Feasibility Testing of a Nurse-Invented Urinary Drainage Bag Securement Device.

Purpose/aims: To determine the feasibility of a nurse invention called the Bag Below Bladder (B3) Buddy using validated usability and acceptability tools, in securing urinary drainage bags while patients ambulate.

Design: An intervention study was implemented in a participant dyad consisting of a patient and clinician. Each dyad used the B3 Buddy in 1 encounter, ambulating at least 90 ft in an inpatient unit.

Oncologic Surgical Care Using an Enhanced Recovery Approach.

Enhanced recovery programs are multimodal, evidence-based perioperative programs designed to improve a patient's functional recovery after surgery. Enhanced recovery programs promote standardized, multidisciplinary care throughout the perioperative course to improve patient outcomes, rather than focusing on surgical technique. It is important for nurses working in acute and critical care to be aware of the paradigm shift created by the trend toward the enhanced recovery approach.

The Development of an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist Fellowship Program.

New graduate clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) face many challenges when starting their new role. To address this, a CNS fellowship program was developed to mentor new CNSs during their first year of practice. This CNS fellowship program would provide opportunities to increase skills related to each of the CNS spheres of influence, including nursing practice, patient care, and systems and organization.

Air-in-Line Alarms: Decreasing Alarms Through Antisiphon Valve Implementation.

The administration of 24-hour continuous chemotherapy infusions is common in certain regimens, such as EPOCH (etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin). Such regimens are notorious for clinically insignificant air-in-line (AIL) alarms because of the naturally bubbly composition of the drugs involved. An antisiphon valve, placed at the end of the IV tubing to pressurize the infusion and to minimize air bubbles, was found to decrease clinically insignificant AIL alarms.

Pain Assessment: Use of the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale in Patients With Cancer.

Background: Thorough, consistent pain assessment and reassessment are critical to guide and evaluate interventions designed to improve pain.

Objectives: Based on a literature review about functional pain assessment, clinicians selected and then implemented the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS) as a pain assessment instrument option in a comprehensive cancer center.

Methods: The DVPRS was added as a pain assessment instrument in clinical oncology practice.

The effect of telephone reminders on attendance in respiratory outpatient clinics.

Introduction: Patient non-attendance is an area of concern for all health care providers. A randomized controlled trial was undertaken to investigate whether reminder telephone calls improved attendance at respiratory outpatient clinics in the English National Health Service (NHS).

Methods: Patients were randomly allocated into one of two groups, either telephone reminder group or usual care.

Enhancing the accuracy of respiratory diagnoses in primary care: a report on the establishment of a Community Respiratory Assessment Unit.

Aims: To establish a Community Respiratory Assessment Unit and to evaluate its role in enhancing the accuracy of respiratory diagnosis in primary care.

Methods: We established a central and peripatetic nurse-led service utilising semi-structured history taking, spirometry, oxygen saturation monitoring and semi-structured reporting, coupled with the provision of educational materials to both primary care physicians and patients.

Results: Phased access to the service was offered to 32 general practices.