Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Emergency department (ED) overcrowding has been a significant problem for the last 10 years. Several studies have shown that a relatively small number of ED patients are responsible for a disproportionate amount of ED visits. This study aims to describe the frequent users of our emergency department. ⋯ The similarities between our HFU and the general ED population are more numerous than their differences. The HFU patients of our emergency department are different in terms of age, employment status, and type of insurance. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSES: A detailed description of local HFU may help to inform planning and better meet ED patients' needs. As one of many results of this study, the ED chairman met with the Hematology-Oncology team and reviewed the protocol for ED management of sickle cell crisis. The meeting resulted in a revised protocol, including an immediate change in their pain medication from meperidine to either morphine or hydromorphone.
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Nurses, by the nature of their practice, are in a unique position to help patients complete advance directives (ADs). This article focuses on an open-ended question that was part of a larger quantitative survey, "What do emergency nurses need to increase their ability to assist patients with ADs?" ⋯ Those nurses who saw assisting patients with ADs as their role were very clear about what they needed to be able to carry out the role (more time to spend with patients and more education related to ADs) and that they could not fulfill that role without the support of their institution's administration.