Dimensions of critical care nursing : DCCN
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Although therapeutic activity prevents functional decline and reduces mortality, little is known about typical levels of activity among intensive care unit (ICU) patients. This report of a preliminary study describes typical therapeutic activity and compares the use of two measures of activity in a small sample of chronically critically ill adults. Type, frequency, and duration of therapeutic activity were measured simultaneously with direct observation and actigraphy. ⋯ Analysis demonstrated acceptable agreement between the two measures of activity for both frequency and duration of therapeutic but not for type of activity. Congruence between measures for duration of activity was also supported. This study provides information for investigators and practitioners who are interested in measuring or implementing therapeutic activity in selected critically ill adults.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2005
Innovative solution: Mentor program: evaluation, change, and challenges.
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center is a level 1 tertiary teaching facility in the southwestern United States. The center developed an 18-month registered nurse mentoring program. The program, now in its third year, is revisited looking at the evaluation of retention, program challenges, and change.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Sep 2005
ReviewARDS diagnosis and management: implications for the critical care nurse.
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), an intense form of hypoxemic respiratory failure, may be one of the most elusive diagnoses encountered in the intensive care unit. Increasing the knowledge base of the critical care nurse is imperative to prevent and diagnose ARDS, as well as to generate and implement evidence-based clinical interventions. This article presents a thorough examination of the many facets of ARDS, including its definition, etiology, pathophysiology, presentation, diagnosis, and management.
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End-of-life care is one part of nursing that many nurses are not fond of administering. The procedure for administering end-of-life care and the rationales for providing such care can benefit the nurse, patient, and family. Considering religious beliefs and practices can assist in proper care for the patient.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Sep 2005
Critical care nurses' perceptions of and responses to moral distress.
Nurses frequently experience conflict regarding healthcare decisions, yet are expected to implement actions which they perceive to be morally wrong. Research has described the deleterious effects of this moral incongruency, coined moral distress, on nurses' well being and has identified it as a causative agent in nursing turnover, burnout, and nurses leaving the profession. Thus, it is known that moral distress has significant consequences for nurses, but does moral distress affect nurses' provision of care, and if so, how?