The Nursing clinics of North America
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Nurs. Clin. North Am. · Sep 1996
ReviewClinical aspects of nurse anesthesia practice. Sedation and monitored anesthesia care.
Safe monitoring of patients receiving sedation mandates that all care givers recognize the potential physiologic trespass of sedatives, hypnotics, and opioid-like drugs on cerebral or respiratory systems. They must be ready to recognize this affront immediately, have necessary resuscitative equipment available, possess prerequisite skills to intervene in adverse changes, and know when to seek additional help. The long history of CRNA practice has helped to define nursing roles in this important form of perioperative care.
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Nurs. Clin. North Am. · Sep 1996
The advanced practice nurse in an acute care setting. The nurse practitioner in adult cardiac surgery care.
Growing numbers of nurse practitioners are shifting practice to the acute care setting. Nurse practitioners are responding to the demand by hospitals for more efficient, cost effective, and safe patient care. An Adult Cardiac Surgery program in New York City uses acute care nurse practitioners in providing patient care through the hospital course. This article explores one such practice.
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Nurs. Clin. North Am. · Sep 1996
Historical ArticleThe nurse anesthesia profession. A past, present, and future perspective.
The author presents a very detailed description of the history of the nurse anesthetist, including a time line of important dates in history. Discussion of the present state of affairs in nurse anesthesia centers around the practice setting, requirements for attaining Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) status, and educational qualifications and capabilities. The article ends with a brief history and current status of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists as well as a discussion about the future of the CRNA.
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Nurs. Clin. North Am. · Dec 1995
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialRelaxation and the relief of cancer pain.
Progressive muscle relaxation combined with guided imagery has the potential to promote relief of cancer pain. The techniques appear to produce a relaxation response that may break the pain-muscle-tension-anxiety cycle and facilitate pain relief through a calming effect. The techniques can be taught by nurses and readily learned by patients. The techniques provide a self-care strategy that, to a limited extent, shifts the locus of control from clinician to patient.
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Nurs. Clin. North Am. · Dec 1995
ReviewThe impact of pain on quality of life. A decade of research.
Pain and the quality of life are closely related. This article summarizes a series of studies conducted over the last decade contributing to the understanding of the pain and quality of life relationship. Details about the meaning of pain, the experience of pain in children, and the impact of pain on the family are presented. Information obtained from research studies led to the development of pain education programs that strengthen direct nursing care of patients and families experiencing cancer pain.