ED Nursing Archives – August 1, 2011
August 1, 2011
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Don't let children suddenly deteriorate during handoffs: Use proven practices
A five-year-old boy with a fever and rash was about to be admitted to the in-patient pediatric unit at Children's Hospital Boston for dehydration and infection. -
Misconceptions can harm your next stroke patient
If a patient's only complaint is dizziness, stroke may not be the first thing you think of, but patients with vertebral artery occlusion may present this way, says Karen Bergman, RN, neuroscience coordinator at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, MI. -
Reduce ED infections by making nurses accountable
As an ED nurse was inserting a urinary catheter in a young man who had been critically injured in a motor vehicle collision, the trauma surgeon was watching closely. -
"Atypical" patients may wait longer for EKGs
A 28-year-old man was given an immediate EKG when he told ED nurses at Parkland Health & Hospital Systems in Dallas that he felt like someone was "holding my chest tight, like a band around my chest." -
Normal vital signs in elder? Shock may still be present
The medications your elder patient is taking can cause a worsened injury or misleading vital signs, warns Chris Hoag-Apel, RN, TNS, SANE, trauma service supervisor at Freeman Health Systems in Joplin, MO. -
Shortness of breath? Get treatment 40 minutes sooner
When patients with shortness of breath received either a partial or a full standing order set, their median treatment time decreased by 40 minutes, according to a study done at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. -
Your patient may be taking duplicate meds
When a woman reported depression, migraines, and slurred speech over a period of months to Casie McMaster, RN, an ED nurse at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Louis, MO, she reviewed her patient's home medications.