Dimensions of critical care nursing : DCCN
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Jan 2012
When the patient and family just do not get it: overcoming low health literacy in critical care.
Low health literacy in patients and families has been called a silent epidemic. Although there is a great deal of literature to assist nurses to address health literacy problems, little has focused on overcoming low health literacy in critical care. This article provides a definition of health literacy, explores how Baker's health literacy model can be applied to the critical care environment using Osborne's practical strategies, and presents 2 patient scenarios in which addressing low health literacy changed the outcomes for the patient and family. The article concludes with recommendations for critical care nurses to overcome low health literacy of patients and their families.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2011
Preventing intensive care unit delirium: a patient-centered approach to reducing sleep disruption.
Delirium in the intensive care unit is a disorder with multifactorial causes and is associated with poor outcomes. Sleep-wake disturbance is a common experience for patients with delirium. ⋯ Patient-centered care is a concept that considers what is best for each individual. How can clinicians use a patient-centered approach to alter processes to decrease patient disruptions and improve sleep and rest? Could timing of blood draws and soothing music work to promote sleep?
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2011
Moral distress, compassion fatigue, and perceptions about medication errors in certified critical care nurses.
The primary purpose of this study was to examine the previously untested relationships between moral distress, compassion fatigue, perceptions about medication errors, and nurse characteristics in a national sample of 205 certified critical care nurses. In addition, this study included a qualitative exploration of the phenomenon of medication errors in a smaller subset of certified critical care nurses. Results revealed statistically significant correlations between moral distress, compassion fatigue, and perceptions about medication errors in this group. Implications for critical care nurses seeking to create work environments conducive to the reduction of medication errors are explored.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Sep 2011
ReviewFamily conference in the intensive care unit: a systematic review.
For the past several decades, there has been an emphasis placed on family members of critically ill patients. Patients and families should not be excluded from learning about uncertainty, risks, and treatment choices. The purpose of this article was to review research studies related to family conferences and/or meetings that focus on both adult and pediatric patients in the intensive care unit.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Sep 2011
Innovative solutions: does preadmission testing prevent delays for first-case starts?
This article describes a quality improvement project performed to determine if preadmission testing prevents patient delays for first-case starts in the operating room. Factors related to delays in first-case starts in the operating room were examined to determine if any of those factors could be affected by patients undergoing preadmission testing. This article presents the results.