ED Nursing articles from March 2005

ED Nursing archives from March 2005

Are elderly patients undertriaged? Don't miss life-threatening conditions; comorbid and chronic conditions put patients at risk.
March 1, 2005... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Elderly patients may be undertriaged or misdiagnosed in the ED due to comorbid conditions or a blunted response to trauma. * Even if trauma injuries appear minor, perform thorough reassessments. * Consider...

Heart attack! Don't delay ED care for women.
March 1, 2005... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY According to a new study, female ED patients with heart attacks wait longer for treatment than men. Possible reasons are patients experiencing atypical signs and symptoms and women waiting longer to come to the ED. *...

Be creative teaching nurses to do neuro assessments.
March 1, 2005... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Every ED nurse should be able to perform a neurological assessment using the Glasgow Coma Scale to obtain a baseline score and determine if the patient's condition is getting better or worse. * Have nurses take a...

Tips to teach nurses to do neuro assessments.
March 1, 2005... You should perform a neurological assessment for any patient whose history or mechanism of injury indicates a possible neurological problem, says Cynthia Bautista, PhD, RN, CNRN, neuroscience clinical nurse specialist at Yale-New Haven (CT)...

Do on-call physicians put patients at risk? Act now.
March 1, 2005... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY If an on-call physician does not respond as required by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, you are obligated to notify appropriate individuals. * Develop a reporting form for ED nurses to document...

Are nurses still using 'do-not-use' abbreviations.(National Patient Safety Goal)
March 1, 2005... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY To improve compliance with the National Patient Safety Goal to avoid use of unauthorized abbreviations, educate nurses with pocket cards, fliers, and inservices. * Audit charts to check for unauthorized abbreviations....

Dramatic rise in CA-MRSA: what it means for your ED.(community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
March 1, 2005... There is an alarming increase in community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) cases in ED patients seeking treatment for skin and soft tissue infections, according to a new study. (1) "Despite the...

Marek M, Lindsell CJ, Jauch EC, et al. Effect of education and guidelines for treatment of uncomplicated dental pain on patient and provider behavior.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Marek M, Lindsell CJ, Jauch EC, et al. Effect of education and guidelines for treatment of uncomplicated dental pain on patient and provider behavior. Ann Emerg Med 2004; 44:323-329. Implementing guidelines for dental pain and giving...

Gorelick MH, Yen K, Yun HJ. The effect of in-room registration on emergency department length of stay.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Gorelick MH, Yen K, Yun HJ. The effect of in-room registration on emergency department length of stay. Ann Emerg Med 2005; 45:128-133. In-room registration reduces patients' total length of stay significantly, says this study from the...

ED nurses must prepare for a strange flu season: beware: it is not over yet!(emergency department)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... This year is a wild card, and anything still could happen. First, we had a dangerous shortage of influenza vaccine, followed by many high-risk people who couldn't get or decided to forgo immunization. Fortunately, this has been a mild flu...

CE questions.(continuing education)
March 1, 2005... After reading this issue of ED Nursing, the CE participant should be able to: * Identify clinical, regulatory, or social issues relating to ED nursing. (See Are elderly patients undertriaged? Don't miss life-threatening conditions and Do...