Australian nursing journal (July 1993)
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Regardless of their area of clinical practice, nurses are faced on a daily basis with the challenge of effectively managing their patient's pain. Despite significant technological advances, inadequate treatment of pain is still widely reported in the literature.
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When a surgical patient suffers injury away from the operative site, an inference is raised that care has fallen below a reasonable standard in the operating room. This was the central issue in Robertson v Hospital Corporation of America, a 'positioning' case heard in 1995 that should interest perioperative nurses and place further expert opinion in the operating room arena. The previous year, a United States court accepted expert evidence that the 'ultimate' responsibility for protection against ulnar nerve injury during a bilateral mastectomy lay with the anaesthetist.
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Promotion of safe administration of medication to children can be enhanced by expanding pharmacokinetics in paediatric practice. The absorption, distraction metabolism and excretion of medications vary with the developmental changes that accompany a child's growth. Application of paediatric pharmacokinetics to nursing practice when administering medications to children promotes safety in practice.