Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Electronic patient records are important for quality health services and efficient patient data management. In emergency care, saving valuable time during patient care is of great significance. One out of two fatalities due to trauma occur half an hour after the injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effect of an electronic trauma documentation system on the length of stay in an emergency department. ⋯ We investigated 3 length-of-stay parameters and found that all were lower with the use of the electronic documentation system. This finding is important regarding the quality of trauma patient care because saving time during the first hours after the injury may determine the outcome of the trauma patient.
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These online review questions, featured every other issue in JEN, offer emergency nurses an opportunity to test their knowledge about their practice.
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Interruptions have been shown to cause errors and delays in the treatment of emergency patients and pose a real threat during the triage process. Missteps during the triage assessment can send a patient down the wrong treatment path and lead to delays. The purpose of this project was to identify the types and frequency of interruptions during the ED triage interview process. ⋯ Frequent interruptions can interfere with concentration and may affect patient care. Non-patient care-related interruptions not only can be frustrating to the triage nurse but also can be offensive to triage patients; they ultimately delay care and may even affect the quality of care. However, because scarce research is available regarding interruptions during ED triage, the effects on patient outcomes are unclear. Additional research needs to be conducted to explore the causes and effects of interruptions to the triage process.
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Accurate trauma triage is imperative to facilitate appropriate resource mobilization for severely injured trauma patients. A critical window of opportunity exists to prevent secondary injury or death. Timely assessment with a multidisciplinary trauma team is essential to facilitate rapid diagnosis and treatment. However, consistent and accurate trauma triage proved daunting at our institution, resulting in instances of undertriage. ⋯ Designating trauma triage to an ED registered nurse proved to reduce undertriage rates. By providing staff education, infrastructure improvements, and leadership support, the role continues to thrive, resulting in improved care for severely injured trauma patients.
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Disaster education is important for everyone and especially nurses. Being informed, making individual and family communication plans, and creating the needed supplies to shelter in place or evacuate for one's self and family are required core readiness behaviors. Nurses also need to understand their role within the employer's emergency plans and incident command structure. All of these behaviors help the nurse to be ready and available to care for patients during disaster and emergency incidents.