Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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This article describes the participation of ED nurses in the development of the Basic Knowledge Assessment Tool (BKAT) for the adult emergency department (ED-BKAT2©), developed by Jean Toth and Kathleen Ritchey and copyrighted in 1980. The research covered the span of 7 years, from 2005 to 2012. ⋯ Uses for the ED-BKAT2 are found in the Figure and discussed in the text. Acknowledgements are made by name, of the 60 emergency nurses across the United States of America who participated in this university/multi-hospital setting collaborative work.
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Over the past 15 years, emergency departments have become overcrowded, with prolonged wait times and an extended length of stay (LOS). These factors cause delay in treatment, which reduces quality of care and increases the potential for adverse events. One suggestion to decrease LOS in the emergency department is to implement advanced nursing interventions (ANIs) at triage. The study purpose was to determine whether there was a difference in ED LOS between patients presenting with a chief complaint of abdominal pain who received ANIs at triage and patients who did not receive ANIs at triage. ⋯ A reduction in TIR optimizes bed availability in the emergency department. Low-acuity patients spend less time occupying an ED bed, which preserves limited bed space for the sickest patients. Results of diagnostic tests are often available by the time the patient is placed in a room, facilitating early medical decision making and decreasing treatment time.