Occult Trauma: Assessment and Care in the Emergency Department- 1CH

Course overview

Audience Nurses in community hospitals or other non-trauma settings wishing to learn more about components of trauma assessment. Health-care professionals hoping to identify areas for improvement in their own or their unit’s trauma-assessment process. Course overview Trauma is not always apparent; it can include injuries without presenting symptoms and/or immediate signs. Providers working in health-care facilities that do not specialize in severe trauma may not be trained in trauma assessment, which can lead to increased rates of occult trauma. A trauma assessment should include history with clearly defined mechanism of injury; subsequent consideration of forces involved and potential injuries along the force trajectory; additional history; physical exam adapted to the patient including obese patients; and an imaging workup. Pneumothorax can often be missed, as can spinal cord injuries, which both have serious consequences. The nurse must maintain a high index of suspicion based on patient characteristics and injury patterns. Learning objectives Upon completion of this course, nurses should be able to: -Describe the challenges of trauma care in a non-designated trauma setting and strategize ways to improve care in this setting. -Describe possible mechanisms of injury and forces, and discuss potential clinical presentation. -Describe the challenges of treating patients with obesity in trauma care. -Describe the management of pneumothorax. -List ways the nurse can be alert to history and exam to prevent occult trauma.