Advanced emergency nursing journal
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A recent clinical research study with a case study approach is used to illustrate the importance of translational research in the role of the advanced practice nurse. The case study module used in this column is "Adverse Drug Events in the Emergency Department: Why Genetics Matters in Practice." The study results showed that patients taking multiple drugs metabolized through the cytochrome P450 enzyme system had a higher prevalence of drug-drug exposure. These drug-drug exposures may lead to potentially serious drug-drug interactions. The implications and clinical relevance of these findings for advance practice nurses are discussed.
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As health care systems across the United States continue to grapple with emergency department (ED) crowding and identify mechanisms to improve ED throughput, quantification of intradepartmental efficiency and workload is required to provide much-needed objective measures to assist in the continuing development, implementation, and evaluation of these strategic initiatives. In an attempt to establish a straightforward measure of ED efficiency in relation to daily census and ED crowding, T. J. ⋯ S. community hospital setting. This application of the ED Census Model yielded 3 components: the ED Census Component, the ED Throughput Component, and the ED Efficiency Threshold Component. The components provide information necessary for understanding the impact of patient arrivals and departures on the underlying workflow processes that determine throughput.
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Comparative Study
Level 2 and level 3 patients in emergency severity index triage system: comparison of characteristics and resource utilization.
There is a lack of studies examining distinctions between patients assigned to Level 2 (high risk) and Level 3 (lower risk) in the 5-level ESI triage system. Describing patients assigned to Level 2 and Level 3 may identify unique characteristics related to chief complaint, interventions, and resource needs. A convenience sample of triage nurses was recruited from 2 emergency department (ED) sites. ⋯ Patients presenting with a chief complaint of nausea and vomiting or having a medical history of renal insufficiency/failure were significantly more often assigned to Level 2 than to Level 3 (p = 0.036 and p = 0.013, respectively). Patients assigned to Level 2 were more likely to utilize cardiac monitoring, electrocardiogram, medications, and specialty consultation than patients assigned to Level 3. It is critical that nurses in the triage setting be aware of possible patient factors and resource needs that could influence assignment to specific triage levels.
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Violence against health care workers is a serious and growing problem. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to (a) describe the frequency of workplace violence (WPV) against emergency department (ED) workers; (b) identify demographic and occupational characteristics related to WPV; and (c) identify demographic and occupational characteristics related to feelings of safety and level of confidence when dealing with WPV. Survey data were collected from 213 workers at 6 hospital EDs. ⋯ Feelings of safety are related to job satisfaction and turnover. Violence has serious consequences for the employers, employees, and patients. It is recommended that administration, managers, and employees collaborate to develop and implement prevention strategies to reduce and manage the violence.
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This study identifies characteristics of patients who return to the emergency department (ED) within 72 hr after an initial visit. An exploratory quantitative descriptive study was conducted to identify characteristics of patients with unscheduled 72 hr ED returns. The sample consisted of all patients with 72 hr ED return visits for the month of January 2009 at the study facility. ⋯ The most common diagnoses were for gastrointestinal complaints. Over a third of the patients who returned had chronic health conditions. There were more emergency department return visits in individuals who lacked access to primary care.