The American journal of nursing
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This article describes the implementation of a nurse-designed, automated system for enhancing patient monitoring on medical-surgical and step-down nursing units. The system, which is not derived from any of the early warning scoring systems described in nursing literature, was developed and put into place at a large tertiary hospital in eastern Virginia and found to substantially reduce out-of-unit codes without increasing nurses' workload.
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Health literacy refers to a patient's knowledge and skill in making informed health care decisions. Low health literacy is associated with poor health outcomes that nurses have the potential to affect. ⋯ Recently health literacy experts have recommended that all patients be treated as if they have low health literacy. The authors review the recent definitions and dimensions of health literacy, the prevalence and characteristics of patients with low health literacy, and strategies nurses can use in clinical settings.
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Despite regional and national efforts to improve access, many eligible patients aren't getting the care they need.
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Acute kidney injury is an independent risk factor for both prolonged length of hospital stay and in-hospital mortality. Recent analysis shows that over the past decade the incidence of acute kidney injury requiring dialysis rose rapidly in the United States, with associated death more than doubling. In 2007, the Acute Kidney Injury Network proposed a new classification system for acute kidney injury, which recognized that incremental changes in kidney function may adversely affect outcomes. By identifying the signs and symptoms of acute kidney injury in its early stages, nurses may be able to help reduce the severity of injury and contribute to improved outcomes.