Dimensions of critical care nursing : DCCN
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Ludwig's angina is a serious, often fatal infectious disease process that requires prompt intervention of life-saving therapies. The critical care nurses caring for a patient with Ludwig's angina must be able to recognize subtle changes in the patient's status and intervene quickly to prevent death by airway edema or profound sepsis.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Jul 2004
ReviewPosttraumatic stress disorder and the intensive care unit patient: implications for staff and advanced practice critical care nurses.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a rather common psychiatric diagnosis, and potentially is a very debilitating disorder. In PTSD, patients exhibit specific debilitating symptoms in response to exposure to an extreme stressor. ⋯ This diagnosis potentially puts both the patient and nursing staff at increased risk for harm, and is associated with increased utilization of medical services. Critical care staff and APNs can take actions to screen for at-risk patients, emplace safety protocols, and advocate for affected patients within the healthcare team.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Jul 2004
Turning the tide on medical errors in intensive care units: a human factors approach.
Errors occur in all nursing settings. The current healthcare climate tends to focus on individuals as the cause of errors rather than addressing issues that may be inherently wrong with the healthcare system that predisposes the individual to make errors. ⋯ Applied in other high-risk industries, HFE has been critical in understanding and preventing errors at a systems level. Knowledge concerning the role systems play in errors and improvements to medical systems using HFE is intended to empower nurses to be advocates for systems change, resulting in a safer work environment and a safer healthcare delivery system.
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Spirituality as a coping mechanism can be observed to be a powerful resource in the provision of comfort, peace, and resolution for patients confronted with critical illness. While the exact machinery of spirituality in adaptation and adjustment to illness is enigmatic, the complementary benefits are clearly illustrated in the analysis of recounted personal experiences. Analysis of interactions with patients living the experience of coping with critical illness provides nurses with a means of reflection and transformational learning which improves and preserves the spiritual heritage of nursing care.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Jul 2004
Clinical research and the development of new drugs: issues for nurses.
Critical care nurses are frequently exposed to clinical trials for either new medications, equipment, or procedures. This article discusses the FDA regulatory requirements as well as the guidelines for conducting human research involving investigational new drugs. The role of the critical care nurse caring for patients enrolled in clinical trials is also discussed.