American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Nurses in intensive care units are exposed to hundreds of alarms during a shift, and research shows that most alarms are not clinically relevant. Alarm fatigue can occur when a nurse becomes desensitized to alarms. Alarm fatigue can jeopardize patient safety, and adverse alarm events can lead to patients dying. ⋯ Managing clinical alarms is a main issue in terms of both patient safety and staff workload management. The results of this study demonstrate that a relatively simple process-oriented strategy can decrease the number of alarms.
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Observational Study
Grief Reactions of Potential Organ Donors' Bereaved Relatives: An Observational Study.
Most family members of potential organ donors experience the death of their relative in an intensive care unit. While under an emotional burden, bereaved relatives must make a decision that will affect the life of other patients. A better understanding of grief within the context of organ donation will help intensive care unit staff better support families during this process. ⋯ Observation and analysis of the factors studied may help hospital staff members anticipate bereaved relatives' emotional reactions and provide better support during the grieving process, increasing family members' well-being and facilitating a better-informed organ donation decision.
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Outcomes in pediatric critical care research are typically selected by the researcher. ⋯ Functioning and quality of life are key patient-centered outcomes during recovery from critical illness. These are not well captured by end points typically used in PICU studies. These results justify the importance of patient- and family-centered outcomes in PICU research and a need to determine how these outcomes can be comprehensively measured.
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Observational Study
Impact of Workplace Climate on Burnout Among Critical Care Nurses in the Veterans Health Administration.
Burnout is a maladaptive response to work-related stress that is associated with negative consequences for patients, clinicians, and the health care system. Critical care nurses are at especially high risk for burnout. Previous studies of burnout have used survey methods that simultaneously measure risk factors and outcomes of burnout, potentially introducing common method bias. ⋯ Drivers of burnout are varied, yet interventions frequently target only the individual. Results of this study suggest that in efforts to reduce burnout, emphasis should be placed on improving local workplace climate.