International emergency nursing
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Review Case Reports
Case review: a 28-year-old Korean man with Irukandji syndrome.
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Within health care, there has been a change in practice from an illness-orientated service to one that is more health-focused and person-centred. The concept of person-centredness is frequently espoused by practitioners as being not only a desirable, but a necessary element of health care provision. Indeed, nationally and internationally, person-centred care has underpinned many healthcare documents and policies. ⋯ There is evidence to suggest that emergency nurses view their role as one, which is predominantly concerned with providing urgent physical care, rather than one, which espouses the theories of holistic healthcare. To this extent, being person-centred in the context of emergency care, requires the nurse to move beyond the traditional notions of his/her role and to embrace the more holistic aspects of patient care. The aim of this article is to critically analyse how a change in nurse-led triage training in one Irish Emergency Department facilitated an improved person-centred approach in practice.
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Intravascular catheter-related infections are a major problem in healthcare. This review provides up-to-date guidance of evidence-based recommendations for the prevention of intravascular catheter-related infections with special focus on strategies relevant for nurses working in emergency and critical care environments or practitioners responsible for surveillance and control of infections. The review concludes by providing a range of approaches advocated for: (i) translating guidelines to the needs and expectations of emergency and critical care nurses, and (ii) increasing the chance of successful implementation and compliance with these recommendations.
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Severe sepsis and septic shock are syndromes resulting in a systemic inflammatory response and the dysfunction of one or more organs following infection. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign is an international effort to reduce mortality in severe sepsis and septic shock by 25% by 2009 using a care bundle approach. It comprises evidenced-based interventions to be carried out within 6h of onset of sepsis. ⋯ Administration of an antibiotic was also very slow. Local recommendations include improvements to the track and trigger scoring system in A&E to improve recognition of sick patients, ensuring the doctor responsible for prescribing the antibiotic will administer it, and increasing awareness of the surviving sepsis campaign via education and training of all A&E staff. Given current evidence greater compliance to the care bundle may well improve patient outcomes for this client group.