Emergency nurse : the journal of the RCN Accident and Emergency Nursing Association
-
Prompt treatment of patients with cardiorespiratory arrest can mean the difference between life and death. This article analyses the use of therapeutic hypothermia and aims to educate practitioners about its advantages and disadvantages as an immediate treatment.
-
The Department of Health's four-hour operational standard for waiting times in emergency departments (EDs) was introduced in 2001 to speed up treatment and improve the patient experience. Studies and media reports have shown, however, that the standard has increased pressure on ED staff, particularly nurses. This article refers to an analysis of the literature in an attempt to determine whether the implementation of the standard has been beneficial or detrimental to nurses' work, and offers advice to help nurses meet it with minimum stress.
-
Former paediatric nurse, health visitor and bank nurse Paula Chell is now the manager of an urgent care unit in Stoke-on-Trent, where she has developed a 'nurse navigator' system to ensure that nurse practitioners and emergency care triage nurses can identify the appropriate forms of treatment for a wide range of patients
-
Enabling triage nurses to request X-rays has a number of benefits for patients and staff. This article describes the development of a protocol and in-house training programme that allows triage nurses to assess patients with hand and wrist injuries, make a differential diagnosis of potential fracture and request X-rays. The protocol not only improves patients' journeys, but also empowers members of the emergency department's nursing team to develop new skills.