ED Nursing articles from September 2008

ED Nursing archives from September 2008

Long waits put your emergency patients at high risk for contracting infections.
September 1, 2008... Long waits put your emergency patients at high risk for contracting infections Holding patients in hallways partly is to blame Overcrowding, higher-acuity patients being held in hallways, and The Joint Commission's new National...

Use infection control tips from CCU nurses.
September 1, 2008... Use infection control tips from CCU nurses Shelley Calder, RN, CEN, MSN, clinical nurse specialist for the ED at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, has partnered with her hospital's critical care nurses to give ED nurses tips...

3 ways you can stop infections in your ED.
September 1, 2008... 3 ways you can stop infections in your ED Here are three steps to take to prevent hospital-acquired infections in your ED: * Identify infections early on. Obtain as much information as possible at triage, to determine prior to any...

ED hand washing hard to track: Ask patients.
September 1, 2008... ED hand washing hard to track: Ask patients Make sure staff wash their hands consistently. It sounds simple enough, and it's necessary to comply with The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goal to prevent deadly health...

Take these actions if you suspect CDAD.(Clostridium difficile-associated disease)(Report)
September 1, 2008... Take these actions if you suspect CDAD The number of cases of Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) doubled between 2001 and 2005 to 301,200, according to a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality...

Monitor neuro status of pediatric patients.(Report)
September 1, 2008... Monitor neuro status of pediatric patients (Editor's note: This is the second of a three-part series on trauma care in the ED. This story covers neurological assessments in motor vehicle accidents. Last month, we covered violence-related...

Ongoing assessment is vital for motor vehicle accidents.
September 1, 2008... Ongoing assessment is vital for motor vehicle accidents Your patient could die otherwise A patient involved in a motor vehicle accident was alert with stable vital signs when he arrived at an ED. Three hours later, a nurse from...

You should fine-tune your handoff process.
September 1, 2008... You should fine-tune your handoff process When ED nurses at University of California Medical Center - Irvine transfer a trauma patient, a verbal report is given to the accepting unit. "This report is given after reassessing the patient...

Are you undertreating children with asthma?
September 1, 2008... Are you undertreating children with asthma? Do all pediatric asthma patients receive relievers, corticosteroids, and a home management plan in your ED? These are three measures of care for which The Joint Commission is collecting data. ...

ED nurses share best practices for asthma.
September 1, 2008... ED nurses share best practices for asthma Never delay the start of oral steroids for children with asthma, warns Anne Borgmeyer, RN, an ED nurse at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "Oral steroids are crucial to reducing the airway...

Be sure that all MI patients get equal care.
September 1, 2008... Be sure that all MI patients get equal care Protocols and 'STEMI team' ensure consistent care When a woman came to the ED at Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, DE, complaining of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, she was...

Women less likely to get treatments for heart attack.
September 1, 2008... Women less likely to get treatments for heart attack If a woman came to your ED with atypical symptoms and then obtained normal results from an angiogram, you might assume that she was not having a heart attack. However, that is a dangerous...

Get EKG time down to 11 minutes or less.
September 1, 2008... Get EKG time down to 11 minutes or less At Loma Linda (CA) University Medical Center, ED nurses have decreased door-to-EKG time to 11 minutes from almost an hour a year ago, reports Teri D. Reynolds, RN, BSN, clinical educator in the...

CNE/objectives/questions.
September 1, 2008... CNE/objectives/questions Participants who complete this activity will be able to: * identify clinical, regulatory, or social issues relating to ED nursing; * describe how those issues affect nursing service delivery; *...