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Trauma Care After Resuscitation

TCAR Program Description

Course Content Learner Outcomes

TCAR Program Description

Unlike standardized trauma programs targeted at prehospital and emergency care providers, the Trauma Care After Resuscitation (TCAR) course was specifically created to meet the learning needs of INPATIENT trauma nurses.

The TCAR course offers emergency, perioperative, critical care, acute care, and rehabilitation providers the foundational, evidence-based information and clinical reasoning skills necessary to address the needs of the hospitalized trauma patient. TCAR does not focus on specific psychomotor skills, which vary greatly by practice location and practice level.

TCAR covers a wide range of pathophysiologic and nursing concepts and is designed to be a broad, core-level program, rather than an advanced or specialty-specific course. Although registered nurses are TCAR's target audience, the information contained in this program has proven useful to physical therapists, paramedics, social workers, dietitians, respiratory therapists, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, LVNs/LPNs, and others who interact with the hospitalized trauma patient.

For information about the course, click the Course Info tab.

Course Brochure
Target Audience
Course Brochure
Target Audience
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Course Content

Part 1:

Participants focus on concepts relevant to the nursing care of the injured, hospitalized patient:

  • The trauma care spectrum
  • The biomechanics of trauma
  • The body's response to injury

Part 2:

Learners participate in interactive, expanding case scenarios that address the needs of hospitalized patients with injuries to major body systems. Each module introduces specific trauma care concepts including pathophysiology, patient assessment, and complications. Surgical, medical, and nursing management options and outcome criteria are introduced while analyzing patients with:

  • Thoracic injury
  • Abdominal injury
  • Musculoskeletal injury
  • Head injury
  • Spine and spinal cord injury

Each interactive expanding case scenario promotes critical thinking, knowledge synthesis, and clinical reasoning skills by inviting learners to:

  • Incorporate injury biomechanics information
  • Analyze clinical assessment data
  • Suggest appropriate care interventions
  • Identify individuals at risk for deterioration
  • Prevent, recognize, and manage complications
  • Understand current trends and issues in trauma patient care
  • Predict each patient's care trajectory
  • Set realistic goals and evaluate outcomes
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Learner Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the trauma continuum of care
  • Explain the biomechanics of common injuries
  • Anticipate specific wounds and complications based on mechanism of injury information
  • Discuss the body's multisystem responses to traumatic insults
  • Incorporate physical assessment, imaging studies, and laboratory data to evaluate the hospitalized trauma patient
  • Describe appropriate medial, surgical, and nursing interventions for frequently encountered injuries
  • Interact with interdisciplinary team members to provide timely care to injured patients
  • Prevent, identify, and manage complications common to the hospitalized trauma patient
  • Identify realistic trauma patient goals and evaluate care outcomes
  • Address the psychosocial needs of hospitalized trauma patients and their family members