Dimensions of critical care nursing : DCCN
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As many as 5% of male hospital patients develop pressure ulcers. This brief study was done to obtain more research about this topic by evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention designed to prevent pressure ulcers in the urinary meatus as a result of urethral catheterization. Implications for critical care nurses are included.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Mar 2013
ReviewSpirituality, stress, and retention of nurses in critical care.
Providing care to patients in critical care units generates stress. Helping the critical care nurse manage this stress can lead to better patient experiences and higher nursing retention. ⋯ Included in the holistic needs of the nurse is their spiritual well-being. A study that measures spiritual well-being, stress, and nursing retention is the focus of this review.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Mar 2013
Obstacles and helpful behaviors in providing end-of-life care to dying patients in intensive care units.
Death can be difficult to accept, unimaginable, and unexpected. Critical care nurses are directly involved with patients and their families, and their experience can identify the best practices for end-of-life care. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the relative importance of helpful behaviors and obstacles that affect caring for dying patients and families in both adult and pediatric intensive care units as perceived by critical care nurses. The results show that for end-of-life care, nurses most strongly value factors that focus on the well-being of the family, and similar opinions were held by nurses from both adult and pediatric intensive care units.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Jan 2013
ReviewA retrospective study evaluating response time and survival from a cardiopulmonary arrest: a creative inquiry project with undergraduate nursing students.
Cardiopulmonary arrest is a major health problem that claims lives daily in the United States. The adoption of a new standard of care or healthcare technology needs to be evaluated based on patient outcomes. This review focuses on this problem and possible solutions. ⋯ Students take ownership of their projects and take the risks necessary to solve problems and get answers. This review indicates areas of concern that need to be improved to create better patient outcomes. Findings include that improved documentation will provide data elements for review analysis that then may be utilized to improve care related to cardiac arrest.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Jan 2013
Comparative StudyHow effective is "code freeze" in post-cardiac arrest patients?
The use of therapeutic hypothermia or "code freeze" dates back to over 100 years in attempts to resuscitate injured soldiers, preserve limbs, and to provide analgesia for amputations. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of code freeze through a retrospective review of 187 charts of patients who had a cardiac arrest while hospitalized in a 1-year period. ⋯ Mortality rates between the 2 patient populations were also compared. The results from this study are presented in this article.