A Scoping Review of Transitions, Stress, and Adaptation Among Emerging Adults.

This scoping review examined research on transitions among emerging adults, 18- to 30-year-olds, to identify designs, populations, frameworks, transition types, and transition outcomes. A librarian conducted the search, yielding 2067 articles. Using predefined criteria, teams screened abstracts and reviewed articles, with 82% to 100% interrater agreement.

Manual Wheelchair Skills Training for Community-Dwelling Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: To test the hypotheses that community-dwelling veterans with spinal cord injury (SCI) who receive the Wheelchair Skills Training Program (WSTP) in their own environments significantly improve their manual wheelchair-skills capacity, retain those improvements at one year and improve participation in comparison with an Educational Control (EC) group.

Methods: We carried out a randomized controlled trial, studying 106 veterans with SCI from three Veterans Affairs rehabilitation centers. Each participant received either five one-on-one WSTP or EC sessions 30-45 minutes in duration.

Patient handling in the veterans health administration: facilitating change in the health care industry.

Objective: To describe a 15-year process creating an industry standard of practice without regulatory support through organizational leadership.

Methods: Description of the development and rollout of a safe patient-handling program, including the initial scientific development, a cultural history, and agency data.

Results: Patient-handling injuries represent more than 20% of injuries to nurses.

A comparison of student and faculty perceptions of clinical post-conference learning environment.

The purpose of this study was to repeat a study by Letizia and Jennrich that described and compared perceptions of the clinical post-conference learning environment of undergraduate baccalaureate student nurses (BSN) and faculty. The Clinical Post-Conference Learning Environment Survey (CPCLES) was sent electronically to all traditional and accelerated BSN students and faculty; 178 usable responses were returned. Both faculty and students perceived the environmental characteristics captured by the CPCLES were important, but were used less than expected (p<0.

AORN ergonomic tool 7: pushing, pulling, and moving equipment on wheels.

Pushing and pulling equipment in and around the OR can place high shear force demands on perioperative team members' shoulder and back muscles and joints. These high forces may lead to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. AORN Ergonomic Tool 7: Pushing, Pulling, and Moving Equipment on Wheels can help perioperative team members assess the risk of pushing and pulling tasks in the perioperative setting.

AORN Ergonomic Tool 6: lifting and carrying supplies and equipment in the perioperative setting.

Perioperative team members often are required to lift and carry heavy supplies and equipment into and around the OR; this includes lifting equipment such as hand tables, fluoroscopy boards, stirrups, Wilson frames, irrigation containers for lithotripsy, and heavy instrument pans. Lifting heavy objects creates considerable risk for musculoskeletal injuries to the back and shoulders. AORN Ergonomic Tool 6: Lifting and Carrying Supplies and Equipment in the Perioperative Setting can help caregivers evaluate lifting and carrying tasks and take measures to protect themselves from injury.

AORN Ergonomic Tool 5: Tissue Retraction in the Perioperative Setting.

Manual retraction, a task performed to expose the surgical site, poses a high risk for musculoskeletal disorders that affect the hands, arms, shoulders, neck, and back. In recent years, minimally invasive and laparoscopic procedures have led to the development of multifunctional instruments and retractors capable of performing these functions that, in many cases, has eliminated the need for manual retraction. During surgical procedures that are not performed endoscopically, the use of self-retaining retractors enables the assistant to handle tissue and use exposure techniques that do not require prolonged manual retraction.

AORN Ergonomic Tool 4: Solutions for Prolonged Standing in Perioperative Settings.

Prolonged standing during surgical procedures poses a high risk of causing musculoskeletal disorders, including back, leg, and foot pain, which can be chronic or acute in nature. Ergonomic Tool 4: Solutions for Prolonged Standing in Perioperative Settings provides recommendations for relieving the strain of prolonged standing, including the use of antifatigue mats, supportive footwear, and sit/stand stools, that are based on well-accepted ergonomic safety concepts, current research, and access to new and emerging technology.

AORN Ergonomic Tool 3: lifting and holding the patient's legs, arms, and head while prepping.

Lifting the arms, legs, or head of a patient while prepping these areas for surgery can exert strong forces on the muscles and joints of the shoulders and backs of perioperative team members who perform this task, which may lead to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. AORN Ergonomic Tool 3: Lifting and Holding the Patient's Legs, Arms, and Head While Prepping provides scientifically based determinations of the amount of weight perioperative personnel can safely lift and hold manually for up to one, two, and three minutes using one hand or both. If these weight limits are exceeded, additional staff members or assistive devices are needed to help with the task.

AORN ergonomic tool 2: positioning and repositioning the supine patient on the OR bed.

Positioning or repositioning a patient on the OR bed in preparation for a surgical procedure presents a high risk for musculoskeletal disorders, such as low-back and shoulder injuries, for perioperative personnel. Safe patient handling requires knowledge of current ergonomic safety concepts, scientific evidence, and equipment and devices to ensure that neither the patient nor the caregiver is at risk for injury. AORN Ergonomic Tool 2: Positioning and Repositioning the Supine Patient on the OR Bed provides guidelines that enable perioperative personnel to determine safe methods for positioning and repositioning a patient in the semi-Fowler, lateral, or lithotomy position in preparation for surgery.

AORN ergonomic tool 1: Lateral transfer of a patient from a stretcher to an OR bed.

Moving patients can result in injuries to patients and staff members. Lateral patient transfers from a stretcher to an OR bed pose a high risk for musculoskeletal disorders, including lower back, shoulder, and neck injuries for perioperative personnel. AORN Ergonomic Tool 1: Lateral Transfer of a Patient from a Stretcher to an OR Bed helps perioperative staff members determine best practices for safe lateral patient transfers.

Wheelchair-related falls in veterans with spinal cord injury residing in the community: a prospective cohort study.

Objectives: (1) To determine the incidence of wheelchair falls and fall-related injuries in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in the community. (2) To predict wheelchair-related falls and associated injuries from specific parameters including characteristics of the wheelchair user, wheelchair type and features, health care practices, wheelchair activities, and physical environment.

Design: This prospective cohort study followed participants monthly over 1 year; data were collected through surveys, interviews, performance testing, observation, and medical records.

Using a writing group to promote faculty scholarship.

Writing productivity is an essential component of scholarship. Barriers to writing include intrapersonal characteristics, faculty role complexity, and time constraints. Writing groups can increase faculty members' writing, contributing to dissemination of nursing knowledge and advancement of professional nursing.

Patterns of youths' glycemic control with insulin pump therapy.

Youths with type 1 diabetes mellitus may decide to use insulin pump therapy. Limited information describes youths' glycemic control with insulin pump therapy. A repeated-measures design guided data collection at five points from one month before insulin pump therapy through 12 months with insulin pump therapy.

Longitudinal investigation of wandering behavior in Department of Veterans Affairs nursing home care units.

Objectives: To explore the extent of and factors associated with male residents who change wandering status post nursing home admission.

Design: Longitudinal design with secondary data analyses. Admissions over a 4-year period were examined using repeat assessments with the Minimum Data Set (MDS) to formulate a model understanding the development of wandering behavior.

Recommendations for turning patients with orthopaedic impairments.

Nurses and other caregivers face high risk for developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders associated with turning (logrolling) patients with orthopaedic conditions. The task is considered high risk on the basis of weight limits and awkward positioning. A task force including representatives from the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses the American Nurses Association, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Patient Safety Center of Inquiry at the James A.

Recommended weight limits for lifting and holding limbs in the orthopaedic practice setting.

Nurses and other caregivers face high risk for developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders while lifting and holding limbs in the orthopaedic practice setting. A task force including representatives from the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses, American Nurses Association, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Patient Safety Center of Inquiry at the James A. Haley Veterans Administration Medical Center in Tampa, Diligent Services, and Guldmann, Inc.

Safe ambulation of an orthopaedic patient.

Nurses and other caregivers face high risk for developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders associated with manual ambulation of patients with orthopaedic conditions. In addition to the physical demands needed to support the patient's weight during ambulation, injury risk increases if the patient falls. A task force including representatives from the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses, American Nurses Association, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and Patient Safety Center of Inquiry at the James A.

Development of the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses guidance statement on safe patient handling and movement in the orthopaedic setting.

High-risk patient-handling tasks lead to work-related musculoskeletal disorders for orthopaedic nurses and other members of the healthcare team who are involved in moving patients with orthopaedic issues. Serious consequences can arise from manually moving/lifting these patients. A task force was organized that included representatives from the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses, the Patient Safety Center of Inquiry at the James A.

Safe vertical transfer of patient with extremity cast or splint.

Vertical transfers of patients with a cast/brace or sling on an upper or lower extremity from bed to chair pose a high risk for musculoskeletal injury. A task force was formed, including representatives from National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses, American Nurses Association, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Patient Safety Center of inquiry at the James Haley Veterans Administration Medical Center in Tampa, FL, and related clinical experts. This task force developed an ergonomic decision-making tool (algorithm) to determine best practice for safe vertical transfer of a patient with an upper or lower extremity injury in a sling cast or brace.

Recommendations for vertical transfer of a postoperative total hip replacement patient (bed to chair, chair to toilet, chair to chair, or car to chair).

Vertical transfers of postoperative orthopaedic patients pose a high risk to healthcare workers for developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The task is considered high risk based on weight limits and awkward positioning. A task force including representatives from the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses, the American Nurses Association, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Patient Safety Center of Inquiry at the James A.

Pressure ulcers and occipital alopecia in Operation Iraqi Freedom polytrauma casualties.

Objective: Several of the casualties from Operation Iraqi Freedom arriving at one Veterans Administration (VA) polytrauma rehabilitation center (PRC) were noted to have occipital pressure ulcers or hair loss. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and severity of pressure-related injuries in VA PRC admissions.

Methods: A retrospective review of admissions from active duty from 2004 to 2006 was performed.

Rehabilitation outcomes for veterans with polytrauma treated at the Tampa VA.

Returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan who have sustained polytrauma have a combination of complex physical and mental morbidities that require extensive therapy and rehabilitation. This study examined the effect of rehabilitation on 116 polytrauma patients with service-connected injuries treated at the Tampa VA; improvements in functional and cognitive abilities were measured using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores and healthcare costs for rehabilitation treatment were also assessed. Intensive rehabilitation therapy increased functional ability in this cohort with an average improvement in total FIM scores of 23 points.