ABSTRACT
An emergency code call for a life-threatening cardiovascular emergency may be identified differently between facilities. Nurses and physicians who work secondary jobs or for temporary agencies may find themselves in the position of misunderstanding emergency code calls. The miscommunication of an emergency could easily result in a life-threatening situation for patients and staff. Therefore, the need for standardization is crucial. This article describes an entertaining education plan to assist with implementing standardization facility wide.
Subject(s)
Clinical Competence , Color , Emergency Service, Hospital/organization & administration , Nursing Evaluation Research/methods , Nursing Staff, Hospital/organization & administration , Resuscitation/standards , Health Care Surveys/methods , Health Planning , Humans , Nursing Evaluation Research/organization & administration , Nursing Staff, Hospital/standards , Program Development , Reference Standards , Resuscitation/methods , WashingtonABSTRACT
OVERVIEW: For a chronic drinker, sudden alcohol withdrawal because of an unexpected hospitalization can lead to escalating withdrawal symptoms and even death if unrecognized and untreated. Nurses need to be aware of the prevalence of alcohol abuse in the United States and consider the possibility of unplanned alcohol withdrawal in their patients. This article discusses the effects on the body of chronic alcohol intake, the potential symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, and ways to recognize and treat these symptoms through early assessment and consistent intervention.
Subject(s)
Central Nervous System Depressants/adverse effects , Ethanol/adverse effects , Inpatients , Nursing Assessment/methods , Substance Withdrawal Syndrome/diagnosis , Substance Withdrawal Syndrome/prevention & control , Chlordiazepoxide , Diazepam , Early Diagnosis , Humans , Inpatients/statistics & numerical data , Lorazepam , Mass Screening/methods , Mass Screening/nursing , Nurse's Role , Patient Discharge , Prevalence , Severity of Illness Index , Substance Withdrawal Syndrome/epidemiology , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Nurses in the hospital setting must be knowledgeable about resuscitation procedures and proficient in the delivery of care during an emergency. They must be ready to implement their knowledge and skills at a moment's notice. A common dilemma for many nurses is that cardiopulmonary emergencies (Code Blues) are infrequent occurrences. Therefore, how do nurses remain competent and confident in their implementation of emergency skills while having limited exposure to the equipment and minimal experience in emergency situations? A team of nurse educators at a regional medical center in Washington State applied adult learning theory and accelerated learning techniques to develop and present a series of learning activities to enhance the staff's familiarity with emergency equipment and procedures. The series began with a carnival venue that provided hands-on practice and review of emergency skills and was reinforced with subsequent random unannounced code drills led by both educators and charge nurses.
