Orthopaedic nursing
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The Colles' fracture is probably the most common fracture seen in the Emergency Department. Although there are several different methods of reduction and fixation, the goal of any treatment plan is to return the patient to normal function. Depending on the complexity, the Colles' fracture can be successfully treated open or closed. This article reviews the mechanism of injury, assessment, conservative or operative treatment, and rehabilitation of these fractures.
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Patients believe that personal information that they share with their health care providers will be kept strictly confidential. Safeguarding a confidence has been and continues to be an expected professional behavior. ⋯ This article discusses the inadvertent breach of confidentiality and its related ethical concepts: privacy, respect for persons, trust and fidelity, and the potential for harm or injury. Recommendations are provided to enable nurses to avoid and manage situations that involve an inadvertent breach of confidentiality.
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There are three things this presentation sought to accomplish. First, it's not the health care system you grew up with any longer. Even if you wanted to keep it, it's already gone. ⋯ You are going to be a leader and on your shoulders is going to be the expectation of providing leadership. Something in the course of our time together or your time here at the conference, resonated with your own consciousness, your own thinking, your own journey, your own experience, and your own leadership. Margaret Wheatly said in her book, Leadership in the New Science, talking about quantum mechanics applied to leadership: "The change is like a ripple; it doesn't matter where you make change, it doesn't matter how large the ripple, it doesn't matter how isolated you may feel, if you make the change it creates a ripple that ultimately changes everything".
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Perioperative blood management has evolved in recent years, and new approaches to blood conservation and replacement have dramatically changed the treatment of surgical patients. This article addresses the historical continuum of blood transfusions and describes current standards of practice in perioperative blood management in orthopaedic patients. Certain elective orthopaedic procedures lend themselves well to preoperative planning for blood loss. ⋯ Allogeneic, designated (or directed) donor, and autologous blood transfusion have been the standard of practice for blood replacement until very recently. Epoetin alfa, an FDA-approved treatment for anemia, can be administered perioperatively to total joint arthroplasty patients to help prevent the necessity of postoperative transfusion. Inspired by the infection risk associated with allogeneic blood transfusion, this development represents a growing trend in perioperative blood management of the orthopaedic patient.
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The author shares her experience three years following a life-threatening accident. Many individuals must learn to live with long-term disability. Maximizing assets can facilitate optimal quality of life in spite of limitations.