Medical emergency team response processes for behavioral health inpatient units: implications for nursing education.

Following a literature review of nurses' attitudes and perceived barriers regarding the utilization of medical emergency teams (METs) and completing key informant interviews with psychiatric nurses, a questionnaire developed by the researcher was administered to inpatient psychiatric nurses to further examine their attitudes and perceived barriers about MET utilization. Using a 23-item questionnaire, the psychiatric nurses were asked to rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale. Results indicated that nurses did not have a clear understanding of the criteria for calling a MET and also tended to seek out other staff personnel and/or a physician consultation prior to initiating a MET call.

Nonpharmacological therapeutic techniques to decrease agitation in geriatric psychiatric patients with dementia.

Agitation is not only a frequent and disturbing behavior for many patients with dementia, but it also troubles their caregivers and families. Many serious problems and side effects are associated with the use of medications to treat agitation; therefore, alternative approaches to treating agitation must be assessed. The current article presents results from a quality improvement pilot project that examined the usefulness of a specially designed, multisensory room intervention for geriatric psychiatric inpatients with mild to moderate agitation.

Psychiatric nurses' beliefs, attitudes, and perceived barriers about medical emergency teams.

A literature review of nurses' attitudes, beliefs, and barriers regarding the medical emergency team (MET) process is limited to medical hospitals. How psychiatric nurses view the MET process and their prior experiences with METs are important because they are often the ones assessing the need for, and then calling, the MET. This article examines psychiatric nurses' attitudes, beliefs, and barriers toward the MET process in a 310-bed psychiatric hospital that is part of an urban academic medical center.

Medical emergencies in psychiatric hospitals.

Patients with co-existing medical and psychiatric diagnoses can be challenging to assess, evaluate, and treat. Medical emergencies among psychiatric patients may receive delayed medical responses or remain undetected if medical emergency training and response are not in place, leading to negative patient outcomes, including death. The role of the psychiatric nurse is pivotal in recognizing and responding to acute medical complications in the inpatient psychiatric population.