Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Sepsis is one of the leading causes of mortality, with more than 700,000 hospitalizations and 200,000 deaths annually. Various tools exist to aid in the early identification and treatment of sepsis, including electronic alert systems, standardized order sets, nurse-initiated protocols (NIPs) and specially trained teams. Despite available guidelines, mortality rates for severe sepsis and septic shock are near 50%. ⋯ Interprofessional teams can use existing knowledge, skills, and tools to improve sepsis-bundle compliance and mortality outcomes in patients with sepsis presenting to the emergency department.
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The delivery of emergency medical services is primarily performed by emergency medical technicians and paramedics in the United States. More recently, nurses and physicians have become more involved in the delivery of emergency medical services. Advanced placement paramedic education bridging programs have been developed to prepare the workforce, but the success of these programs is unknown. This study evaluated the demographics and performance of nonemergency medical services health care professionals who attended an advanced placement paramedic education program at a Midwestern university. ⋯ The advanced placement paramedic program evaluated in this study had high rates of successful program completion, as well as high first-time and cumulative passing rates for the National Paramedic Certification Examination. Further research is needed to identify the best practices in determining student requirements and the methodologies in delivering advanced placement paramedic education bridging programs.