Check Your Understanding Questions
1
.
What challenges are often encountered by critical care nurses when working in an ICU setting?
2
.
You are the nurse caring for a patient who is about to receive ECMO therapy. How would you explain the procedure to the patient and their family?
3
.
What are examples of interventions that critical care nurses may take when caring for a patient with cardiogenic shock?
4
.
The patient’s pH measurement comes back as 7.47 after being treated for acute hypercapnic respiratory failure. What acid or base pH would this represent?
5
.
The nurse observes that a patient’s ETT tube has migrated forward. What intervention should the nurse anticipate next?
6
.
Briefly list three interventions nurses can implement to reduce ICP.
7
.
Describe how decorticate posturing differs from decerebrate posturing.
8
.
The critical care nurse has recently noticed an increase in pressure ulcers on their unit. What interventions should the nurse suggest to the unit manager and other staff nurses to decrease the incidence of skin breakdown on the unit?