Journal of trauma nursing : the official journal of the Society of Trauma Nurses
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Studies have shown that therapeutic hypothermia (TH) improves outcomes in patients who have experienced a cardiac arrest (; ). This article discusses TH and the process used by one emergency department to develop and implement an evidence-based protocol on TH for the postresuscitation patient.
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Military medical personnel are involved in missions at home and abroad that require well-sustained skills, particularly relative to trauma response. Depending on the Department of Defense base of assignment, exposure to adequate volumes of patients with acute injury is diminishing. This article presents information on a civilian-military alliance in Maricopa County, Arizona, that is forging new territory to assist military medical personnel in getting the hands-on experiences required to maintain current skills and acquire new ones.
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The Joint Theater Trauma System (JTTS) is a formal system of trauma care designed to improve the medical care and outcomes for combat casualties of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. This article describes the JTTS Trauma Performance Improvement Plan and how JTTS personnel use it to facilitate performance improvement across the entire continuum of combat casualty care.
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The Joint Theater Trauma Registry is a standardized, retrospective data collection system for all echelons of combat casualty care. Military-specific data elements include expanded demographic data to include military branch, service, rank, military occupation, and personal protective equipment. ⋯ Trauma registries are powerful tools for process improvement. Collaboration between civilian and military trauma programs may foster improvements in registry design and data collection for both groups.
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Nurses' role within the Joint Theater Trauma System's trauma performance improvement program spans the entire trauma continuum. Nurses serve as trauma nurse coordinators at combat zone medical treatment facilities, flight nurses within the US Air Force Aeromedical Evacuation system, multidisciplinary trauma teams at overseas and stateside military and Veterans Affairs healthcare organizations, and members on trauma video teleconferences. Many of the trauma performance improvement initiatives that have occurred since the Joint Theater Trauma System inception have been led by nurses serving within the trauma continuum and resulted in successful outcomes for patients with polytrauma.