Nursing Commons^™

Amniotic Fluid Embolism Diagnosis & Treatment Pathway, Jeremy May

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Access to care in rural areas can prove difficult for any patient, but especially for the expecting mother. Healthcare providers in these rural settings often lack the staffing and experience to effectively recognize and treat rare obstetric emergencies. Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare medical emergency that requires healthcare providers to rapidly diagnose, monitor, and treat the sequela of resulting symptoms in the obstetric patient. After a literature review, a teaching session was developed and implemented as part of the annual training for 20 nursing staff at a small 50-bed rural hospital in central California. An 8-question pre-test was …