ABSTRACT
Medical critical care unit (MCCU) nurses at a VA medical center designed a quality assurance monitor for educating cardiac patients. Patients with a diagnosis of rule-out myocardial infarction are interviewed about their preadmission use of nitroglycerin and entry into emergency treatment facilities. The MCCU nurses teach a five-point "ischemic heart disease--recognition and response" lesson, and ascertain the patient's immediate level of understanding. If the patient returns to the MCCU at a later date, nurses record the appropriateness of his use of nitroglycerin and entry into emergency treatment facilities. Thus, both short- and long-term gains in patient knowledge are assessed. Solutions to problems encountered in the quality assurance monitor implementation process are discussed. Benefits of the project to patients, the nursing department, and other departments are identified. A sample monthly report and the monitor data collection tool illustrate the process. Future directions for patient education efforts in the MCCU are outlined.
Subject(s)
Coronary Disease/nursing , Critical Care/standards , Patient Education as Topic/standards , Quality Assurance, Health Care , Aged , Coronary Disease/drug therapy , Humans , Middle Aged , Program EvaluationSubject(s)
Mentors , Costs and Cost Analysis , Economics, Nursing , Humans , Quality Assurance, Health Care , Terminology as TopicABSTRACT
A sample of 76 alcoholics and 31 drug abusers who had been inpatients at a Veterans Administration Medical Center were followed up 6 months after termination of treatment. Of this population, 100 (93.5%) were located, and additional data were recorded as to both the length of time required for location and the sources which proved useful in the process. Two-thirds of the sample were located within 1 month and most before the fourth month. Multivariate analyses revealed that criminal history, longer time in treatment, and previous treatment each were independent predictors of difficulty in location. Personal addresses provided by the subjects at intake were crucial in the tracking process, as well as female relatives named by addicts. The time to locate a subject was not generally related to outcome. Employed subjects were somewhat harder to find, and those drinking daily-or not at all-were easier to locate.
