Education Commons^™

Delirium Reduction Strategies For The Critically Ill, June Chaves, Sam Canonico, Will Cheney, Tammy Corey, Gil Fraser, Alex Kowalewski, Jen Low, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Haley Pelletier, Cathy Palleschi, Stephen Tyzik, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center

Delirium, an acute and fluctuating disturbance of consciousness and cognition, is a common manifestation of acute brain dysfunction in critically ill patients. Patients with delirium have longer hospital stays and a lower 6-month survival rate than do patients without delirium. Preliminary research suggests that delirium may be associated with cognitive impairment that persists months to years after discharge.

In a large acute care hospital, the cardiac intensive care staff became interested in mitigating their unit’s high delirium rate of ventilated patients. At baseline, many members of the healthcare team did not believe that delirium could be prevented and the predominant …

Communication Of Medication Side Effects In An Acute Care Hospital, Deb Bachand, Rachel Caiola, R6 Neurology Med-Surg Unit, Haley Pelletier, Brendan Lilley, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Stephen Tyzik

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center

COMMUNICATION OF MEDICATION SIDE EFFECTS IN AN ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL

Effective patient education of prescribed medication side effects improves patient safety and reduces overall risk. On an acute care hospital unit, nursing staff felt previous attempts at this education had been ineffective as demonstrated by their HCAHPs scores for communication about medications.

A root cause analysis demonstrated some flaws and several countermeasures were instituted. The goal of this KPI project was to attain a higher than national average for the specific HCAHPs score.

Post KPI inception, the unit’s HCAHPs data showed steady improvement. Within one month, the goal of an …

Transition Goals For Youth With Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Problems: Parent And Student Knowledge, Judith R. Harrison, Talida State, Howard P. Wills, Beth A. Custer, Elaine Miller

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

Transition planning is a mandated component of individualized education plans (IEPs) designed to ensure successful transition to adult life for students with disabilities. Students with social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) needs experience poor post-school outcomes, suggesting a need for more effective transition planning. This study evaluated student and parent knowledge of employment and training goals in IEPs and the match between goals and student future planning. Ninety-three high school students and parents reported their IEP participation and knowledge of goals and responses were compared to goals in their IEPs. Results indicated that students and parents had limited knowledge of goals …

Primary Goals, Information-Giving And Men's Understanding: A Qualitative Study Of Australian And Uk Doctors' Varied Communication About Psa Screening, Kristen Pickles, Stacy M. Carter, Lucie Rychetnik, Kirsten Mccaffery, Vikki A. Entwistle

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives (1) To characterise variation in general practitioners' (GPs') accounts of communicating with men about prostate cancer screening using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, (2) to characterise GPs' reasons for communicating as they do and (3) to explain why and under what conditions GP communication approaches vary. Study design and setting A grounded theory study. We interviewed 69 GPs consulting in primary care practices in Australia (n=40) and the UK (n=29). Results GPs explained their communication practices in relation to their primary goals. In Australia, three different communication goals were reported: to encourage asymptomatic men to either have a PSA …

Can Trying To Meet Specific Exercise Goals Put Us Off Being Active Altogether?, Christian F. Swann, Simon Rosenbaum

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Encouraging people to meet specific fitness goals when they are new to exercising can be ineffective. In fact, it may even make it harder to become active, according to an editorial published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.