In this episode, we unpack anomalous origin of the right pulmonary artery [AORPA] (hemitruncus) from pathophysiology to bedside care, focusing on early recognition of respiratory and perfusion changes, pre‑ and postoperative nursing priorities, and family-centered education to optimize outcomes for these high-risk infants and children.

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In this episode, we walk through the pathophysiology, classic clinical signs, and high-stakes decision points in recognizing and treating tension pneumothorax, emphasizing why it is a clinical diagnosis that demands immediate decompression to prevent obstructive shock and cardiac arrest.

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In this episode, we break down physiologic vs pathologic neonatal jaundice, highlighting timing, red-flag features, and bilirubin trends so you can quickly distinguish benign newborn jaundice from conditions that require urgent evaluation and treatment.

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ABO incompatibility can sound intimidating, but once you understand the “why,” the nursing care starts to click. In this episode, we unpack how maternal and newborn blood type differences can lead to hemolysis, rising bilirubin, and newborn jaundice. We’ll walk through what to look for, what to do, how to know treatment is working, and what families need to understand before going home.

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In this episode I breakdown the pathophysiology of the terrible disease process known as Huntingtons and talk about how patient's who develop this present, what interventions to consider, and how to evaluate and educate patients and their families. 

Disclaimer: The mention of mental health screening, which include screening for suicidal ideation is mentioned in this episode. 

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In this episode I try to quickly breakdown the rare neurological disorder that happens have an illness where the patients immune system mistakenly attacks the peripheral nervous system causing weakness, paralysis and sensory disturbances! Come find out the quick breakdown of GBS! 

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In this episode I talk about that pathophysiology baseline knowledge you need to understand to put the pieces of autonomic dysreflexia together. I then break down how patients who may experience this present, what interventions you'd want to consider from the nursing perspective and the evaluation and education considerations you bring forward. 

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In this episode increased ICP is discussed, what causes it, how patients present, interventions that would be done and evaluation of those interventions. 

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In this episode I cover cardiogenic shock considerations and how this type of shock differs from the other types. Medication considerations, nursing interventions and how one would evaluate if care provided improved the patient outcome. 

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In this episode I discuss different types of seizures, how they might present, and nursing interventions to consider if taking care of these types of patients. 

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In this episode I briefly break down upper GI issues include Hernias, PUD, and gastritis. I talk about what this might look like in your patients, what you do as a nurse, and how you evaluate and educate your patients regarding these issues from the nitty gritty standpoint. 

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In this episode I talk about the trajectory of sepsis and nursing considerations.

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In this episode I discuss the basic pathology of DIC and then dive into the nitty gritty basics of how these patients present, what our interventions are and how we evaluate their outcomes. 

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In this episode I discuss how we treat hepatic encephalopathy, the nitty gritty basics of how it evolves and what we do from a nursing perspective on managing this type of patient. 

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In this episode I discuss esophageal varices, considerations, nursing interventions, and what you should consider if taking care of a patient who is suffering from these. 

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In this episode I try to break down what the liver is responsible for doing in the body and why liver cirrhosis is so terrible to have. 

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In this episode I cover the various difference between both diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar non-ketotic syndrome (HHNS). Lets break this down simply and the nursing interventions you would consider doing. 

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In this episode I briefly discuss cyanotic and mixed congenital heart defects including: Tetralogy of Fallot, Transposition of the Great Arteries, truncus arteriosus, and Tricuspid atresia, just to name a few. 

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In this episode I'll cover acyanotic congenital heart defects (CHD). Which is a defect in increased pulmonary blood flow. Hopefully this is helpful for those of you needing clarification! Increased pulmonary blood flow means that more blood goes to the lungs than to the body on the systolic squeeze. Its often a left to right shunt.
Acyanotic Defects:
- Ventricular septal defect (VSD)
- Atrial septal defect (ASD)
- Patent Ductus Arterious (PDA)
Obstructive Defects:
- Aortic Stenosis
- Pulmonary Stenosis 
- Coarctation of the Aorta

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In this episode I will cover a few of the most common types of trachs you might see in the clinical and hospital setting, nursing considerations, complications to be leary of and what to do about them.

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In this episode I discuss blood transfusions, nursing considerations, and the transfusion reactions you'll want to be on the look out for!

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In this episode I breakdown acute kidney injury, the different causes that can lead to this and the four phases that many patients will experience with an AKI. 

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In this episodes I talk about the different types of shocks and what treatments we would consider in nursing. This episode is a "Part II" to the first shocks episode on this podcast. 

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In this episode I cover the different types of shocks that patients suffer from and go into the nitty gritty depth of the four stages of shock that you should be aware of as a nurse caring for patients who are suffering from shock. 

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In this episode we discuss the different types of bowel obstructions that patients might suffer from and what our nursing considerations are while we care for people with obstructions.

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In this episode I discuss the different attributes of both Crohns and Ulcerative colitis and I will talk about different nursing considerations to be aware of.

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In this episode I break down Arterial Blood Gases (aka ABG's) and things you need to know about interpreting these lab values in your nursing practice! 

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In this episode I cover the basics of appendicitis and nursing management that one would take if their patient needed to have an appendectomy to remove the rotten appendix.

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This is a combined series episode. Here I've combined shorter episodes in one place for those who want longer episodes and don't want to have to hunt down the individual ones. 

If you prefer the shorter episodes, check on the two I've done on these topics!

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In this short episode I'll cover the nitty gritty basics of anaphylaxis, what to look for and the simple steps you should take as a nurse and consider (especially if you're studying for an exam).

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In this episode I'll cover the nitty gritty basics of pulmonary edema in patients, what causes it and what nursing interventions would be done based on the original culprit. 

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This is a combined series episode, where I've taken both the thyroid and parathyroid episode and combined it into one for those of you who want to listen to a longer epsidoe that covers content applicable to each other.

If you prefer a shorter episode - check out the two episodes that cover this content separately. 

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In this episode I quickly discuss acute and chronic pancreatitis and some of the nitty gritty nursing implications that we should consider when caring for patients suffering from this problem.

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In this episode I try to break down the different types of hepatitis illness out there, how they are transmitted, tested for, and nursing considerations. 

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In this episode I quickly break down three different types of cardiomyopathy:
Dilated
Restrictive 
Hypertrophic
I'll cover the nitty gritty basics of who gets these, what we do, and nursing implications.

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Here I try and break down the basics of two hereditary anemias that patients have the potential to experience and the nursing implications associated with these. We talk about sickle cell anemia/disease and hemophilia A/B. 

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In this episode I'll discuss the nitty gritty basics of anemias, specifically as it relates to blood loss, iron deficiency, and vitamin B12 anemias. But essentially how patients present when they're anemic is almost the same - because they don't have sufficient RBC's to do the oxygen transportation.

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In this episode I discuss the nursing care and implications of patients suffering from hypo or hyper parathyroidism. 

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Struggling to remember what the "normal" values are for the key elements of a complete blood count (CBC) or a basic metabolic panel (BMP). In this episode I provide some fun ways to try and remember the normal values that you might see in your clinical setting or on a nursing exam.

* Disclaimer - this is just rough lab values, you may find other normal values that are slightly different than these I discuss. This is due to the type of equipment and lab. There are also variances in male to female gender as well. Please don't hang your testing skills solely on these lab values I talk about here. 

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In this podcast I discuss the differences between syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) and diabetes insipidus (DI). These parallel endocrine disorders result from the posterior pituitary over releasing or not giving up enough ADH in the system to work properly.

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Bonus Episode: I received a request from a listener, Tamara, to cover childhood vaccination schedules and an easy way to remember what they are. I struggled with this when I was in nursing school and frankly had test questions on this when I took my board exams. Here is one way to remember when children get all of the vaccinations in the United States. 

Make sure to like the podcast and give me feedback! If there's a topic you would like for me to try and cover from the Nitty Gritty basic perspective - let me know!

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In this short podcast I discuss the different types of burns you might need to know, the stages of burns, and nursing care associated with them.

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Wanna talk about issues with the thyroid? Here I discuss the implications behind hypothyroid and hyperthyroid and the severe ends of the extreme including Myxedema Coma and Thyroid Storm. 

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Lets break down hypo and hyper secretion of the adrenal glands. Of all the endocrine related topics, this one sucks the most, in my opinion, based on the pathophysiology and nursing implications of what we should do. 

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Lets break down heart valve stenosis and regurgitation. Its all about the blood flow and what the valve is doing. 
Stenosis: impedes forward blood flow
Regurgitation: allows blood to back flow
Here is what is happening and here are ways we can fix this with associated nursing considerations. 

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Lets break down pericarditis and the nursing assessment, management, and treatment considerations we need to employ. 

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Are you confused between pathologic versus physiologic jaundice in the newborn? Listen up for a quick break down of how this manifests and what we do and consider as nurses. 

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Lets be real... This is really the evil triangle of transition and what to consider with newborns as they transition from the womb of their birth parent to the real world. Top three things to consider, nursing care, and what you should anticipate. Also - I am not a peds nurse, I will never claim to be, so this is how I wrap my head around this. 

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Lets talk about patients who have infective endocarditis and how you might consider managing them during this phase of their care and treatment. 

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Have you ever been confused between the difference of an electrical cardioversion and defibrillation? If so, I try to break down the key differences and what nurses should consider for each modality of cardiac treatment and process. 

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Delegation... that can be confusing. This hopefully breaks down what a registered nurse can and cannot delegate to an un-licensed assistive person (UAP)/certified nursing assistant (CNA) and a licensed practical nurse (LPN)/Licensed vocational nurse (LVN).

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In this episode we cover the different types of pneumonia you might see in patients you care for, how they present, assessment aspects, and treatment variations that nurses would carry out. 

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Lets talk about nursing care and considerations treating and caring for a patient who might have a pulmonary embolus. Just the nitty gritty basics. 

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An introduction to what this podcast can be, how it is planned to be designed, and who might want to listen in to learn. 

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Want to know about nursing care and chest tubes? This podcast will cover why patients have chest tubes, the emergency dangers and what you should do to fix them!

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