What you need to know about the new BLS guidelines. Now you'll give stroke victims the same priority as those having an MI. Here's what else has changed.

Major changes to basic life support (BLS) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) practice have been approved, and you'll soon be receiving official update training. In this summary of the recommendations, we'll give you a head start on learning about changes to BLS protocols for health care professionals. Next month, we'll cover changes to ACLS guidelines.

Knowledge utilization among experienced staff nurses.

The purpose of this descriptive exploratory study was to describe the processes staff nurses use to select and transfer new knowledge to practice. Eleven experienced staff nurses shared 29 examples in which gaining new knowledge resulted in changes in thinking or acting in a clinical situation. Findings indicated that knowledge utilization originated with the nurse who was active in selecting and using new knowledge. Nurses used multiple knowledge utilization processes primarily involving factual knowledge and instrumental utilization. Often, the decision to move knowledge to practice was based on comparison by similarity. There were no variations in utilization processes as nurses floated across units. Sources of new knowledge were primarily informal and unit based. Implications for staff development focus on developing unit-based resources and resource personnel, using innovative ways to introduce new knowledge on the unit, and providing time in formal classes for exchange of ideas on using new knowledge in practice.

Making the transition to a hospital-wide department of education: strategies for success.

In today's healthcare environment, staff development specialists have experienced a shift from a nursing-focused approach to education to an organization-wide approach. The change fosters both challenges and opportunities for the staff development specialist. This article describes the strategies used by a department of nursing education to successfully transition to a hospital-wide department of education.

An educational fair and poster approach to organization-wide mandatory education.

BACKGROUND: An educational fair and poster approach was developed to meet organization-wide mandatory education requirements. METHOD: A multidisciplinary task force identified 25 mandatory topics. Task force members utilized posters to indicate key points (principles) and questions for each topic. Two interactive stations, body mechanics and fire safety, were developed to allow staff to actively participate and obtain immediate feedback on competency. This educational activity was presented in a fair-like atmosphere continuously over 3 days to reach a majority of staff. RESULTS: Ninety-three percent of the staff attended the educational activity. Department directors received immediate feedback on attendance, test scores, evaluation summaries and problem areas. Post-fair evaluation comments from department directors and staff were very positive. There was a major savings in both staff and staff development work hours. CONCLUSION: An educational fair and poster approach is an efficient method of providing organization-wide mandatory education. This approach can be adapted easily to any organization.

Unit orientation for experienced nurses. Process and evaluation.

In order to recruit and retain registered nurses during an era of nursing shortages, staff development educators must provide orientation programs that are highly satisfactory. This article describes a program that effectively links the perspectives of nurse managers, nursing staff, and nurse educators. Orientation evaluation questionnaires completed by orientees and staff nurses who served as their buddies show that new employees believe this program meets their learning needs. Such satisfied nurses can recruit their colleagues to employment.