ED Nursing Archives – September 1, 2007
September 1, 2007
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Study: Emergency nurses have major knowledge gaps about stroke
Do you know the recommended door-to-drug time for administration of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for ischemic stroke? Are you aware that the neurological status of a stroke patient should be monitored frequently for 24 hours after tPA is given? Do you know the recommended dosage of tPA? -
Mistakes in your stroke care can lead to lawsuits
As an emergency nurse, you are expected to recognize the symptoms of a stroke and properly intervene in the patient's care and treatment, including planning for possible deterioration in the patient's condition, says Mary Ann Shea, JD, RN, a St. Louis-based nurse attorney and former ED nurse. -
Updated guidelines for infectious diseases in ED
You'll need to make several changes to comply with updated isolation guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), which better address special environments and special populations such as EDs, says Doe Kley, RN, CIC, infection control coordinator at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, UT. -
Protect your patients, yourself from flu, TB
In ED waiting rooms, there is growing concern that patients are spreading influenza to staff and patients during long waits. -
Don't miss abuse during your clinical assessment
If a 36-year-old woman came to your ED with obvious signs of a stroke, would you suspect that intimate partner violence (IPV) might be the cause? After ED nurses at a university medical center treated the woman for stroke, a nurse asked about IPV during a routine assessment. -
Reduce risks of switch to 5-level triage system
A growing number of EDs are switching to the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) five-level triage system, but many emergency nurses are struggling to find effective ways to determine competency. -
High blood pressure goes unrecognized in ED
A patient comes in with a superficial laceration that is expertly assessed by the ED nurse and repaired by the ED physician but the patient's hypertension is missed.