Accident and emergency nursing
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This study was designed to measure the change in knowledge of Accident and Emergency (A & E) nurses in three key areas of trauma care after attending a half-day course based on Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) teaching, and to detect any correlation between the length of experience of nurses in A & E with their theoretical knowledge of the management of severe injuries. A questionnaire was completed by 27 A & E nurses before and after attending the course on trauma management based on the ATLS system. ⋯ An unexpected finding was the low score on triage related questions. Abbreviated ATLS based teaching provides improved theoretical knowledge for A & E nurses waiting to attend a full trauma course.
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This paper describes the assessment, investigation and management of patients suffering blunt abdominal trauma. Many of the structures within the abdominal cavity are highly vascular and damage following trauma can lead to life-threatening hypovolaemia. ⋯ Although formal examination of the patient has traditionally been a medical responsibility, nurses are assuming more responsibility by working in triage or as nurse practitioners. Nurses working both in triage and within the Accident and Emergency department must be able to rapidly assess these patients and assist in their management.
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Every day patients arrive at Accident and Emergency (A & E) departments in pain due to a multitude of causes. As nurses working in this area, we routinely assess patients both objectively and subjectively, and this includes the intensity and descriptions of their pain and their responses to it. Anxiety and pain are closely linked and it has been shown that the use of pain assessment tools can promote nurse-patient communication, thus reducing anxiety levels, improving pain control and assisting in nursing care. This article explores the use of objective assessment of pain within the A & E setting and discusses the issues surrounding pain assessment as a whole.