Rapid Response RN

A 60-year-old patient recovering from surgery suddenly develops double vision. His vital signs are normal, his speech is clear, and he has no obvious one-sided weakness. But something isn't right.What could cause such a dramatic neurological change? And what can we do to prevent permanent damage?Put your critical…

"I feel like I'm drowning." Four days after a STEMI, a patient who had been recovering well is sitting bolt upright, coughing up pink, frothy sputum, and unable to catch his breath.In this episode, Sarah walks you through a worst-case scenario complication every cardiac nurse needs on their radar: post-MI papillary…

The shock worked. The rhythm converted. And then V-fib came right back. Now what?Part two of this series explores the physiology and pharmacology driving recurrent V-fib so you can respond confidently when shocks aren’t enough.You'll learn how the body's sympathetic nervous system response keeps the heart unstable…

This special episode was recorded and released on the Nurse Gwenny Podcast. We talked about some of those early signs of deterioration that are often missed and how we can speak up and advocate before the patient crashes.Check out this episode and so many more over at the Nurse Gwenny PodcastAnd, you can join the…

Sometimes V-fib doesn't respond to the shock at all. Sometimes it converts and comes right back. Those are two completely different problems.In this episode, Sarah breaks down the science behind why defibrillation fails, how to recognize the difference between refractory and recurrent V-fib, and respond when shocks…

Imagine being able to cut your hospital's code blue events outside of critical care in HALF in just six months. That's exactly what happened when Sarah built her hospital's rapid response team from the ground up.Nurse Gwenny takes over the show to find out how she did it, from the pitch that got the program started to…

We all know the many challenges facing the Nursing profession today. Nursing takes so much from us… but it also has so much to offer.Recorded live at NurseCon at Sea, Sarah sits down with two nurses who hit their breaking point and found a way to keep showing up. This episode goes deep into the messy reality of…

Getting ROSC is not always the win we sometimes think it is. It's what we're looking for the entire resuscitation, but the real challenge begins once we get it… and what we do in the next few hours has a major impact on patient outcomes.In this episode, Sarah shares a real rapid response case to walk through the…

The AHA just updated the playbook on acute pulmonary embolism. The old classification system is gone. Heparin drips are no longer the default. And if your instinct is to push for intubation, that could be the thing that makes your patient worse.In this episode, Dr. Mark Creager, lead author of the 2026 AHA…

"There has to be a better way." We've all thought it. This episode is proof that nurses can be the ones to make it happen.In this episode, Sarah is joined by Kat Siaron, rapid response nurse and co-author of the RRT STAR study that shows what happens when nurses are empowered to act before a clear stroke diagnosis is…

The stroke guidelines just changed and it’s exciting and nuanced! What you do in the first 30 minutes could drastically change your patient's outcome. In this episode, Dr. Shyam Prabhakaran, neurologist and chief writer of the new 2026 AHA Stroke Guidelines, explains what's changed and how these guidelines are…

ARDS is one of the more complex syndromes we manage in critical care. More than just pulmonary edema, we are battling stiff lungs, refractory hypoxemia, rising pressures, and frequently making decisions that can either protect the lung or make things worse.In this episode, I’m joined by respiratory therapist Melody…

A transplant saves a life… but can also make the body attack itself. That's what Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) does, and why nurses need to catch it early. You may have never seen it before, but this episode will tell you what it looks like at the bedside and the early clues you can’t afford to miss.Through a real…

You know those moments when something just “feels off?” That’s when you should trust your instincts and speak up because timing can completely change a patient’s outcome.In this episode, Sarah is joined by Dr. Oscar Mitchell, Associate Director of the Center for Resuscitation Science and Director of the Medical Rapid…

The science is finally catching up to what clinicians have long known: more fluids aren't always the answer to septic shock. In this episode, host Sarah Lorenzini and Jaclyn Bond MSN-LM, MBA-HM explain what the ANDROMEDA-SHOCK 2 trial reveals about physiology-guided sepsis resuscitation and why fixed-volume fluid…

Pulmonary embolisms don’t always announce themselves... sometimes they ambush. One minute your patient is walking with physical therapy, the next they’re hypotensive, hypoxic, and coding. This re-released early episode dives deep into why PE patients can look deceptively stable… right up until they aren’t.In this…

Some of the most common respiratory myths are still showing up at the bedside. But it's not your fault — most of us were never taught what an oxygenation problem versus a ventilation problem looks like in real time.In this episode, Melody Bishop RT explains how respiratory therapists think through oxygenation and…

Rural nursing is anything but simple. They have limited resources, fewer specialists, and often have to send patients hours away from their families for a higher level of care. But all that is changing as new tech like Zeto brings monitoring right to the bedside and keeps more patients close to home.In this episode…

Your pneumonia patient is hypotensive, tachycardic, and not responding to fluids… what did you miss? It could be sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy, a common under-recognized shock state you could see at the bedside.In this episode, Dr. Mahmoud Ibrahim MD and host Sarah Lorenzini use a case study to highlight how nurses…

Every five years, resuscitation guidelines get a refresh. This year, a few have changed, many have stayed the same, and some are creating major controversy.In this episode, Dr. Ashish Panchal, Chair of the AHA Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee, helps us unpack what’s new, what might surprise you, and the science…

Differential diagnosis is part physiology, part detective work. Especially in heart failure, where similar vital signs can mean very different things.In this episode, Natalie RN is back on the show to break down two pediatric cases that looked almost identical on arrival to the ED but their workups led to two very…

Every trauma nurse knows this feeling: your stable patient suddenly starts to decompensate and instinct tells you there’s more to the story. Today’s case starts with a stable, post-arrest patient and ends in a full-blown tension pneumothorax.Hear why this patient went from stable to crashing in minutes, how delayed…

This is one of those cases that tests you in every way as a nurse. A toddler is pulled out of a pool and rushed to the ER, unresponsive and deteriorating fast. Today, Nurse Amber walks us through the critical moments that followed and how this case inspired her to turn her grief into a positive resource for nurses.We…

Some conditions hide in your genes, without any symptoms. One of these conditions is genetic arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, an inherited condition that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest — even if you feel completely fine.In this episode, Sarah and Leslie talk about their shared diagnosis of FLNC cardiomyopathy — from…