Fluid Resuscitation and Vasopressors

Fluid or squeeze, which comes first? Learn the art of resuscitation and managing pressors on hypotensive patients!

This course is designed to aid the healthcare provider or bedside nurse with the foundational concepts used in decision making regarding initiation of fluid resuscitation and initiation of vasoactive medications for the critically ill patient. Multiple vasopressors are discussed in pharmacologic detail. Clinical scenarios are used to help depict best practices using role-play and interactive demonstration.


This course is worth 2.0 hours of ANCC approved nursing contact hours including 1.5 hours of advanced pharmacotherapeutics.

Topics Covered

  • Definitions of catecholamines
  • Basic concepts of sympathetic tone
  • Mechanisms that affect basal tone
  • Resistance vs capacitance vessels
  • Signs of inadequate cellular volume
  • Determining fluid or vasopressor approach
  • Fluid resuscitation options and guidelines
  • Sympathetic and parasympathetic receptors
  • Dopaminergic receptors
  • Tyrosine and pharmacologic mechanisms
  • Choosing the right vasopressor for the right patient scenario
  • Dopamine
  • Dobutamine
  • Epinephrine
  • Norepinephrine
  • Neosynephrine
  • Vasopressin
  • Physiologic barriers to successful titration
  • Implications to practice
  • Considerations for safe use



Your Instructor


Dr. John Russell, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CCRN, RNFA
Dr. John Russell, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CCRN, RNFA

Dr. John Russell, DNP, APRN, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC, CCRN, RNFA is the owner and founder of Skills On Point®, LLC as well as a nurse practitioner/first assistant with practice experience in cardiothoracic surgery. As well as an instructor for the National Institute of First Assisting, INC (NIFA®), John teaches nurse practitioner students for Northern Illinois University and Rosalind Franklin University for CRNAs and FNPs. He loves simplifying complicated concepts into digestible portions and loves to use ridiculous analogies to make the most complicated concepts come to life for the learner.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

Get started now!