Any nurse that encounters acute stroke patients on a regular basis should consider this training. The NIH Stroke Scale is a critical component of acute stroke assessment, and proper administration is essential for validity. Many hospitals require the training to administer the tool at all. The American Stroke Association, in conjunction with the American Academy of Neurology and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke developed this online training program for healthcare professionals to learn or review how to administer the NIH Stroke Scale for acute stroke assessment. The training uses footage of actual stroke patients. You can find the training at learn.heart.org. The online training is still free as of this posting.

I completed my application to graduate school yesterday. Waiting for an acceptance letter is absolutely the worst part of going back to school. It brings up all my old issues about not being good enough. I have eight to twelve weeks to wait for an admission decision. It just might kill me.