Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Children who require emergency care have unique needs, especially when emergencies are serious or life-threatening. The majority of ill and injured children are brought to community hospital emergency departments (EDs) by virtue of their geography within communities. Similarly, emergency medical services (EMS) agencies provide the bulk of out-of-hospital emergency care to children. ⋯ These guidelines are consistent with the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine's report on the future of emergency care in the United States health system. Although resources within emergency and trauma care systems vary locally, regionally, and nationally, it is essential that hospital ED staff and administrators and EMS systems' administrators and medical directors seek to meet or exceed these guidelines in efforts to optimize the emergency care of children they serve. This statement has been endorsed by the Academic Pediatric Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Physician Assistants, American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, American Pediatric Surgical Association, Brain Injury Association of America, Child Health Corporation of America, Children's National Medical Center, Family Voices, National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, National Association of EMS Physicians, National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, National Association of State EMS Officials, National Committee for Quality Assurance, National PTA, Safe Kids USA, Society of Trauma Nurses, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and The Joint Commission.
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Admission of in-custody patients into an overtaxed emergency department is often frustrating for both law enforcement and ED staff. To facilitate collaboration between law enforcement and ED staff, it would be advantageous to initiate a professional interagency task force. ⋯ One common area of overwhelming agreement between the agencies was the need for such a task force. The data suggest the urgent need for mutually agreed upon policies and procedures for in-custody patients for both agencies to provide a safe environment for all involved.
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The Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT) is a rapid evaluation tool that establishes a child's clinical status and his or her category of illness to direct initial management priorities. Recently the PAT has been incorporated widely into the pediatric resuscitation curriculum. Although intuitive, its performance characteristics have yet to be quantified. The purpose of this research is to determine quantitatively its accuracy, reliability, and validity as applied by nurses at triage. ⋯ The structured assessment of the initial PAT, as performed by nurses in triage, readily and reliably identifies high-acuity pediatric patients and their category of pathophysiology. The PAT is highly predictive of the child's clinical status on further evaluation.
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The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of new graduate emergency nurses participating in a structured internship program. In order to meet the needs of new graduate nurses in emergency departments, these departments have developed a variety of orientation programs, some more successful than others. One type of program involves a combination of didactic content and hands-on clinical experience. This study examines the experiences of new graduate nurses in an internship program at a 200-bed community hospital. ⋯ The findings of this study suggest that a structured internship program is helpful to new graduate nurses when orienting to a critical care area such as the emergency department. Furthermore, the combination of didactic and clinical content, and the roles of the preceptor and unit-base CNS appear to be key factors in the successful transition from new graduate to emergency nurse.