Staffing Is More Than a Number: Using Workflow to Determine an Appropriate Nurse Staffing Ratio in a Tertiary Care Neurocritical Care Unit.

OBJECTIVE: To enhance nursing staff retention and ensure a consistently high standard of care, a study was conducted to determine an appropriate nurse staffing model for a neurocritical care unit. In addition to being critically ill, these patients often require extensive diagnostic testing to determine treatment. Nurses traveling with patients leave higher nurse-patient ratios remaining on the unit. METHODS: Prospective observation was used to assess relationships between neurologic assessment, documentation, and the amount of time spent traveling with patients. Patient acuity and nursing experience were also measured. RESULTS: Over the 30-day study period, more than 226 hours were spent traveling, equivalent to approximately 38% of a single nurse's shift. There was no correlation between the experience of nurses and the time necessary to perform a neurologic assessment. When controlling for acuity, a relationship was found between nursing experience and the time needed to chart an assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Significant time was spent every day off the floor, in addition to the documentation and performance of frequent assessments. These results advocate for a staffing position without a dedicated patient assignment but to assist with traveling and high-acuity patients so that safe and attentive care can be consistently given.

[The nurse and the clinical examination of the nervous system]. / L'infirmière et l'examen clinique du système nerveux.

The clinical examination of the neurological system provides valuable information regarding a person's health status. The nurse, in her daily practice, must be able to identify certain signs which may reveal situations requiring urgent treatment. Others are regularly assessed to monitor the evolution of the patient's condition.

Avanços na monitorização neurológica intensiva: implicações para a enfermagem: [revisão] / Advances in intensive neurological monitoring: implications for nursing care: [review] / Avances en el monitoreo neurologico intensivo: implicaciones para la atencíon de enfermería: [revisión]

A monitorização neurológica é uma avaliação e acompanhamento de dados fornecidos por aparelhagem técnica das alterações do sistema nervoso. Este estudo teve como objetivo realizar uma atualização sobre os diferentes métodos de monitorização neurológica intensiva e estabelecer relações com o trabalho do enfermeiro. O impacto do suprimento e renovação de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos de suporte vital ao paciente na unidade de terapia intensiva é um fato concreto, o que deve fazer com que a equipe de enfermagem se adapte ao ritmo da nova tecnologia a serviço da saúde do paciente. Monitorizar pacientes com alterações neurológicas é um grande desafio para toda a equipe, mas é através dela que se obtêm dados confiáveis e necessários para a intervenção.

The neurological monitoring is an assessment and accompaniment of data supplied by technical devices of alterations in the nervous system. This study aimed at performing an update about the different methods of intensive neurological monitoring and establish relations with the nursing work. The impact of the supplement and electronics equipment renewal of vital support for the critical patient is a concrete fact, and must make the nursing team adapted with the rhythm of new technology in service of patient's health. Monitoring patient with neurological alterations is a great challenge, but is through it that they get trustworthy and necessary information's for nursing interventions.

La monitorización neurológica es una evaluación y un acompañamiento de los datos disponibles por el aparato técnico de las alteraciones del sistema nervioso. Este estudio objetivó realizar una actualización sobre los diversos métodos de monitorización neurológica intesiva y establecer relaciones con el trabajo de enfermería. El impacto del suministro y renovación de las equipajes eletro-eletrónicas de soporte vital al paciente en la unidad de terapia intensiva es un facto concreto que debe hacer con que el equipo de enfermería sea adaptado al ritmo de la nueva tecnología en el servicio a la salud del paciente. El monitoreo de los pacientes con alteraciones neurológicas es un gran desafío para el equipo, pero es a través de él que los datos confiables y necesarios son obtenidos para la intervención.

[Advances in intensive neurological monitoring: implications for nursing care]. / Avanços na monitorização neurológica intensiva: implicações para a enfermagem.

The neurological monitoring is an assessment and accompaniment of data supplied by technical devices of alterations in the nervous system. This study aimed at performing an update about the different methods of intensive neurological monitoring and establish relations with the nursing work. The impact of the supplement and electronics equipment renewal of vital support for the critical patient is a concrete fact, and must make the nursing team adapted with the rhythm of new technology in service of patient's health. Monitoring patient with neurological alterations is a great challenge, but is through it that they get trustworthy and necessary information's for nursing interventions.

Pupil examination: validity and clinical utility of an automated pupillometer.

Pupillary size and reactivity have long been a critical component of the clinical assessment of patients with neurological disorders. The pupillary examination may provide critical information related to new or worsening intracranial pathology and facilitate prompt intervention to minimize further neuronal damage. With this in mind, intensive care nurses caring for neurologically impaired patients frequently must perform pupillary examinations in concert with assigning a Glasgow Coma Scale score. The purpose of this study was to test the accuracy and reliability of an automated pupillometer compared with the standard manual examination as a preliminary step in assessing the usefulness of automated pupillometry in the critical care setting. Twenty patients in the intensive care units of a teaching hospital were examined by two groups of three examiners using both the manual examination with a penlight or similar light source and a portable automated pupillometer capable of measuring pupil size and reaction. Measurements by a static pupillometer before and after each pupillary examination were used to determine the mean "true" size of the pupil. This study found that the automated pupillometer is more accurate and reliable than the manual examination in measuring pupil size and reactivity. For these reasons, such a device may be a beneficial addition in the clinical assessment of neurologically impaired patients.

Neurodiagnostic studies.

Neurodiagnostic studies are an important component of the armamentarium used by the health care team to diagnose and manage patients with problems of the nervous system. Diagnostic studies are currently more sophisticated, specific, and accurate than those conducted in the past. Many are available on an outpatient basis. A thorough understanding of the purposes, methods, implications, findings, preprocedure and postprocedure care, and follow-up care is essential for nurses. The nurse is a key player in decreasing anxiety and fear through assessment of the patient's knowledge and education of the patient and family about a variety of neurodiagnostic procedures.