Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
-
Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2015
Self-reported preparedness of New Zealand acute care providers to mass emergencies before the Canterbury Earthquakes: A national survey.
Disasters occur more frequently. Acute care providers are the first to respond to mass emergencies from the healthcare sector. The preparedness of acute care providers in New Zealand to respond to mass emergencies has not been previously studied. ⋯ Almost half of New Zealand acute healthcare providers have no training in dealing with mass emergency events. Training and general awareness of the role during a mass emergency response were the main factors associated with strong self-reported preparedness of acute care providers. The apparent efficacy of training allied to lack of availability means that it should be a national priority.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2015
Measuring the effectiveness of a revised clinical practice guideline for the pre-hospital management of supraventricular tachycardia.
To evaluate the effect of changes to the pre-hospital management of patients with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) following intervention with a revised Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG). The major CPG revisions were removal of verapamil, addition of adenosine and an emphasis on Valsalva manoeuvre. ⋯ The revised CPG improved pre-hospital SVT reversion success. This expansion of practice has not demonstrated improvements to utilisation or effectiveness of the Valsalva manoeuvre. Adenosine is effective and safe for pre-hospital use.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2015
Impact of formal teaching on medical documentation by interns in an emergency department in a Queensland teaching hospital.
This study's objective was to determine whether tuition in medical documentation enhanced the ability of emergency medicine interns to produce effective medical records. ⋯ The study demonstrated that documentation of clinical notes by interns can be enhanced by formal tuition.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2015
Communication between nurses and physicians: Strategies to surviving in the emergency department trenches.
The emergency department (ED) is a challenging and stressful work environment where communication lapses can lead to negative health outcomes. This article offers strategies to Emergency Medicine residents, nurses and staff physicians on how to improve communication to optimize patient care.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2015
Trends in access block 2011 to 2013: The Redcliffe National Emergency Access Target experience.
To evaluate the impact of the introduction of National Emergency Access Target (NEAT) on access block and long-stay patients in Redcliffe Hospital ED, and to evaluate the possibility of forward compliance with the 2014 and 2015 NEAT thresholds. ⋯ NEAT has been a driver of significant improvements in access block at our institution. We see significant issues with raising the NEAT threshold to the proposed 90% in 2015, and support recent calls for re-evaluation and modification of the target.