American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Fasting Versus a Heart-Healthy Diet Before Cardiac Catheterization: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Patients undergoing cardiac catheterization are ordered to take nothing by mouth after midnight before their procedure with no evidence to support this practice. ⋯ Allowing patients to eat before elective cardiac catheterization posed no safety risk and benefited patient satisfaction and overall care. The results of this study may help identify best practice for allowing patients to eat before elective procedures using conscious sedation.
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Implementing music in the intensive care unit has increased in popularity because the environment can be stressful and anxiety inducing for many patients. In hospital settings, therapeutic music can be beneficial for patients' well-being and recovery. Although live music typically involves a face-to-face encounter between the musician and patient, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a change to virtual live therapeutic music, using technology to present music in real time (eg, with a tablet computer). ⋯ Therapeutic virtual music was well received and provided tangible benefits to patients. Additional research would provide information on patients' outcomes and differences between live and virtual live music.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been distressing to health care professionals, causing significant burnout. Burnout has resulted in notable rates of mental health symptoms and job turnover. Hospitals have incorporated programming to meet the needs of health care professionals. ⋯ In addition to educational seminars, programs that address lasting distress should be offered to health care professionals. Targeting job-related burnout at organizational and systemic levels may ameliorate distress. This article discusses methods of integrating organizational programs into clinics.
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Use of the 3 Wishes Project to Help Individualize End-of-Life Care in a Medical Intensive Care Unit.
Multiple organizations recommend that individualized end-of-life (EOL) care should be standard practice. However, a standardized approach does not exist because EOL care should be individually tailored. The 3 Wishes Project is an EOL intervention that provides direction for individualized care with 3 goals: dignify death, celebrate the patient's life, and support family members and the intensive care unit clinicians caring for the patient. Patients and families are given the opportunity to choose 3 wishes during the dying process. ⋯ The survey data support the 3 Wishes Project as a method that allowed the medical team to individualize EOL care and as a valuable tool for incorporation at the bedside.