ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Critical care nurses titrate continuous infusions of medications to achieve clinical end points. In 2017, The Joint Commission (TJC) placed restrictions on titration practice, decreasing nurses' autonomous decision-making. OBJECTIVES: To describe the practice and perceptions of nurses regarding the 2017 TJC accreditation/regulatory standards for titration of continuous medication infusions. METHODS: A survey of nurses' experiences titrating continuous medication infusions was developed, validated, and distributed electronically to members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. RESULTS: The content validity index for the survey was 1.0 for relevance and 0.95 for clarity. A total of 781 nurses completed the survey; 625 (80%) perceived titration standards to cause delays in patient care, and 726 (93%) experienced moral distress (mean [SD], 4.97 [2.67]; scale, 0-10). Among respondents, 33% could not comply with titration orders, 68% reported suboptimal care resulting from pressure to comply with orders, 70% deviated from orders to meet patient needs, and 84% requested revised orders to ensure compliance. Suboptimal care and delays in care significantly and strongly (regression coefficients ≥0.69) predicted moral distress. CONCLUSIONS: Critical care nurses perceive TJC medication titration standards to adversely impact patient care and contribute to moral distress. The improved 2020 updates to the standards do not address delays and inability to comply with orders, leading to moral distress. Advocacy is indicated in order to mitigate unintended consequences of TJC medication management titration standards.
Subject(s)
Medication Therapy Management , Morals , Nurses , Critical Care , Humans , Medication Therapy Management/ethics , Nurses/psychology , Psychological Distress , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
In the modern world, technology has enabled us to understand the connections between the menstrual cycle and female fertility and to observe the reproductive process even from conception. Unable to see inside the living body, however, eighteenth-century people imagined reproduction and fertility holistically. Their understanding of fertility was inseparable from the way in which they imagined the inner-workings of the humoral body. Although menstruation was understood to be connected to reproduction, it was considered unreliable, a peripheral indicator of fertility. Above all, the best marker of a woman's fecundity was good overall health.
