Australasian emergency nursing journal : AENJ
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · May 2014
Opportunistic immunisation in the emergency department: a survey of staff knowledge, opinion and practices.
The aim of this study was to identify (a) emergency department staff knowledge, opinion and practices in relation to childhood vaccines and opportunistic immunisation in the emergency department and (b) differences between nursing and medical staff knowledge, opinion and self reported practices. ⋯ Overall, the majority of staff agreed vaccines are safe, effective and necessary. This study highlighted that staff knowledge deficits and misconceptions about vaccines and vaccine management may be barriers to promoting opportunistic immunisation practices in ED.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · May 2014
Comparative StudyRecognising clinical deterioration in emergency department patients.
The use of rapid response systems such as Medical Emergency Team (MET) improves recognition and response to clinical deterioration in in-patient settings. However, few published studies have investigated use of rapid response systems in Australian emergency departments (ED). ⋯ ED specific criteria for activation of a rapid response system identifies more ED patients at risk of clinical deterioration. The results of this study highlight a need for EDs to implement and evaluate systems to increase recognition of deteriorating patients designed specifically for the emergency care context.
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The Emergency Triage Education Kit (ETEK) was published in 2007. To date, the impact of ETEK has not been measured. The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of ETEK on paediatric triage. ⋯ The introduction of ETEK has had a significant impact in this ED, particularly when combined with education sessions. The use of the PPDT as a framework to guide documentation and triage language facilitated parallel decision-making and auditing, and led to an improvement in inter-rater agreement when applied to children.