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Though the Supreme Courts recent ruling in Gonzales v. Oregon says more about physicians authority to write prescriptions than about the right of states to pass laws permitting physician-assisted suicide (PAS), proponents of Oregons Death with Dignity law welcomed the ruling as a victory for physician discretion and patient autonomy.
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If a grateful patient presented you with one of his Aunt Marys special fruitcakes during the holidays, it was probably pretty obvious that such a gift presents no ethical dilemma.
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The nations largest hospital accreditation organization has issued a new warning aiming to reduce harmful incidents arising from inaccurate delivery of medications.
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Stopping a nurse from giving ampicillin-sulbactam to a patient with a penicillin allergy. Reducing tobramycin dosing for an elderly patient with an elevated serum creatinine level. Correcting an intravenous dose of epinephrine that was 10 times the recommended dose.
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Twenty minutes after a man having a heart attack came through the door of Mercy General Hospitals ED in Sacramento, CA, a balloon was inflated in the hospitals cardiac catheterization lab. The man did well and was discharged home two days later, reports Becky Roberge, RN, the EDs clinical nurse educator.
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If a major pediatric trauma came through the doors of your ED right now, would you get sidetracked by the obvious injuries without paying close attention to trends in vital signs? Would you lack specific crash cart equipment because no one replaced or these items during slow times? Would you forget to check a bedside glucose level or fail to give pain medication?
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Leaking chemicals. Fuel in stagnant floodwaters. Contamination from human waste. Mosquito-borne illnesses from standing water. Toxic gases and particulates from fires.
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When a 40-year-old woman came to the University of California-Irvines ED for transient ischemic attack of unknown origin, the echocardiogram was done right in the ED and showed a right-to-left shunt at the atrial level.
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Do you want to improve pain management in your ED? Massachusetts General Hospitals MGH Cares About Pain Relief Initiative site offers a wealth of free resources, including current recommendations, accreditation standards, and more.
