International emergency nursing
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To provide a critical review of research on clinical handover between the ambulance service and emergency department (ED) in hospitals. ⋯ Knowledge gaps exist concerning handover information, consequences of poor handover, transfer of responsibility, staff perception of handovers, staff training and evaluation of recommended strategies to improve clinical handover. Evidence of strategies being implemented and further research is required to examine the ongoing effects of implementing the strategies.
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Management of battlefield casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan has seen considerable development in damage control resuscitation, which aims to address the risk of haemorrhage, initially due to mechanical damage; and thereafter due to the development of life-threatening coagulopathy. Damage control resuscitation combines a variety of techniques, such as the use of the combat application tourniquet and novel haemostatics, through to ground-breaking developments in transfusion protocols. ⋯ Meticulous trauma audit is included in this process and has allowed for rapid translation of knowledge into practice. The main elements of this doctrine are described.
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Little work has been done on patients' satisfaction with hospital care in Nigeria. This prospective study was done to identify factors affecting patients' satisfaction with emergency care in a teaching hospital in Nigeria. This study was carried out among adult patients who had received care at the Accident and Emergency unit of the hospital. ⋯ Surgical and gynecological patients were also less satisfied with their care than their medical and trauma counterparts. The results from this study provided necessary data to guide changes needed to improve patient satisfaction in the A&E. Our findings suggest that improving speed of access to surgery and enhancing interpersonal skills of healthcare givers are areas that need to be prioritized.
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Comparative Study
A comparative analysis of ENP's and SHO's in the application of the Ottawa ankle rules.
This study investigates the comparative effectiveness of Senior House Officers (SHOs) and Emergency Nurse Practitioners (ENPs) in the application of the Ottawa ankle rules, in a large inner city Emergency Department in the United Kingdom (UK). Sixty patients with ankle injuries were randomly included in this study which took place in the minor injuries unit of the ED over a 12month period. Data were obtained retrospectively from the patients records relating to six individual aspects of the Ottawa ankle rules. ⋯ In all but one of the five subquestions of the Ottawa ankle rules there was a statistical significance of 0.053 or less. This clearly shows a difference in the documentation of the Ottawa ankle rules by the health practitioners questioning whether appropriate care is given. Both groups were poor at documenting negative findings and neither consistently documented their application of the Ottawa ankle rules either in part or its entirety.