Australasian emergency nursing journal : AENJ
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · Aug 2013
Comparative StudyNurse practitioners treating ankle and foot injuries using the Ottawa Ankle Rules: a comparative study in the emergency department.
Nurse practitioners (NPs) in the Emergency Department (ED) have been trained to assess a range of clinical problems and minor complaints such as acute ankle injury. This study compared assessment of suspected ankle and foot injuries using the Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR) by NPs and ED medical doctors (ED-Drs). ⋯ This study suggests that NPs are less likely to miss significant fractures of the ankle and/or foot compared with ED-based medical registrars. Future research should focus on actual use of the OAR and accuracy of X-ray assessment by NPs.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · Aug 2013
Exploring staff willingness to attend work during a disaster: a study of nurses employed in four Australian emergency departments.
Much of the literature about emergency nurses willingness to work during disasters has been from a non-Australian perspective. Despite the many recent disasters, little is known of Australian nurse's willingness to participate in disaster response. This paper presents findings from a study that explored nurses willingness to attend work during a disaster and the factors that influenced this decision. ⋯ The decision to attend work or not during a disaster, includes a number of complex personal, work-related and professional factors that can change, depending on the type of disaster, preparedness of the work environment and the emergency nurses' personal responsibilities at that time.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · Aug 2013
Evaluating patient presentations for care delivered by emergency nurse practitioners: a retrospective analysis of 12 months.
The delivery of quality patients care in the emergency department (ED) is emerging as one of the most important service indicators to be measured in health services today. The emergency nurse practitioner role was implemented as a service innovation in one Melbourne, ED, Australia, in July 2004. The primary aim of the role was intended to enhance healthcare services, improve the efficiency and timely delivery of high quality care to patients. ⋯ This study has provided information on patient baseline characteristics and performance on important service indicators for this patient sample that will inform further research to evaluate specific outcomes of the emergency nurse practitioner service.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · May 2013
Scribe during emergency department resuscitation: Registered Nurse domain or up for grabs?
Scribe nurses within metropolitan emergency departments are traditionally Registered Nurses who document the resuscitation event to provide a true and timely representation of what occurred. Enrolled Nurses undertake the scribe role in some Australian emergency department resuscitations, particularly in rural and remote health services. There is no Australian research evidence pertaining to the role of the scribe nurse within a resuscitation team. This study explored the scribe role and the nursing work involved within it to appraise whether it is appropriate to delegate the responsibility away from Registered Nurses. ⋯ The characteristics of an effective scribe; well developed communication skills, confidence and assertiveness and resuscitation 'know how', may be the measurement of readiness for the position of scribe nurse within the resuscitation team, rather than number of years of clinical experience or designation.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · May 2013
Australasian emergency nurses' willingness to attend work in a disaster: a survey.
The type of disaster, individual demographic factors, family factors and workplace factors, have been identified in the international, multidisciplinary literature as factors that influence a person's willingness to attend and assist in their workplace during a disaster. However, it is unknown if these factors are applicable to Australasian emergency nurses. ⋯ The factors that influenced Australasian emergency nurses to attend their workplace in a disaster were similar to that described in the international multidisciplinary literature. Of particular note, improving disaster knowledge and skills, having a family disaster plan and improving the perceptions of the nurses' workplace preparedness can enhance the nurses' willingness to assist in a disaster.