GLP-1 Medications: What Nurses Need to Know
from Healthy Skin Life Hosted by Brooke Wallace
GLP-1 medications are being used for diabetes, weight management, cardiovascular risk reduction, and other expanding indications. But for nurses, knowing the medication name isn’t enough—you need to understand how these drugs affect your patient and what changes should get your attention. 🎥 Watch the comic-book video version on YouTube at Super Nurse Comics https://www.youtube.com/@SuperNurseComics 🌐 Sources and more nursing resources: SuperNurse.ai 🎧 Subscribe to The Super Nurse Podcast for more real-world bedside nursing education. In this episode of The Super Nurse Podcast, we cover: 00:00 – The GLP-1 aspiration scenario every nurse should understand 00:58 – Welcome to The Super Nurse Podcast 02:14 – How GLP-1 medications affect glucose, appetite, and gastric emptying 03:54 – Semaglutide vs tirzepatide: Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro & Zepbound 06:51 – Medication reconciliation: what nurses need to ask 07:47 – Compounded GLP-1 medications and dosing concerns 09:59 – GI side effects, dehydration, and acute kidney injury 12:42 – Abdominal pain, pancreatitis, and gallbladder red flags 13:29 – GLP-1s, insulin, sulfonylureas, and hypoglycemia 16:05 – GLP-1 medications in acutely ill hospitalized patients 17:12 – Surgery, anesthesia, gastric emptying, and aspiration risk 19:00 – The key bedside nursing takeaways 19:39 – Final thoughts Learn how to connect the pharmacology to the patient in front of you—what to assess, what to monitor, what to document, and when to escalate concerns. The content presented in The Super Nurse Podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. The host and creators are not responsible for any clinical decisions made based on this content. Always adhere to your institution’s policies and consult appropriate healthcare professionals when making patient care decisions.
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What this episode covers
GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound are everywhere—but what actually matters when these patients land on your unit? In this episode, we break down how these medications work, the bedside red flags nurses need to recognize, and why medication reconciliation matters more than you might think. We’ll also cover dehydration and AKI, hypoglycemia, compounded products, and what nurses need to know before surgery and anesthesia.
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