Dimensions of critical care nursing : DCCN
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The purpose of this integrated review of the literature was to summarize the evidence surrounding the effectiveness of rapid response teams. Studies included in this review were written within the last 10 years, in English, and examined the effectiveness of having a rapid response team. Pediatric studies were excluded from this review. There was a reduction in all cardiac arrests found in 60% of the studies reviewed as well as a reduction in mortality associated with cardiac arrests.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Jul 2011
A far-view intensive care unit monitoring display enables faster triage.
Although nurses perform the majority of the clinical tasks in an intensive care unit, current patient monitors were not designed to support a nurse's workflow. Nurses constantly triage patients, deciding which patient is currently in the most need of care. To make this decision, nurses must observe the patient's vital signs and therapeutic device information from multiple sources. ⋯ Median decision times were 11.3 and 12.4 seconds for the 2 far-view displays and 17.2 seconds for the control display. The 2 far-view displays reduced median decision-making times by 4.8 to 5.9 seconds, increased accuracy in assignment of priority in 2 of 7 patient conditions, and reduced nurses' frustration with the triaging task. In a clinical setting, the proposed far-view display might reduce nurses' mental workload and thereby increase patient safety.
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Sometimes, families and patients compel intensive care unit clinicians to continue aggressive therapies even when the odds of patient recovery are grim. This experienced critical-care nurse suggests that such scenarios are more likely when clinicians use imprecise or ambiguous language when discussing patient prognoses.