After an overview of the course, the first session covers diagnostic testing, including exercise stress testing, nuclear medicine scans, and echocardiography. The clinical experiences include visits to the nuclear medicine, echocardiography, treadmill, and cardiac catheterization laboratories. The dissection provides graphic visualization of cardiac anatomy and lays the foundation for discussing implications for nursing practice. Seeing the location of the circumflex artery in relation to the mitral valve and the fragility of the valve leaflets, for example, helps the students better understand the rationale underlying postoperative nursing care plans for patients undergoing mitral valve repair. The second 3-day session focuses on the intervention or treatment phase of cardiovascular disease.
Lectures cover medical and surgical interventions and related nursing care.
Speakers review percutaneous coronary interventional procedures, and students examine equipment, including intracoronary balloons and stents. Lecturers also update students on the heart-lung bypass machine and associated postoperative nursing interventions. The pharmacist also covers medical therapies, including new drugs, in this session. Clinical experiences during session two include rotations to the OR, surgical ICU, cardiac catheterization laboratory, and step-down telemetry unit. This session features a live video and audio connection to the OR during cardiovascular surgery.