About Chest Drain University
Chest Drain University was established in 1999 to provide nurses with noncommercial educational materials about caring for patients requiring chest drainage. The Clinical Update newsletter began in 1997 with an educational grant from Atrium Medical Corporation.
Chest Drain University is designed and written by Patricia Carroll, MS, RN-BC, RRT, a registered nurse and registered respiratory therapist who is a recognized expert in cardiopulmonary care and educator. Pat published her first article on managing patients with chest tubes in 1986 and since then has written 12 peer-reviewed articles about caring for patients with chest drainage that are indexed in PubMed. She has contributed to nursing textbooks, video, and computer-based instruction about chest drainage.
Until she retired from traveling in 2005, Pat spoke at the American Association for Critical-Care Nurses National Teaching Institute for twenty consecutive years. Her last appearance was at NTI 2018 in Boston. She is also a professional continuing education specialist, board certified in nursing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She is an emeritus faculty member in the School of Health Sciences at Excelsior College.
Some items at Chest Drain U are courtesy of an educational grant from Atrium Medical Corporation. They are marked with a statement. Otherwise, this site is maintained by Pat as a service to all nurses who need to learn about caring for patients who require chest drainage and those who teach them.