The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is used throughout the U.S. in hospital stroke centers. The Joint Commission requires all patients who receive tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) to be assessed using a full NIHSS. The NIHSS assesses stroke severity. Nurses and other members of the healthcare team can track the patient’s response to treatment by monitoring trends in the NIHSS. Nurses are trained to perform the NIHSS for monitoring patients after a stroke, specifically those at risk for worsening neurological status. With proper training in use of NIHSS, little variance should exist in results among nurses. Education is essential for improved reliability and increased effective communication regarding stroke treatment.

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Goal and Learning Outcomes

The goal of this program is to educate nurses about the NIHSS for the evaluation of neurological status in adult patients with acute stroke.

After taking this course, you should be able to:

Identify nursing considerations related to the NIHSS.
Discuss the NIHSS validity as a predictor of outcomes and stroke severity in patients with stroke.
State how to perform a neurological assessment using the NIHSS.

The NIH stroke scale can be performed by EMS professionals, physicians, and nurses who are NIH stroke scale certified. For the purposes of this course, the investigator is referred to as a nurse.

Course Authors

Elizabeth Kellerman

MSN, RN

Accreditation Information

NURSES

In support of improving patient care, Relias LLC is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, CEP#13791

CEBroker

Relias LLC reports to CEBroker for the following boards (Provider # 50-1489): Arkansas State Board Of Nursing, District Of Columbia Board Of Nursing, Florida Board Of Nursing, Georgia Board Of Nursing, New Mexico Board Of Nursing, South Carolina Board Of Nursing and West Virginia Board Of Examiners For Registered Professional Nurses

Please check the licenses/certifications section under my account (after logging in) to make sure you have entered a valid license number. This information is required for correct reporting of your course completions to CE Broker.

Disclosures

None of the planners/faculty, unless otherwise noted, for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

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The NIH Stroke Scale