AACN advanced critical care
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To accommodate a higher demand for critical care nurses, an orientation program in a surgical intensive care unit was revised and streamlined. Two theoretical models served as a foundation for the revision and resulted in clear clinical benchmarks for orientation progress evaluation. ⋯ Incorporating a theoretical basis for orientation has been shown to be successful in increasing the number of nurses completing orientation and improving retention, turnover rates, and knowledge gained.
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Infectious disease events were in the headlines in 2014. West Africa experienced the worst Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak ever recorded. The world was stunned when the deadly virus began to spread to other countries. ⋯ Using personal protective equipment is imperative and requires adjustments in how care is provided. Staffing patterns must be altered to provide safe care, while maintaining safety of health care workers. This article provides perspectives of the critical care nurse manager and bedside nurse who participated in the development of the care processes for patients with EVD at the National Institutes of Health to help health care colleagues better understand issues experienced and to help prepare them if they encounter patients with EVD.
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Continuous renal replacement therapy is frequently used to manage acute renal failure in critically ill patients. Antibiotic drugs used to treat infections in critically ill patients need to be dosed on the basis of the method of renal replacement therapy to be used, degree of residual renal function, and the sensitivity of the organism to be treated. Antibiotic dosing regimens must then be continuously monitored and adjusted according to modifications made to the renal replacement circuit and the patient's underlying condition.