Stroke Nursing Certification Review

327 Pages·2022·18.815 MB·English

by  Kathy J. Morrison

STROKE NURSING M
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Certification Review
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Kathy J. Morrison, MSN, RN, CNRN, SCRN, FAHA
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Includes 6 months’ free ExamPrepConnect digital access with print purchase!
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Stroke Nursing Certification Review is designed to help you prepare for the high-stakes SCRN® certification
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exam. This comprehensive study aid includes concise review content as well as updated Q&As. Chapters STROKE NURSING
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feature clinical pearls and tips to help you prepare for exam day. Case studies facilitate knowledge application
and provide various examples of common stroke patient situations across the continuum of care. Each chapter E
covers everything you need to know to pass the exam and includes end-of-chapter questions to check your
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knowledge. The review concludes with a full-length practice test to get you ready for exam day. With more
than 400 practice questions, detailed review content and answer rationales, and access to ExamPrepConnect, U
we empower you with the tools and materials to study your way and the confidence to pass the first time, R Certification Review
guaranteed! Know that you’re ready. Know that you’ll pass with Springer Publishing Exam Prep.
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Key Features N
• Reflects the latest American Board of Neuroscience Nursing (ABNN) SCRN® exam blueprint G
• Provides a comprehensive yet concise review of essential knowledge for the exam

• Covers essential pharmacology content and key stroke care medications C
• Highlights clinical pearls and exam tips—ideal for last-minute refreshers before the big day e
• Includes end-of-chapter Q&As and a full practice test with detailed rationales r
• Boosts your confidence with a 100% pass guarantee (details inside) t
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• Offers on-the-go digital access with ExamPrepConnect f
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ExamPrepConnect—the digital study platform that guides you confidently through your exam prep
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journey. With this score-boosting study tool, you can:
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• Review all the high-quality content from the book io
• Get organized by using the personalized study plan based on your exam date
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• Study by topic to identify your strengths and weaknesses

• Strengthen your knowledge with more than 400 practice questions and detailed answer rationales R
• Prepare for exam day with a full 3-hour timed practice test e
• Connect and chat with fellow SCRN® test takers using the discussion board v
• Play games to make studying fun i
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See access code details inside the book. w
SCRN® is a registered service mark of American Board of Neuroscience Nursing
(ABNN). ABNN does not sponsor or endorse this resource, nor does it have a proprietary
relationship with Springer Publishing.
KATHY J. MORRISON
ISBN 978-0-8261-8405-4
11 W. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036-8002
www.springerpub.com
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Stroke Nursing
Certification Review
Kathy J. Morrison, MSN, RN, CNRN, SCRN, FAHA, is a certified neuroscience nurse, a
certified stroke nurse, a Fellow of the American Heart Association, and a recipient of the
prestigious Pennsylvania State Nightingale Award for Clinical Nursing Excellence. She
played a pivotal role in Penn State Hershey Medical Center’s attainment of The Joint
Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center certification and has mentored many stroke
program coordinators through the process of attaining Primary and Comprehensive Stroke
Center certification. Ms. Morrison is the author of Fast Facts for Stroke Care Nursing as well
as the Stroke Certification Study Guide for Nurses, a chapter contributor for the American
Association of Neuroscience Nurses Core Curriculum and Online CNRN Review Course,
and a contributing author for the American Heart Association’s Stroke Education online
series. In 2010, she established the Stroke Coordinators of Pennsylvania (SCoPA)—a group
of stroke coordinators whose collaborative work has resulted in significant improvements
in stroke care and outcomes in community hospitals across central Pennsylvania.
Ms. Morrison is a board member of the Susquehanna Valley Chapter of the American
Association of Neuroscience Nurses and is a board member of the Stroke Survivors
Foundation.
Stroke Nursing
Certification Review
Kathy J. Morrison, msn, rn, cnrn, scrn, faha
Copyright © 2023 Springer Publishing Company, LLC
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
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Springer Publishing Company, LLC
11 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036
www.springerpub.com
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Acquisitions Editor: Jaclyn Koshofer
Compositor: DiacriTech
ISBN: 978-0-8261-8405-4
ebook ISBN: 978-0-8261-8406-1
DOI: 10.1891/9780826184061
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The author and the publisher of this Work have made every effort to use sources believed to be reliable to provide
information that is accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication.
Because medical science is continually advancing, our knowledge base continues to expand. Therefore, as new
information becomes available, changes in procedures become necessary. We recommend that the reader always
consult current research and specific institutional policies before performing any clinical procedure or delivering
any medication. The author and publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages
resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance on, the information contained in this book. The
publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet websites
referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate
or appropriate.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
LCCN: 2022902844
Contact [email protected] to receive discount rates on bulk purchases.
Publisher’s Note: New and used products purchased from third-party sellers are not guaranteed for quality,
authenticity, or access to any included digital components.
Printed in the United States of America.
SCRN® is a registered service mark of American Board of Neuroscience Nursing (ABNN). ABNN does not sponsor
or endorse this resource, nor does it have a proprietary relationship with Springer Publishing.
Contents
Contributors vii
Preface ix
Pass Guarantee xi
1. Foundations of Stroke Care 1
2. About the SCRN® Exam 9
3. Anatomy, Physiology, and Etiology of Strokes 15
4. Associated Stroke Disorders 49
5. Hyperacute Stroke Care 61
6. Stroke Diagnostics 87
7. Neurological and Functional Assessment and Severity Scores 101
8. Acute Stroke Care 121
9. Medications 147
Ritu C. Light
10. Postacute Stroke Care 167
11. Primary and Secondary Preventive Care 189
12. Case Studies 213
Cesar Velasco
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13. Practice Exam 253
14. Practice Exam: Answers 281
Appendix: Neuroscience Glossary 305
Index 309
Contributors
Ritu C. Light, PharmD, is a graduate of the Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency (PGY1)
at WellSpan York Hospital in York, Pennsylvania. She has experience in the hospital,
administrative, and ambulatory pharmacy settings. She has been at the Penn State Health
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, since 2014 as a transitional care
pharmacist for the stroke program. In this role, she works with the pharmacy department’s
bedside discharge medications program, completes transitional care activities for the stroke
population, and staffs at the institution’s Anticoagulation Clinic. Ritu shares her expertise
in educating the community and her interdisciplinary colleagues.
Cesar Velasco, BSN, RN, ASC-BC, is a former emergency department nurse who has
adapted the critical care experience within his current role as a stroke program coordinator
for Penn State Health. Earning his Advanced Stroke Program Coordinator certifi cation has
enhanced Cesar’s ability to engage with various stakeholders with the focus of delivering
safe and quality stroke care. His commitment to improving clinical practice has motivated
Cesar to inspire nurses at the bedside to help champion stroke program goals. He is an
advocate for change and creating opportunity for nurses to be infl uential in this change
when it pertains to the implementation of best practice in stroke care. He is a member of
the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses and the Association of Neurovascular
Clinicians.
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Preface
Stroke care nursing is multifaceted and requires a specialized body of knowledge and a
specifi c skill set to meet the complex care needs of patients. Over the past 15 to 20 years,
nurses who found themselves working with this distinct population (and many did not
consciously seek out the challenge) also found the need for collaboration and support from
their peers across the country. As research evidence led to practice standards and stroke
center certifi cation, nurses recognized that a specialty was being born.
This review and study guide is a combination of my fi rst two books, Fast Facts for Stroke
Care Nursing and Stroke Certifi cation Study Guide for Nurses. The feedback I received from
those books has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve heard from nurses who discovered a
passion for stroke care and others who developed increased confi dence in their stroke care
competence, nurses who utilized the book to help their organization prepare for and attain
stroke center certifi cation, nurses who expressed gratitude for a pocket-sized reference that
was quick and easy to use, and nurses who described these books as key to their success
with the American Board of Neuroscience Nursing’s Stroke Certifi ed Registered Nurse
(SCRN®) exam. It just made sense to combine these two into one comprehensive resource.
Each chapter is designed with stroke care information including clinical pearls, followed
by knowledge check questions and a case study specifi c to that chapter. The questions will
be valuable not only for those preparing for the exam but also for nurses helping their
colleagues to prepare for stroke center certifi cation visits and for internal stroke education
hours at their organization. The book’s format includes the SCRN exam categories, as well
as distinct chapters on medication, diagnostic tests, and neurological assessment. There is
a practice test with 170 questions, and along with the case study questions and knowledge
check questions, there are a total of over 400 questions in this comprehensive resource. The
number of questions in each category matches the percentage of the test dedicated to that
category. The medications chapter, provided by my colleague, a stroke clinical pharmacist,
Ritu C. Light, will provide an overview and clinical tips on the most common medications
prescribed for stroke patients. Case studies are a valuable tool used in nursing education,
so in addition to those included in each specifi c chapter, my colleague and one of the best
stroke coordinators I know, Cesar Velasco, has provided a collection of 10 case studies that
span the continuum of stroke care to further stimulate your critical thinking. I’ve retained
the neuroscience terms appendix for quick reference of the most used—and sometimes
confounding—neuroscience terms.
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