Implementation of a Life-Sustaining Management and Alternative Protocol for Actively Dying Patients in the Emergency Department.

Problem: The aging population and the growing number of home hospice patients have resulted in increased utilization of emergency departments. This situation poses a clinical challenge to the ED staff in determining when lifesaving treatment is indicated and when end of life care begins.

Methods: Through a shared governance model, ED physicians and nursing staff aimed to implement a best practice model for the care of dying patients.

Criterion validity of a functional cognitive task in patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

Primary Objective: To verify criterion validity of measures from a functional cognitive task (FCT) carried out with patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) at 2-5 years post-injury.

Methods And Procedures: Forty-six patients with sTBI took part in a long-term outcome study where the FCT and the Neurobehavioural Rating Scale-Revised (NBRS-R) were administered and the FIM™ instrument was rated. The FCT is a telephone information gathering task for evaluating functional cognitive skills.

Long-term outcome after severe traumatic brain injury: the McGill interdisciplinary prospective study.

Objective: To obtain a comprehensive understanding of long-term outcome after severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).

Participants: Forty-six patients with sTBI.

Design: Comparison of interdisciplinary evaluation results at discharge from acute care and at 2 to 5 year follow-up.

Back breaking business: the implementation of a spinal education program.

Patients with potential or confirmed spinal injuries are challenging for hospitals delivering care for trauma patients. In order to minimize further injury and complications, to maximize positive patient outcomes and to reduce length of stay, efficient and effective methods of caring for such patients are required. The purpose of this paper is to describe the creation and implementation of a "Spinal Education Program" at a Level I trauma center in Canada.