Critical care nurse
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Palliative care consultations for patients with life-threatening illnesses provide benefits for the patients and their families as well as for the health care team. Patients have better quality of life and live longer but cost the health care system less. ⋯ Barriers to palliative care consultation for patients in critical care units include misunderstandings about palliative care and not having agreed upon criteria for referral. Critical care nurses can assist in overcoming these barriers.
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Critical care nurse · Oct 2015
Safety First! Using a Checklist for Intrafacility Transport of Adult Intensive Care Patients.
Adult critical care patients in an academic medical center experienced adverse events during intrafacility transport resulting from lack of preparation. An intervention was needed to help keep patients safe during intrafacility transport. ⋯ This tool is suitable for bedside clinicians to use when preparing patients for transport.
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Numerous studies have indicated that therapeutic hypothermia can improve neurological outcomes after cardiac arrest. This treatment has redefined care after resuscitation and offers an aggressive intervention that may mitigate postresuscitation syndrome. ⋯ An interprofessional team within the hospital developed, implemented, and refined a clinical practice guideline for therapeutic hypothermia. In their experience, beyond a protocol, 5 critical elements of success (interprofessional stakeholders, coordination of care delivery, education, interprofessional case analysis, and participation in a global database) enhanced translation into clinical practice.