Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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• Chemical exposures daily pose a significant threat to life. Rapid assessment by first responders/emergency nurses is required to reduce death and disability. Currently, no informatics tools for Irritant Gas Syndrome Agents (IGSA) exposures exist to process victims efficiently, continuously monitor for latent signs/symptoms, or make triage recommendations. • This study uses actual patient data from a chemical incident to characterize and validate signs/symptoms of an IGSA Syndrome. Validating signs/symptoms is the first step in developing new emergency department informatics tools with the potential to revolutionize the process by which emergency nurses manage triage victims of chemical incidents. ⋯ This study uses actual patient data from a chemical incident to characterize and validate signs/symptoms of an IGSA syndrome. Validating signs/symptoms is the first step in developing new ED informatics tools with the potential to revolutionize the process by which emergency nurses manage triage victims of chemical incidents.
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• Nurses are uniquely situated to critically evaluate quality and performance measures, identify opportunities for improvement, and recommend potential corrective inverventions within the emergency department. • Nurses can actively contribute to performance improvements that increase quality of care, improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, and reduce institutional liability and risk. • Establishment of a systematic process to identify deficiencies, evaluate problems, and develop solutions is vital to continuous quality improvement. ⋯ Formation of a panel of skilled nurses to assess problems and recommend potential solutions may represent a useful approach for active nurse participation in quality improvement in the emergency department, thus having a meaningful impact on patient outcomes and hospital liability.