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Picture a packed waiting room in the height of the flu season. Could a 61-year-old woman in heart failure be mistaken for another pneumonia case? Thats what a patients family said happened in one ED when a woman with labored breathing was left to wait for several hours as her condition worsened.
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Be honest: Are you truly comfortable caring for trauma patients? Many ED nurses rarely see these cases, notes Pat Manion, RN, MS, CCRN, CEN, trauma coordinator at Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc, MI.
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Verbal orders can put patients in danger for serious adverse outcomes resulting from medication errors, and the ED is at especially high risk for this, says Lisa DiMarco, RN, BSN, MBA, administrative director for emergency services at Edward Hospital in Naperville, IL. Unlike other departments, verbal orders are common in the ED out of both habit and necessity.
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Whats the most common mistake resulting in potential violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) made by emergency nurses? Most likely, it is confusing triage for a medical screening examination (MSE).
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Many ED nurses are wary of caring for sick or injured children, but these patients have unique needs that every nurse must be prepared for, says Nancy Blake, RN, MN, CCRN, CNAA, director of critical care services at Childrens Medical Center in Los Angeles. Adverse outcomes may occur if pediatric education is allowed to fall by the wayside, she warns.
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In 2003, the ED at Indiana University Hospital in Indianapolis finished the year $327 over budget for supplies. As of August 2004, it was $725 under budget. What made the difference? Handing over the role of supply ordering to unit secretaries.
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Are you aware of the life-threatening risks of the antibiotic erythromycin for patients taking certain medications? Researchers found that patients given this antibiotic who were also taking calcium-channel blockers, antifungal drugs, or antidepressants had a five-times greater risk of sudden death from cardiac causes than patients who did not take these drugs.
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This is the second in a two-part series on the recent General Accounting Office report on the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Last month, we covered the reports controversial findings and the Joint Commissions response. This month, we cover new legislation that could affect your future surveys.
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Unless your organization is lucky enough to be found 100% compliant after your next survey by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) or after completing the periodic performance review, youll have to address noncompliant areas for which you must set measures of success (MOS) and then gather data to evaluate improvement.
