Critical care nurse
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Critical care nurse · Nov 2020
Using In Situ Simulation to Develop a Prone Positioning Protocol for Patients With ARDS.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome carries a 40% mortality rate. Prone positioning remains underused owing to clinicians' low degree of confidence, concern about the risk of adverse outcomes, and lack of staff competency training. ⋯ In situ simulation and interdisciplinary collaboration increase standardization of high-risk, underused procedures, improving staff confidence and competence as well as patient safety.
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Critical care nurse · Oct 2020
Institutional Challenges and Solutions to Evidence-Based, Patient-Centered Practice: Implementing ICU Diaries.
Although diaries are an evidence-based practice that improves the quality of life of patients in an intensive care unit and their loved ones, centers in the United States are struggling to successfully implement diary programs in intensive care units. Currently, few published recommendations address how to facilitate implementation of a diary program, and how to effectively sustain it, in an intensive care unit. ⋯ Through a team's sustained dedication and a diligent assessment of perceived obstacles, a diary program can indeed be implemented within an intensive care unit.
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Critical care nurse · Oct 2020
ReviewJournal Writing by Families of Critically Ill Patients: An Integrative Review.
Families experience high levels of stress during a loved one's critical illness. ⋯ The findings of this review suggest that having family members of critically ill patients write in a diary is a simple and cost-effective intervention that may improve their psychological outcomes. Critical care nurses are in a position to educate families about the potential benefits of writing in a diary. Future research would be valuable regarding the benefits of using a diary and an optimal approach for doing so in this population.