Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
-
Observational Study
Emergency Nurses' Perceptions of Efficiency and Design: Examining ED Structure, Process, and Outcomes.
Due to increasing demands, it is imperative for emergency departments to improve efficiency, while providing safe and effective care. Efficient and quality healthcare delivery are impacted by interactions among the emergency department's physical structure, processes, and outcomes. Examining the interrelationship between these three components is essential for assessing quality of care in the ED setting. Studies simultaneously investigating all three aspects of this model are rare. ⋯ The findings suggest that the structure of the built environment can shape healthcare processes occurring within it and ultimately improve the delivery of efficient care, thus increasing both patient and staff satisfaction. As such, the designed environment has a critical impact on enhancing performance, productivity, and staff satisfaction.
-
The Canadian C-Spine Rule (CCR) is a clinical decision aid to facilitate the safe removal of cervical collars in the alert, orientated, low-risk adult trauma patient. Few health care settings have assessed initiatives to train charge nurses to use the CCR. This practice improvement project conducted in a secondary trauma center in Canada aimed to (1) train charge nurses of the emergency room to use the CCR, (2) monitor its use throughout the project period, and (3) compare the assessments of the charge nurses with those of emergency physicians. ⋯ This project shows that the charge nurses of a secondary trauma center can use the CCR safely on alert, orientated, and low-risk adult trauma patients as demonstrated by the agreement in the assessments of emergency room nurses and physicians.
-
Increasing numbers of people are seeking unscheduled medical care in United States' emergency departments, which contributes to delayed throughput and increased patient length of stay. Implementation of nurse-initiated protocols, such as those for throat pain, initiates early diagnostic testing, optimizes patient throughput strategies, and promotes adherence to clinic practice guidelines for an additional segment of patients. ⋯ Although this department has only partially implemented a protocol for throat pain, it highlights the benefits to reduce the number of patients that LWBS and reduce patient length of stay. The use of the protocol also improved adherence to clinical practice guidelines for testing and antibiotic prescribing.
-
These online review questions offer emergency nurses an opportunity to test their knowledge about their practice.