Critical care nursing quarterly
-
Review
The Impact of Geriatric-Specific Triage Tools Among Older Adults in the Emergency Department.
As the aging population grows, emergency department (ED) service utilization among those 65 years and older is expected to rise. In 2017, it was estimated that approximately 49 million Americans were 65 years and older. ⋯ The aim of this integrative review is to appraise the impact of geriatric-specific triage tolls used in the ED and offer meaningful discussion on how to best address older adults in the ED setting. Findings from this review will help inform the efforts of clinicians, educators, researchers, and public health policy stakeholders charged in the care and advocacy for vulnerable older adults.
-
Burnout and compassion fatigue describe the state of health care professionals' extended stress, emotional states, and prolonged duress after events. In the past few decades, burnout and compassion fatigue have received increased focus and attention. This article summarizes the evolution in moving from viewing burnout as an individual's problem to understanding burnout as an occupational phenomenon, additionally recognizing the powerful role secondary trauma contributes to compassion fatigue. ⋯ The harm from burnout and secondary trauma in health care professionals can be profound, impacting a significant portion of the workforce and manifesting in real suffering, including depression, emotional trauma, and suicide. As health care professionals are daily at risk, the need to recognize, address, and treat burnout is a priority. Both personal resilience building activities for effective stress reduction in clinicians and system-level solutions to address root causes must be utilized to address burnout.