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Nursing Field Notes / Nursing Core

BLS & CPR 🫀

NG-025 NURSING CORE ADHD-friendly visual edition

Done for clients who go into cardiac arrest — meaning the heart has stopped pumping! Immediate CPR with chest compressions provides IMMEDIATE oxygen & perfusion to the brain & vital organs to prevent damage & even DEATH.

📄 Simple Nursing original — opens in Drive →

🙌 Alone? PUSH firstStart compressions BEFORE calling for help.
⏱️ 100–120/minDepth at least 2–2.4 in (5–6 cm).
🫁 30:2 manualIntubated = breath every 6 sec, no interruption.
⚡ Defib: NO sync buttonNO IV sedation. Sync is for cardioversion.
💔

STOP

STEP 1 · WHY THE HEART STOPS

Cardiac arrest has many triggers — commonly described as the Hs & Ts.

🧨 Causes — “Hs & Ts”

Caused by a variety of factors:

  • 💨 Hypoxia — no oxygen on board
  • 🫁 Respiratory failure — the lungs quit first, the heart follows
  • ☠️ Toxins
  • 🩸 Blood clots
  • ⚡ Electrolyte imbalances — Na⁺ · Cl⁻ the heart's wiring salts
  • ➕ & others
🧠 AIR · POISON · PLUMBING · WIRING — no air (hypoxia, respiratory failure), poison (toxins), blocked plumbing (blood clots), bad wiring (electrolytes). All roads end in CARDIAC ARREST.

🚨 Why compressions can't wait — #1 Immediate CPR with high quality compressions

💔 CARDIAC ARREST — heart stops pumping → no blood is moving
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🙌 Chest compressions = you become the pump
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🧠 IMMEDIATE oxygen / perfusion to the brain & vital organs
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✅ Prevents damage & even DEATH!
🙌

START

STEP 2 · PUMP & BREATHE

The adult BLS sequence — the order IS the exam question.

🪜 Adult CPR — the priority ladder

1
🙌 Chest compressions IMMEDIATELY. If NO caregivers are around to help, start compressions BEFORE calling for help — you are the only caregiver! NCLEX TIP
“Most students get this wrong on exams.”
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2
🎯 Hands in center of chest — lower half of sternum
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3
💪 High quality compressions: rate 100–120/min, depth at least 2–2.4 in (5–6 cm) NCLEX TIP
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4
🫁 Breaths: manual = 30 compressions & 2 rescue breaths · intubated = every 6 sec without interruption
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5
🖐️ Every 2 min: pause compressions to assess pulse — 10 seconds
🧠 “PUSH FIRST, PHONE SECOND.” Alone with an arrest = hands on the chest before the phone. Then the Twin 2s: 2 inches deep · 2 breaths per 30 · pulse check every 2 min.

🎯 Where to push — center of chest, lower half of sternum

🙌 Heel of hands stacked here center of chest — LOWER HALF OF STERNUM ⬇️ PUSH DEPTH 2–2.4 in (5–6 cm) ⏱️ PUSH RATE 100–120 /min high quality — push hard, push fast

🔑 KEY Numbers — say them in your sleep

⏱️ Rate100–120per minute
⬇️ Depth2–2.4 inat least · (5–6 cm)
🫁 Manual breaths30 : 2compressions : rescue breaths
🫁 Intubatedq 6 secwithout interruption
🖐️ Pulse check2 minpause · 10 seconds
🧠 During CPR, compressions are paused every 2 mins to assess pulse — a 10-second peek, then hands right back on.

🫁 Breaths — two situations NCLEX TIP

Manual 😮‍💨Intubated 🧵
30 compressions
& 2 rescue breaths		 Every 6 seconds
without interruption O₂ 00:06
🧠 “Tube = 6.” A tube in the throat means a breath every 6 ticks of the clock — and the pushing never stops.

🖐️ The 2-minute rhythm

🙌 Compress 2 min
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🖐️ Pause — assess pulse · 10 seconds
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🙌 Compress 2 min … repeat

Push, peek, push — the clock never runs long without hands on the chest.

⚡

SHOCK

STEP 3 · AED & DEFIB

Pads on, everyone clear, shock — then hands straight back on the chest.

🔌 AED pads — where they go (8 years & older)

1 2 1 · Upper right chest near the shoulder 2 · Left lateral chest near the anterior axillary line, below the nipple 00:00:000 AED shock ⚡ AED PADS · 8 YEARS & OLDER

⚡ How to SHOCK an adult — in order

1
🔌 Defibrillator pads are placed
2
📣 Call out & look to make sure everyone is clear
3
🙌 Continue chest compressions immediately after the shock
🧠 “Pads · People clear · Push again.” P-P-P — the shock is a comma, not a period: hands go right back on the chest.

❌ Defibrillation is NOT cardioversion

❌ NO IV sedation needed.

❌ NO synchronized button.

That is for cardioversion — an arrested heart has no rhythm to sync to, and an unconscious client needs no sedating.

⚡

QUICK RECALL

SAY IT OUT LOUD
🙌 Only caregiver?Compressions BEFORE calling for help.
⏱️ 100–120 · 2–2.4 inRate per minute · depth (5–6 cm).
🫁 30:2 · tube q6sPulse check every 2 min — 10 sec.
⚡ Shock → push againCompressions immediately after the shock.
🎯 Cover & check — 4 rapid-fire questions
Q1: You're the ONLY caregiver and your client goes into cardiac arrest. First action?
Start high-quality chest compressions immediately — BEFORE calling for help. (Most students get this wrong!)
Q2: Compression rate and depth for an adult?
100–120/min, at least 2–2.4 inches (5–6 cm) deep — hands on the lower half of the sternum.
Q3: The client is intubated. How do you deliver breaths?
Every 6 seconds, without interrupting compressions. (Manual = 30 compressions : 2 rescue breaths.)
Q4: For defibrillation, do you sedate the client and press the synchronized button?
NO and NO — no IV sedation, no sync button. The synchronized button is for cardioversion.