California, BRN Provider #CEP9784; California, LVN Provider #V10662; California, PT Provider #V10842; District of Columbia, Provider #50-2405; Florida, Provider #50-2405; Georgia, Provider #50-2405; Kentucky, Provider #7-0054 through 12/31/2025; South Carolina, Provider #50-2405; South Carolina, Provider #50-2405. West Virginia RN and APRN, Provider #50-2405.

Course Objective

The purpose of this course is to provide information regarding the most common poisoning emergencies and their treatments to ensure that these cases are identified and treated early, resulting in better outcomes and improved patient care.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

  1. Evaluate indications for interventions to stabilize the poisoned patient.
  2. List drugs/toxins with unique properties, such as low toxic doses and delayed effects, that may affect patients' clinical presentation.
  3. Identify toxidromes and their associated signs and symptoms.
  4. Outline laboratory and other testing that may be useful when assessing the poisoned patient.
  5. Compare and contrast various gastric decontamination techniques.
  6. Compare antidotes and indications for their use.
  7. Analyze the care for common dermal, ocular, and inhalational exposures.

Faculty

Dana Bartlett, RN, BSN, MSN, MA, CSPI, is a Certified Specialist in Poison Information. He worked at the Poison Control Center in Philadelphia as a hotline operator from 1993 until 2011. From 2011 to the present, he has been working as a hotline operator at the Connecticut Poison Control Center. Mr. Bartlett received his BSN from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1976; his MSN from Boston University in 1978; and his MA in journalism from Temple University in 1988. His clinical experience includes 6 years as an ICU nurse and 10 years as an ER nurse. He has authored more than 100 continuing education modules for RNs and allied health personnel, and he has been published in Nursing Magazine, OR Nurse, Journal of Emergency Nursing, Legal Nurse Consultant, American Nurse Today, Journal of Emergency Services, and Orthopedics Today. He has also authored textbook chapters and NCLEX material and has edited and reviewed for several major publishers.

Faculty Disclosure

Contributing faculty, Dana Bartlett, RN, BSN, MSN, MA, CSPI, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

Division Planner

Margo A. Halm, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, FAAN

Division Planner Disclosure

The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

Director of Development and Academic Affairs

Sarah Campbell

Director Disclosure Statement

The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

About the Sponsor

The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.

Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.

Disclosure Statement

It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.

Technical Requirements

Supported browsers for Windows include Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 and up, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and up, Opera 9.0 and up, and Google Chrome. Supported browsers for Macintosh include Safari, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and up, Opera 9.0 and up, and Google Chrome. Other operating systems and browsers that include complete implementations of ECMAScript edition 3 and CSS 2.0 may work, but are not supported. Supported browsers must utilize the TLS encryption protocol v1.1 or v1.2 in order to connect to pages that require a secured HTTPS connection. TLS v1.0 is not supported.

Implicit Bias in Health Care

The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.

Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.