HNTKYP: Before the Code

How do you create a drama-free shift? Start by recognizing patient deterioration before it becomes a code.

In this episode, Kevin and Dr. Lisa Wolf discuss how patients often show signs of deterioration hours before cardiac arrest—and why those warning signs are too easily missed, minimized, or handed off to the next shift.

From subtle changes in mental status and relative hypotension to rising respiratory rates, delayed interventions, and the high-acuity patient hiding in a low-acuity setting, they break down what nurses should be watching for. They also discuss the importance of trending vital signs, completing a real assessment, preparing the patient's environment, escalating concerns, and asking for another set of experienced eyes when something just does not look right.

Because the best code is the one that never happens—and hope is not a plan.

Link to the Trigger Values study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21521399/

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