Critical Care Nursing Commons^™

Thermal Burns And Smoke Inhalation Injuries, Anna Cox

The Kabod

In this pathophysiology paper, the reader is presented with a profile of an elderly patient who recently suffered thermal burns and smoke inhalation injuries as a result of a nursing home fire. This patient’s severe burns were classified as deep partial-thickness and full-thickness and her total body surface area (TBSA) of burns was over 15%. This paper details the different types of burns, the varying clinical manifestations of thermal burns, smoke inhalation injuries, laboratory values associated with burns, and the multitude of treatment necessary for each stage of burn management. Wound healing is described as well as potential risks and …

Impact Of Standardized Oral Health Assessment On Preventing Ventilator-Associated Events, Juana Ambriz De Williams

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common but preventable health-care associated infection that affects up to 20% of mechanically ventilated adult patients, resulting in estimated mortality rates ranging from 13% to 55% (Chahoud, Semaan, Almoosa, 2015; Melsen et al., 2013). In an effort to reduce morbidity, mortality and related costs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), proposed ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention as a national patient safety goal. In 2014, amid growing concerns that the subjectivity of existing definitions had led to inconsistent reporting, thereby impeding efforts to reduce VAP, the CDC refocused surveillance …

Emergency Preparedness On An Inpatient Hospital Unit, Hailee Marie Barnes

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper will discuss the implementation of an emergency preparedness quality improvement project conducted by a University of San Francisco Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) student on an inpatient cardiac unit, Unit H, at an urban teaching hospital in Northern California, Hospital B. An assessment of the current state of emergency preparedness, a diagnosis of Unit H’s area of greatest needs, the details of planning and implementing the quality improvement as well as the final evaluation will be discussed. The nursing process will be used for the structure of this paper as it was used as the structure of this project. …

The Effect Of Breathable Under Pads To Decrease Hospital Acquired Pressure Ulcers: A Nurse Resident Project, Sara Meshino, Bsn, Rn, Bridget Trefz, Bsn, Rn

Department of Nursing papers and presentations

PURPOSE

To reduce the rate of hospital acquired pressure ulcers (HAPU), in June 2013, a large urban academic medical center switched from non-breathable to breathable under pads for incontinent patients lying on either a standard bed (low risk patients) or low-air-loss mattress (high risk patients). Standard pressure ulcer prevention measures were maintained. Staff on two oncology units sought to determine the effectiveness of breathable vs. non-breathable under pads in reducing the rate of HAPU and UAPU.

Augmentative And Alternative Communication In The Intensive Care Unit, Jonathan Todd Sizemore

Online Theses and Dissertations

Current research is lacking on the frequency of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system use in intensive care units (ICU) and clinical decision making patterns. AAC is use of any alternative method of communication when oral communication cannot be achieved (ASHA, 2013). Patients in the ICU may become nonverbal for many reasons including tracheostomy, mechanical ventilation (McKinley, Pooke, & White, 2010) and intubation (Radtke, Bauman, Garrett, & Happ, 2011). Being nonverbal in the ICU may lead to poorer health outcomes (Patak, Wilson-Stronks, & Costello, 2009). AAC systems may improve outcomes by allowing patients to communicate more clearly with family, friends, …

The Ties That Bind: The Relationships Between And Among Registered Nurses' Clinical Experience, Clinical Decision-Making Processes, And Nursing Practice Issues Related To Physical Restraint Use With Attitudes Toward The Use Of Physical Restraints In The Critical Care Environment, Kristi Stinson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Oncology Nurses' Obstacles And Supportive Behaviors In End-Of-Life Care: Providing Vital Family Care, Renea L. Beckstrand, Joan Collette, Lynn Callister, Karlen E. (Beth) Luthy

Faculty Publications

Purpose/Objectives: To determine the impact of obstacles and supportive behaviors in end-of-life (EOL) care as perceived by hospital-based oncology nurses.

Design: A 69-item mailed survey.

Setting: National random sample.

Sample: 1,005 nurse members of the Oncology Nursing Society who had provided EOL care for patients with cancer.

Methods: Three mailings yielded 380 usable responses from 912 eligible respondents, resulting in a 42% return rate.

Main Research Variables: Size and frequency of EOL care obstacles and supportive behaviors for patients with cancer in a hospital setting.

Findings: Results of this research demonstrate the need for more EOL education and help in …

Symptom Clusters In Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Secondary Data Analysis, Catherine J. Ryan, Holli A. Devon, Rob Horne, Kathleen B. King, Kerry A. Milner, Debra K. Moser, Jill R. Quinn, Anne Rosenfeld, Seon Young Hwang, Julie J. Zerwic

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Early recognition of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) symptoms and reduced time to treatment may reduce morbidity and mortality. People having AMI experience a constellation of symptoms, but the common constellations or clusters of symptoms have yet to be identified.
Objectives: To identify clusters of symptoms that represent AMI.
Methods: This was a secondary data analysis of nine descriptive, cross-sectional studies that included data from 1,073 people having AMI in the United States and England. Data were analyzed using latent class cluster analysis, an atheoretical method that uses only information contained in the data.
Results: Five distinct clusters of symptoms …

Analysis Of End-Of-Life Content In Critical Care Nursing Textbooks, Karin T. Kirchhoff, Renea L. Beckstrand, Prashanth Reddy Anumandla

Faculty Publications

Nurses have identified a need for improving their knowledge and skills in providing end-of-life care. Critical care nursing textbooks can serve as an important source of information on end-of-life care for critical care nurses. Hence, an analysis of end-of-life content in 14 critical care nursing textbooks was conducted. Critical care nursing textbooks used for review were published in 1995 or later and identified from the libraries at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Brigham Young University. The end-of-life content areas identified by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), under which the AACN end-of-life competencies for undergraduate nursing students can …

A Young Girl With Missile Trauma Near The Eye, Renea L. Beckstrand, Ellen K. Sanders

Faculty Publications

A 15-year-old girl who came to the emergency department holding tissue to her right eye said that she had been shot. She had right eye pain and swelling below the eye, and she was bleeding. As the girl was getting off a school bus, a male occupant in a car that was driving past reached out of the passenger side window and shot multiple pellets at the school bus with a pellet gun. The shooter was unknown to the girl; the shooting seemed to be random. When the girl was shot she felt pain immediately in the area between her …

Correlates Of Knowledge And Locus Of Control On Burden In Professional Caregivers Of Alzheimer's Disease Victims In Three Institution Types, Ruth A. Manning-Gay

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

In assessing professional caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease victims, this study tested whether, 1) knowledge would influence perceptions of burden in providing care to such patients, and if 2) individual locus of control would influence perceptions of burden in caring for; Alzheimer's I patients. Professional nurses (BSN's, RN's, and LPN's) from nursing banes, hospitals and psychiatric facilities were asked to complete a three part survey. Three instruments were utilized in this study: the Burden Self-Interview by Zarit, Reeves and Bach-Peterson and adapted for professional caregivers, a 15 item knowledge quiz and the North Carolina Internal External scale (short form) by Schopler, …