Journal of trauma nursing : the official journal of the Society of Trauma Nurses
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects nearly 1.4 million Americans annually with an estimated 5.3 million US citizens living with disability. There is no standardized course of treatment for individuals with moderate TBI. This study aims to evaluate the patient demographics and acute care course for those with moderate TBI. ⋯ Moderate TBI is a unique subset of brain injury. Having a better understanding of its course of recovery will help develop appropriate management guidelines for this group.
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There has been growing concern for many years over the impending shortage of trauma surgeons due to attrition and the lack of residents choosing the trauma surgical specialty area. Along with this concern, trauma admissions continue to increase and many trauma services are merging with acute care surgery, increasing the overall service line volume. ⋯ Trauma centers are faced with gaps in patient coverage, placing the need for midlevel practitioners in high demand. This article discusses (1) the utilization of advanced practice nurses on a trauma and acute care surgery service and (2) how the implementation of a formal rounding process improves nursing and physician satisfaction as well as length of stay.
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The purpose of this study was to the examine the effects of family-witnessed resuscitation (FWR) in patients experiencing trauma from motor vehicle crashes and gunshot wounds prior to hospitalization. Family members of 33 patients (motor vehicle crashes: n = 19, 57%; gunshot wounds: n = 14, 43%) participated in this study. Within 1 to 2 days after admission to critical care, families who witnessed resuscitation and those who did not witness resuscitation were asked to participate. ⋯ Results indicated that scores for family resources, coping, problem-solving communication, and well-being were no different in families who witnessed resuscitation compared with those who did not witness resuscitation prior to hospitalization in this study. The effects of FWR during the prehospital time period are not detrimental to family members. Further research needs to be conducted to examine the effects of FWR.
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To discover new experience-based clinical and care delivery knowledge learned in the Iraq and Afghanistan combat zones, 107 Air Force, Army, and Navy nurses were interviewed. Eight areas of experiential knowledge were identified in the new care delivery system that featured rapid transport, early trauma and surgical care, and expeditious aeromedical evacuation: (1) organizing for mass casualties, (2) uncertainty about incoming casualties, (3) developing systems to track patients, (4) resource utilization, (5) ripple effects of a mass casualty event, (6) enlarging the scope of nursing practice, (7) operating medical facilities under attack, and (8) nurse emotions related to mass casualties.