Tuesday, October 25, 2011

CNRN Group Meeting Follow-Ups‏

Hello Everyone,

Thank you so much to all of you for attending our first meeting! It was a pleasure to meet and talk with all of you. I have looked at the calendar and will schedule our next meeting for Tuesday November 15.  I am unsure of the time, I will need to check with administration for available times and then get back with you. I may schedule the next meeting in the evening, but I am unsure. I will email all of you as so as I am sure.  

I am attaching several items for you review. Please look for the attachments under the Trauma tab above. The first 2 are clinical practice guidelines in caring for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and severe traumatic brain injury. This 2 documents are very long, skin through them for reference. Create a folder in your documents on your computer for Neuroscience Nursing and save them to that. This will make it easier for you to access the information when you need it.  The next 2 items are powerpoint presentations on Mild & Severe TBI. I received this from a friends who teaches so please don't distribute them, thanks. We will go over the case studies at out next meeting. 

The link list above leads you to the information I talked about regarding the Japanese scientist who created a substance that makes the brain see through. It is very interesting and easy to read. 

The link listed above is the lasted and greatest in Neuroscience news and research happening around the united states. Read at your leisure. 

I believe I stated that there were no books like the CCRN review books for the CNRN. I was wrong I found one offered by the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN). It is a CD ROM designed for candidates preparing to take the CNRN examination. It is a voice-over PowerPoint presentation with modules that follow the examination matrix. The product also includes a PDF of the notes section of the slides for more in-depth studying.

You can get 10.75 CE credits. The cost is $260 for non-members and $199 for members. Now, since I am a member, I would be willing to buy it for anyone who is interested.  However, if anyone is interested, we come together and split the cost.  This would be a great asset for all of us to have.  Please let me know I would gladly copy the CD for each of us. 

Lastly, website for the handheld study guide for the exam. I listed it above. 

If there are any questions please let me know. I will send other study material later this month. All of the information I will send will be listed under the Traumatic Brain Injury content section. Please check the study blogspot (www.CNRNReview.Blogspot.com) for practice questions.

Dates to remember:  
Thursday Nov. 10,2011 - 1-2pm -Webcast on ICP/Ventris/Lumbar drains
                                    Click on link to register - http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22D7MEQ3SSQ
Tuesday Nov. 15, 2011 - Next group meeting - time to be announced
Thursday Nov. 17, 2011 - Neuroscience Conference in Newport Beach CA 

Until Next Time!

Laura M. Reese, RN, MSN, CNS, CCRN

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Updates

Thank You!!!!
To all who made the first meeting a success.


Next Scheduled meeting: 
Tuesday Nov. 14, 2011
Time TBA


Topic:Cerebralvascular

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

CNRN Exam Blueprint




1.      Trauma
A.     Traumatic brain injury
1.      Blast   
2.      Blunt   
3.      Penetrating
B.     Hematoma
1.      Chronic Subdural
2.      Acute Subdural
3.      Epidural
C.     Diffuse Axonal Injury
D.     Contusions
E.      Fractures
1.      Spinal column
2.      Skull   
F.      Spinal cord injury
G.     Herniated nucleus pulposus
H.     Peripheral nerve injury                       
I.        Repetitive stress injury (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbar/cervical strain)

2.      Cerebrovascular
A.     Transient Ischemic Attack      
B.     Aneurysm       
C.     Arterio-venous malformation 
D.     Arterio-venous Fistula
E.      Carotid Stenosis          
F.      Cavernous angiomas   
G.     Dural Arterial-venous fistula
H.     Carotid dissection
I.        Ischemic Stroke
1.      Thrombotic
2.      Embolic
3.      Lacunar
J.       Hemorrhagic Stroke
1.      Intracerebral hemorrhage
2.      Subarachnoid hemorrhage
3.      Intraventricular hemorrhage
K.     Headaches
1.      Acute
2.      Chronic

3.      Tumors
A.     Brain Tumors
1.      Neuroepithelial tissue (e.g., astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, embryonal tumors)
2.      Cranial and spinal nerves (e.g., schwannoma, neurofibroma)
3.      Meningeal and related tissues
4.      Hematopoietic (e.g., lymphomas, hemangioblastomas)
5.      Pituitary
6.      Metastatic
7.      Other (e.g., craniopharyngioma, pineal)

B.     Spinal Cord Tumors
1.      Primary (e.g., astrocytoma, ependymoma, meningioma)
2.      Metastatic
3.      Neurofibroma

4.      Immune/Infection
A.     Abscesses
B.     Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
C.     AIDS
D.     Bell’s Palsy
E.      Encephalitis
F.      Guillain-Barré
G.     Meningitis (viral, bacterial, fungal origin)
H.     Multiple Sclerosis
I.        Myasthenia Gravis

5.      Seizures
A.     Partial
B.     Generalized
C.     Status Epilepticus
D.     Pseudoseizures

6.      Developmental/Degenerative
A.     Arnold-Chiari malformation
B.     Cerebral Palsy
C.      Hydrocephalus
1.      Communicating
2.      Obstructive     
3.      Normal pressure
D.     Spina Bifida: Myelomeningocoele
E.      Down’s Syndrome
F.      Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
G.     Dementia
1.      Alzheimer’s Disease
2.      Vascular
H.     Dystonia
I.        Parkinson’s Disease
J.       Peripheral Neuropathy
K.     Benign Essential Tremor
L.      Degenerative spine disease
1.      Degenerative disk disease
2.      Vertebral compression fractures
3.      Lumbar spondylolisthesis
4.      Spinal stenosis
M.    Craniosynostosis
N.     Balance and dizziness disorders (e.g., Meniere’s disease, Friedrich’s Ataxia)

7.       Other Disorders
A.     Trigeminal neuralgia
B.     Sleep disorders
C.     Toxic encephalopathies
D.     Delirium
E.      Pain
1.      Acute
2.      Chronic
F.      Chemical dependency

 List of Interventions by Domain

Domain 1: Basic Physiological
Activity/Exercise Management
Elimination Management
Immobility Management
Nutritional Support
Physical Comfort Promotion 
Self-care Facilitation

Domain 2: Complex Physiological
Electrolyte & Acid-base Management
Drug Management
Neurological Management
Perioperative Care
Respiratory Management
Skin/Wound Management
Thermoregulation
Tissue Perfusion Management

Domain 3: Behavioral
Behavior Therapy
Cognitive Therapy
Communication Enhancement
Coping Assistance
Patient Education
Psychological Comfort Promotion

Domain 4: Family
Lifespan Care

Domain 5: Safety
Crisis Management
Risk Management

Domain 6: Health System
Health System Mediation
Health System Management
            Information Management


Examination Matrix



Neurological
Disorder
Trauma
Cerebro -
vascular
Tumors
Immune / Infection
Seizure
Develop/ Degen
Other Disorders
Intervention
% of
Exam
12%
25%
15%
10%
8%
20%
10%
Domain
1
Activity/Exercise Mgmt
24%

The distribution of content and test construction procedures for the CNRN are based on this table and described below:

Since the specification has two content dimensions: disorders and intervention, we need to independently consider both content domains while creating a test from. Before an item can be included on a test form, it must be assigned to a disorder domain and linked to an intervention domain. Disorder is the primary domain, and as such items are selected to fulfill the content specifications of seven neurological disorder domains. The percentage of total number of scored items in each domain is given below:

Content Description                          Percentage of         
                                                Items                            Items  
Trauma:                                    12%                              25
Cerebrovascular:                       25%                              52
Tumors:                                    15%                              32
Immune/Infection:                      10%                              20
Seizure:                                    8%                               15
Developmental/Degenerative:     20%                              41
Other Disorders                         10%                              20
Total                                          100%                           205

In addition the final 200 scored items reflect a sampling of a content related to nursing interventions. The result of the 2009 Role Delineation Study established target percentages for intervention groupings for the test specifications. While the test form is being constructed a serious effort is made to match the target percentage and the number of items established for each intervention domain. Targeted percentage of total scored items and approximate number of items in each intervention is given below:

Content Description              Percentage of         Approximate Number of
                                               Items                              Items
Domain 1                                  24%                              50
Domain 2                                  36%                              72
Domain 3                                  15%                              31
Domain 4                                  7%                               14
Domain 5                                  9%                              19
Domain 6                                 9%                               19
Total                                        100%                           205


A list of six nursing intervention domains is available after the disorder domains detailed content outline located on page 11 of the Candidate Handbook.
Elimination Mgmt
Immobility Mgmt
Nutrition Support
Physical Comfort Promotion
Self-Care Facilitation
Domain
2
Electrolyte & Acid Base Mgmt
36%
Drug Mgmt
Neurological Mgmt
Perioperative Care
Respirator Mgmt
Skin/Wound Mgmt
Thermo-
regulation
Tissue Perfusion Mgmt
Domain
3
Behavior Therapy
15%
Cognitive Therapy
Communication Enhancement
Coping Assistance
Patient Education
Psychological Comfort Promotion
Domain
4
Lifespan Care
7%
Domain
5
Crisis Mgmt
9%
Risk Mgmt
Domain
6
Health System Mediation
9%
Health System Mgmt.
Information Mgmt