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Common Factors if Emergency Nurses Are Named in Malpractice Claim
In an analysis of more than 4,600 claims, researchers found 18% of nursing-related malpractice claims involved ED nurses. Treatment and transport delays were top complaints, underscoring the importance of teamwork and structured communication.
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Point Person Dedicated to Nurse, Support Staff Well-Being
Understanding the critical importance of nurse well-being, a Washington, DC-based health system created a new position dedicated to this work.
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Leverage Rounding, Team-Based Interventions to Address Frontline Burnout
A Texas-based health system looks at employee well-being through a quality and safety lens, directly connecting worker well-being to the organization’s efforts to improve patient safety.
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LWBS Patients Pose Risks for EDs Under EMTALA
Solid documentation is the best weapon against accusations a clinician violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act and a patient who left the ED without being seen who files a malpractice lawsuit.
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Malpractice Outcome Hinges on ‘Reasonableness’ of Wait Time
To prevail in malpractice litigation involving a leave without being seen patient, the patient must prove the ED’s failure to treat him or her within the time frame of the visit violated the standard of care. Also, the attorney must prove his or her client suffered harm as a result of that violation.
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Unprecedented Strain on EDs Predates COVID-19 Pandemic
The American College of Emergency Physicians and other groups sent a letter to the White House in which they declared the ED boarding problem a “public health emergency.” The groups asked the Biden administration “to convene a summit of stakeholders from across the healthcare system to identify immediate and long-term solutions to this urgent problem.”
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Medical Orgs Ask White House to Intervene on Boarding Problem
More than 30 groups say making admitted patients wait for a room or transfer has become a national crisis.
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Operational Countermeasures Help EDs Navigate Staffing Challenges
A possible solution involves moving care to the front end of the visit. Depending on the size of the department and acuity level, this might involve putting a physician or an advanced practice clinician out front, supported by a nurse, a tech, a phlebotomist, and a transporter. The goal of this approach is to ensure patients receive everything they would need if they were able to be in a room.
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Avoid Disaster by Properly Preparing New Nurses
Ideally, new graduates should not practice in an ED without first undergoing an intense preceptorship overseen by experienced nurses, followed by undergoing proper precept with a seasoned professional. Even if the hospital is not held specifically at fault for a failure to prepare new graduates, the lack of training can be the cause of a negligent act that leads to a lawsuit.
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Travel Programs, Flexible Work Options Shore Up Retention, Recruitment
Two nurse leaders explain how their healthcare systems incentivized nurses to take some extra shifts without placing undue burdens or giving the appearance outsiders are invading to take someone's job.