International emergency nursing
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The Swedish ambulance health care services are changing and developing, with the ambulance nurse playing a central role in the development of practice. The competence required by ambulance nurses in the profession remains undefined and provides a challenge. The need for a clear and updated description of ambulance nurses' competence, including the perspective of professional experiences, seems to be essential. ⋯ This study elucidates essential parts of the development, usage and perceptions of the competence of ambulance nurses and how, in various ways, this is affected by professional experiences. The development of competence is strongly affected by the ability and possibility to reflect on practice on a professional and personal level, particularly in cooperation with colleagues. Experiences and communication skills are regarded as decisive in challenging clinical situations. The way ambulance nurses perceive their own competence is closely linked to patient outcome. The results of this study can be used in professional and curriculum development.
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This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an Emergency Department Ambulance Offload Nurse (EDAOLN) role on patient and health services outcomes in one Queensland Emergency Department (ED). ⋯ As part of a health services framework designed to improve timely access to emergency care, an EDAOLN may be one of several options to consider.
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The objective of this study was to investigate whether rapid blood sampling during triage led to shorter stays in the emergency department for patients with low-acuity complaints. ⋯ Rapid blood sampling performed immediately after triage was not effective for shortening the LOS of discharged patients with low acuity complaints who required blood sampling. But the LOS of ED patients who were referred to the internal medicine was reduced by more than 200min.
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The emergency department (ED) is characterised by high workload and competing demands. This study describes ED nurses perceptions of their working environment with a sub group analysis for those who also worked at the local police watch house, where individuals are detained in custody. ⋯ This pilot study identified that for ED nurses' satisfaction with their working environment was relatively high, although certain areas (e.g., nervousness) were better than others (e.g., workload). The perception of workload was higher for T2 staff offered the opportunity to use their ED skills in a different setting, however further work with a larger sample size is required.
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We explored the time employed by nurses to perform the ED triage process in the clinical setting. Moreover, we assessed the influences on triage timing performance exerted by variables related to nurses, local EDs' features, and by interruptions. ⋯ We found that the nurses triage time performances are similar to other triage systems in the world.