Stroke Education for New Grad Nurses

Support for After the Stroke

Rehab
Rehabilitation is integral in the stroke patient's recovery. Depending on the severity of the stroke, a patient may need extensive rehab before going home or even going to a skilled nursing facility. Rehab generally consists of physical, occupational, and speech therapy but can involve other therapies as well.

Physical therapy
Physical therapy is also incredibly important for stroke patients. Many patients have to relearn how to walk and get around because often one side of the patient's body is now weaker than the other side. Physical therapists are experts at determining the patient's areas of weakness and then formulate a plan to help the patient get stronger as well as increase their abilities to get them as close to their baseline as possible.

Occupational therapy
Occupational therapists help stroke patients learn to perform every day tasks such as eating, writing, teeth brushing, etc. These skills, which we often take for granted, can really help the patient feel a sense of independence and control in their lives. Occupational therapists can provide the patient with special utensils to eat or write and teach them how to use them.

Speech therapy
Many stroke patients have profound changes to their speech and language. Speech therapists identify not only a patient's level of language capabilities, but also their cognition level. A speech therapist will use tools and programs to help a patient relearn language and can help the patient rediscover the speaking abilities he/she may have lost with the stroke.

Vocational therapy
Often after a stroke, it is difficult for patients to go back to work and perform their jobs with the same skill level as before their stroke. A vocational therapist can help the patient with learning the skills necessary to go back to whatever job he/she had before the stroke occurred.

Follow up with PCP
It is part of our job as nurses to make sure the patient understands the importance of follow up appointments with the patient's PCP and/or neurologist after the patient is able to go home. Patients who had ischemic strokes will be on some type of anticoagulation in the hospital and after going home, and according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, it is very important that the patient is compliant with the medication to prevent another stroke from occurring (2018). Follow up appointments can help to identify risk factors the patient has and help to prevent a repeat stroke in the future.

The Future of Stroke Care

Strokes are one of the most studied areas of neurology and medicine in general. Stroke prevention and treatment are at the forefront of research. Each year we are learning more and more about strokes. With treatments like tPA and thrombectomies, patients are able to go home after having a stroke with no deficits (Krakauer and Hillis, 2014). New MRI machines are able to detect even the smallest strokes that even 5-10 years ago wouldn't have been seen by doctors. With these advancements comes the need for more education and training of doctors, nurses, and therapists. Your education in this area is so important to the furthering of stroke treatment and ultimately the mortality of your patients. 

Links to share with patients and families:

National Stroke Association
American Heart Association
Family Caregiver Alliance
Support Group Finder
National Aphasia Association
Brain Injury Association of America

Links to further your stroke education:

Become NIH certified
Become a Certified Neuro Registered Nurse (CNRN)
Join the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses