ED Nursing Archives – June 1, 2006
June 1, 2006
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ED nurses seeing increasing numbers of obese patients: Don't put them at risk
A woman reports abdominal pain after a motor vehicle collision, so a computed tomography (CT) scan is needed to determine if a liver or spleen laceration exists. -
New tool is coming for neuro assessments
ED nurses often need to perform neurological assessments and may soon have a new tool to perform this task. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, have created an assessment tool to assess neurological conditions called FOUR (Full Outline of UnResponsiveness) Score, which could replace the widely used Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). -
Unannounced surveys: What JCAHO asks ED nurses
Surveyors from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) were in the ED many times during a three-day survey at Franciscan Skemp Healthcare in Lacrosse, WI, reports Barbara Sue McBride, RN, patient care director of the ED. The ED was one of the first to be surveyed under the Joint Commission's new unannounced survey process. -
Dilemma: Patients call about discharge orders
You probably know the legal risks of giving medical advice over the telephone, but did you know that different rules apply when patients are calling about their discharge instructions? -
ED nurses get ECGs done in 10 minutes or less
A patient drove herself to your ED with pain in her jaw, but it seems to have subsided. Would this patient sit in your waiting room for minutes or hours or would she get an electrocardiogram (ECG) immediately? -
Take these steps to speed care to cardiac patients
Here are the steps that occur when patients present with possible cardiac symptoms at the ED at Osceola Regional Medical Center in Kissimmee, FL: -
Don't let tubing errors harm patients in your ED
Oxygen tubing is mistakenly connected to the intravenous (IV) line of a child receiving mediation via a nebulizer to treat asthma. The oxygen tubing is disconnected in seconds, but air entered the IV tubing, and the child dies instantly. -
Is EC available in your ED? If not, here's what to do
If a rape victim came to your ED asking how to prevent pregnancy, what would you tell her? The answer depends on which ED the woman came to for treatment, according to a study on the availability of emergency contraception (EC). -
How to calm children when starting an IV
Children between the ages of 6 and 12 have a particularly strong fear of injections, reports Marianne Hatfield, RN, BSN, system director of emergency services at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.