Critical care nurse
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Using Nurse-Driven Protocols to Eliminate Routine Gastric Residual Volume Measurements: A Retrospective Study.
Multiple critical care guidelines support the elimination of routine gastric residual volume monitoring in patients receiving enteral nutrition. However, transitioning nursing practice away from routine gastric residual volume assessments has proved challenging. ⋯ The findings of this study indicate that the elimination of routine gastric residual volume assessment does not increase the rate of adverse events and results in increased nutrition provision. Use of a protocol for practice change as well as mandatory in-service training may effect changes in nursing practice.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Increasing Nurses' Knowledge of and Self-confidence With Family Presence During Pediatric Resuscitation.
Family presence during resuscitation is becoming more common, and pediatric critical care nurses regularly facilitate this process. However, most hospitals lack policies and education to support nurses in this practice. ⋯ Formalized and structured education on family presence during resuscitation appears to promote pediatric intensive care unit nurses' knowledge, increase their perception of benefits outweighing risks, and enhance their self-confidence in supporting family members. Providing information about family presence during resuscitation and how best to facilitate this practice should be a priority and included as part of standard educational support for pediatric intensive care unit nurses.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Minimizing Post-Intensive Care Syndrome to Improve Outcomes for Intensive Care Unit Survivors.
Post-intensive care syndrome is a collection of symptoms that more than half of patients who survive a critical illness, and their family caregivers, experience after the illness. Those symptoms include weakness/ fatigue, sleep disturbances/insomnia, cognitive dysfunction, posttraumatic stress disorder, other mental health conditions, and a lack of effective coping strategies. ⋯ This article describes patients who have a high risk of developing post-intensive care syndrome and interventions that are within nurses' purview.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Impact of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Preadmission Huddle on Perceptions of Interprofessional Communication About Patient Safety.
Preadmission discussions in the study institution's pediatric intensive care unit are not standardized and admission plans were thought to be disjointed, leading to a perceived lack of organization and preparation for the arrival of a critically ill child. ⋯ Future studies are needed to determine if this perceived improvement in communication significantly affects health care outcomes of critically ill children or if these results are generalizable to other pediatric intensive care unit settings.