ED Nursing Archives – November 1, 2003
November 1, 2003
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Do you screen patients for substance abuse? Too many slip through the cracks
ED nurses at Yale-New Haven (CT) Medical Center suspected that a 61-year-old man complaining of dizziness, with a history of high blood pressure and noncompliance with medications, was unable to pay for his prescriptions. -
When should you obtain alcohol levels, tox screens?
If you suspect a patient has a substance abuse problem, what do you do next? A first step may be to obtain blood alcohol levels or toxicology screens, says Darlene Matsuoka, RN, BSN, CEN, CCRN, clinical nurse educator for the ED at Seattle-based Harborview Medical Center. -
Study: Change the way you care for acute MI patients
If primary angioplasty is not available at your facility, are acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients transferred so that they can receive this lifesaving intervention? -
Symptom alert: Overdoses and drug interactions
After a young woman felt symptoms of an allergic reaction coming on, she went to the grocery store and bought a bottle of antihistamine, recalls Shelley Cohen, RN, CEN, a consultant and educator with Health Resources Unlimited in Hohenwald, TN. -
New study sheds light on anthrax vs. flu
Do you know how to tell a case of ordinary flu from inhalational anthrax? Failing to do so can have potentially devastating consequences for your ED. -
Herbal and Dietary Supplements Patient Information
It has been estimated that one-third of adults in the United States use herbal products and spend more than $3 billion annually on these supplements. -
Save $12,000 with resource drive for ED nurses
Wouldnt you love for ED nurses to have a quick, easy way to access department policies, updates, drip charts, dosing protocols, telephone numbers, and procedures for infrequent ordering processes? -
Use this foolproof way to avoid losing resources
Do you find that paper resources such as measurement tapes, dosage charts, and clinical pathways often are missing in your ED? If so, try enclosing these items in two panels of an 1/8-inch thick plastic, suggests Teri Howick, RN, nurse educator for the ED at McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, UT. -
Journal Reviews
The left-without-being-seen patients: What would keep them from leaving?; Emergency department analgesia for fracture pain