About this Module & Its Evidence

How Coach Katie's Clinical Club was built and reviewed, and the published sources behind its clinical content.

What this module is

Coach Katie's Clinical Club is a mobile-first, gamified clinical-skills series for pre-licensure and entry-level nursing learners (CNA · LPN · RN). Each of the 57 skill units follows the same arc — The Challenge ("What if…" branching scenario) → Skills Arcade (four drill games) → Deeper Dive (Learn It · Live It · Share It + a knowledge check) — plus a hands-on Skills Lab (IV pump, blood pressure, pulse oximeter, oxygen regulator, suction, and daily-weight scale) and an Assignment Bank that trains prioritization and delegation. The branching scenarios mirror the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (recognize cues → analyze → prioritize → act → evaluate).

How it was built & reviewed

The content was drafted at an entry-level, awareness-and-safety depth, then verified in two layers before release:

1 · Physician review. All clinical content is reviewed and signed off by a physician (Dr. Rob Gillio, The Force for Health® Academy). Until that sign-off, content is treated as draft.

2 · Literature verification via OpenEvidence. The key checkable claims across the 57-unit series and the Part 2 tools (Assignment Bank + Skills Lab) were turned into structured questions and run through OpenEvidence, a physician-facing clinical-evidence service that answers with citations to current guidelines and peer-reviewed literature. Each returned answer was reconciled back into the exact unit or tool — confirming accurate claims, correcting figures that had drifted (for example, updating the blood-pressure cuff-sizing rule and the safe suction-pressure range), and adding safety caveats (for example, that pulse oximetry can read falsely high in patients with darker skin). The sources surfaced in that review are listed below.

Important: These units and their microcredentials are education and training. They are not a nursing license, a state certification, or medical advice, and they do not replace supervised clinical hours or a credentialing exam. Scope of practice, protocols, and exact thresholds vary by state and facility — always follow your program, your facility's policies, and your state's nurse practice act.

Evidence sources (OpenEvidence review)

Selected published sources surfaced during the OpenEvidence physician review of this module's tools and claims, plus the guideline sources behind the built-in reference boxes. Grouped by topic. Guidelines and reference values are current as of the 2026 review; readers should defer to the latest guidance and their own facility's protocols.

Sepsis, shock & IV fluids

  1. Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2026. Critical Care Medicine, 2026.
  2. Yealy DM, et al. Early Care of Adults With Suspected Sepsis in the Emergency Department and Out-of-Hospital Environment: A Consensus-Based Task Force Report. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 2021.
  3. Meyer NJ, Prescott HC. Sepsis and Septic Shock. New England Journal of Medicine, 2024.
  4. Zampieri FG, Bagshaw SM, Semler MW. Fluid Therapy for Critically Ill Adults With Sepsis. JAMA, 2023.
  5. Semler MW, et al. Balanced Crystalloids versus Saline in Critically Ill Adults (SMART). New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
  6. Self WH, et al. Balanced Crystalloids versus Saline in Noncritically Ill Adults (SALT-ED). New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
  7. Delgado Moya FP, et al. Buffered Solutions Versus 0.9% Saline for Resuscitation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2026.
  8. Lewis SR, et al. Colloids Versus Crystalloids for Fluid Resuscitation in Critically Ill People. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018.
  9. Munroe ES, et al. Comorbidities, Weight-Based Initial Fluid Resuscitation, and Mortality in Patients With Sepsis. JAMA Network Open, 2026.
  10. Dextrose — FDA Drug Label. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Cardiac & acute coronary syndrome

  1. Bhatt DL, Lopes RD, Harrington RA. Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Coronary Syndromes. JAMA, 2022.
  2. Nohria R, Viera AJ. Acute Coronary Syndrome: Diagnosis and Initial Management. American Family Physician, 2024.
  3. Amsterdam EA, et al. 2014 ACC/AHA Guideline for Non–ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes. Clinical Cardiology, 2015.
  4. Page RL, et al. 2015 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline for Adult Supraventricular Tachycardia. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2016.
  5. Ahmed A, et al. Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia: Etiology, Pathophysiology, and Management (JACC Review). Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2022.

Resuscitation & emergencies

  1. Del Rios M, et al. Part 1: Executive Summary — 2025 AHA Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. Circulation, 2025.
  2. Cao D, et al. Part 10: Special Circumstances of Resuscitation — 2025 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC. Circulation, 2025.
  3. Long B, Gottlieb M. Emergency Medicine Updates: Anaphylaxis. American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2021.
  4. Gettings JV, et al. Diagnosis and Management of Status Epilepticus. Lancet Neurology, 2025.
  5. Hewett Brumberg EK, et al. 2024 AHA and American Red Cross Guidelines for First Aid. Circulation, 2024.

Stroke

  1. Ashcraft S, et al. Care of the Patient With Acute Ischemic Stroke (Prehospital and Acute Phase): AHA Scientific Statement. Stroke, 2021.
  2. Hilkens NA, et al. Stroke. Lancet, 2024.
  3. Tsivgoulis G, et al. Thrombolysis for Acute Ischaemic Stroke: Current Status and Future Perspectives. Lancet Neurology, 2023.
  4. Zhou Y, et al. Alteplase for Acute Ischemic Stroke at 4.5 to 24 Hours. JAMA, 2025.

Diabetes & glucose

  1. American Diabetes Association. Glycemic Goals, Hypoglycemia, and Hyperglycemic Crises: Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026. Diabetes Care, 2026.
  2. American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care in the Hospital: Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026. Diabetes Care, 2026.
  3. Blonde L, et al. AACE Clinical Practice Guideline: Diabetes Mellitus Comprehensive Care Plan—2022 Update. Endocrine Practice, 2022.
  4. Iskandar Idris, et al. Hypoglycaemia. Handbook of Diabetes, 5th ed., 2021.

Venous thromboembolism & DVT

  1. Chopard R, Albertsen IE, Piazza G. Diagnosis and Treatment of Lower Extremity Venous Thromboembolism. JAMA, 2020.
  2. Tritschler T, et al. Venous Thromboembolism. JAMA, 2018.
  3. Anand SS, et al. Does This Patient Have Deep Vein Thrombosis? JAMA, 1998.

Opioids & overdose

  1. Harris MTH, Weinstein ZM, Walley AY. Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, Opioid Withdrawal, and Opioid Overdose. JAMA, 2026.
  2. Boyer EW. Management of Opioid Analgesic Overdose. New England Journal of Medicine, 2012.

Wounds & surgical-site infection

  1. Seidelman JL, Mantyh CR, Anderson DJ. Surgical Site Infection Prevention. JAMA, 2023.
  2. Reddy M, et al. Does This Patient Have an Infection of a Chronic Wound? JAMA, 2012.
  3. Abbo LM, Grossi PA. Surgical Site Infections: AST Infectious Diseases Community of Practice Guidelines. Clinical Transplantation, 2019.

Blood-pressure measurement & classification

  1. Muntner P, et al. Measurement of Blood Pressure in Humans: AHA Scientific Statement. Hypertension, 2019.
  2. Muntner P, et al. Blood Pressure Assessment in Adults in Clinical Practice: JACC Scientific Expert Panel. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2019.
  3. Ishigami J, et al. Effects of Cuff Size on the Accuracy of Blood Pressure Readings (Cuff(SZ) RCT). JAMA Internal Medicine, 2023.
  4. Liu H, et al. Arm Position and Blood Pressure Readings (ARMS Crossover RCT). JAMA Internal Medicine, 2024.
  5. Palatini P, Asmar R. Cuff Challenges in Blood Pressure Measurement. Journal of Clinical Hypertension, 2018.
  6. Jones DW, et al. 2025 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2025.
  7. Whelton PK, et al. Harmonization of the ACC/AHA and ESC/ESH Blood Pressure/Hypertension Guidelines. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2022.

Oxygen therapy & pulse oximetry

  1. Chu DK, et al. Mortality and Morbidity in Acutely Ill Adults Treated With Liberal Versus Conservative Oxygen Therapy (IOTA). Lancet, 2018.
  2. van den Boom W, et al. The Search for Optimal Oxygen Saturation Targets in Critically Ill Patients. Chest, 2020.
  3. Wemple ML, Swenson KE, Swenson ER. Oxygen Therapy Part 2 — Indications and Toxicity. NEJM Evidence, 2023.
  4. O'Driscoll BR, Bakerly ND. Are We Giving Too Much Oxygen to Patients at Risk of Hypercapnia? Respiratory Medicine, 2025.
  5. Kopsaftis Z, et al. Oxygen Therapy in the Pre-Hospital Setting for Acute Exacerbations of COPD. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020.
  6. Gudelunas MK, et al. Low Perfusion and Missed Diagnosis of Hypoxemia by Pulse Oximetry in Darkly Pigmented Skin. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 2024.
  7. Shi C, et al. The Accuracy of Pulse Oximetry by Levels of Skin Pigmentation: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. BMC Medicine, 2022.
  8. Martin DS, et al. The Impact of Skin Tone on Performance of Pulse Oximeters (NHS Oximetry @Home). BMJ, 2026.
  9. Jamali H, et al. Racial Disparity in Oxygen Saturation Measurements by Pulse Oximetry. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 2022.
  10. Sabz M, et al. High-Flow and Low-Flow Oxygen Delivery by Nasal Cannula in Airway Replicas. Respiratory Care, 2024.
  11. Sorg ME, Chatburn RL. Oxygen Delivery With an Open Oxygen Mask and Other Conventional Masks. Respiratory Care, 2022.
  12. Duprez F, et al. Performance of Different Low-Flow Oxygen Delivery Systems. Respiratory Care, 2022.
  13. Lewis SR, et al. High-Flow Nasal Cannulae for Respiratory Support in Adult ICU Patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2021.

Airway suctioning

  1. Day T, et al. Tracheal Suctioning: Nurses' Knowledge and Competence in Acute and High-Dependency Areas. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2002.
  2. Day T, Wainwright SP, Wilson-Barnett J. Teaching Intervention to Improve Endotracheal Suctioning in ICUs. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2001.
  3. Oh H, Seo W. Meta-Analysis of Interventions Preventing Endotracheal-Suction-Induced Hypoxemia. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2003.
  4. Pirlotte S, et al. Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Pain During Endotracheal Suctioning in Ventilated Neonates. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2024.
  5. Foster JP, et al. Routine Oro/Nasopharyngeal Suction Versus No Suction at Birth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017.

Heart failure & daily weights

  1. Hunt SA, et al. 2009 Focused Update: ACC/AHA Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Heart Failure in Adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2009.
  2. Stevenson LW, et al. Remote Monitoring for Heart Failure Management at Home. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2023.

Nursing scope, delegation & professional practice

  1. Crevacore C, et al. Factors Impacting Effective Delegation Practices by Registered Nurses to Assistants in Nursing (Integrative Review). Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2023.
  2. Wilson NJ, et al. Registered Nurses' Delegating Care to Unlicensed Care and Support Workers (Scoping Review). Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2023.
  3. Corazzini KN, et al. Licensed Practical Nurse Scope of Practice and Quality of Nursing Home Care. Nursing Research, 2013.

Standards & frameworks behind the reference boxes

  1. International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) Framework, 2019. iddsi.org/standards/framework
  2. CDC / HICPAC. Guideline for Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections — appropriate indications for indwelling catheters (STRIVE). cdc.gov
  3. The Joint Commission. National Patient Safety Goals (read-back of verbal orders & critical results; NPSG.02.03.01). jointcommission.org

Full per-claim mapping (which source verified which unit or tool) lives in the project's OpenEvidence reconciliation records. This list reflects the tool-verification (Part 2 & Part 3) reviews and the reference-box guideline sources; the 57-unit series was reviewed against these and current nursing-fundamentals guidance in the same process.

Powered by The Force for Health® Network · Coach Katie's Clinical Club · Evidence current as of the 2026 review