Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Veterans eligible for health care in the Veterans Administration (VA) health system often receive care in community emergency Departments. In line with initiatives from Joining Forces and the American Academy of Nursing, emergency departments have an opportunity to screen for veterans during routine ED visits and provide resource information regarding various VA services. ⋯ The addition of the mandatory question about military service to the EMR during the primary care assessment successfully identified veterans who presented for care in a community emergency department. Future initiatives should include automated processes to ensure that the Veteran Resource Guide is provided and to foster collaboration between community emergency departments and the VA.
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Understanding the process of becoming and remaining an emergency nurse is of great value in emergency nursing research and for nursing administration. If hospitals want to retain qualified emergency nurses, they must learn the process that nurses use when they choose to continue working within an emergency department. Research focusing on this process may inhibit turnover and simultaneously address the ED nursing shortage. The objectives of this study were to explore this process and highlight the strategies that nurses use throughout this process. ⋯ Processes and strategies to retain qualified emergency nurses are urgently needed. The findings from this study address only a broad understanding of ED and nursing roles. This study highlighted several possible avenues to advance nursing science in this area. For example, for nurses "working in the trenches," it is important to undertake further research to determine factors that might help them adjust.
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For clinical nurses, especially those working in emergency departments, it is crucial to measure blood glucose (BG) in an accurate, timely, and safe manner. Many differences in practice exist with regard to use of the first or second drop of blood for testing, and no consistent guidelines are available for capillary BG testing at home or in ED settings. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the BG differences between the first and second drop of capillary blood collected from the same site in patients with type 1 diabetes. ⋯ Using the first drop of blood in a patient with clean hands allows emergency nurses to perform the test more quickly, resulting in immediate information. Findings indicate that the first drop of blood is adequate for clinical decision making, but the clinician should use judgment if using protocols in which small values (eg, 6 mg/dL) are important, because the first drop is more likely to have a slightly lower value.