Emergency nurse : the journal of the RCN Accident and Emergency Nursing Association
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Many patients with minor burns present at emergency departments and urgent care centres, where their management is often undertaken by experienced nurses rather than experts in treating burns. This article describes a small study of the clinical decision making that underpins nurses' management of minor burns in these non-specialist settings. The results suggest that, due to a lack of relevant research, nurses base their decisions on previous experience or expert colleagues' opinions and advice rather than on the evidence.
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Greece's economic crisis is having a detrimental effect on the country's health service. Government cutbacks have forced hospitals to merge, reduced nurse-to-patient ratios and have led to pay cuts and poorer conditions for staff. Emergency nurses must work longer hours with fewer resources for less money, when emergency admissions in the public sector are rising as a result of the economic pressures on Greek society.