Improving Nurses' Knowledge of Heart Failure.

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in cardiac nurses' knowledge and perceived competency in the care of patients with heart failure (HF). Fifty-seven cardiac RNs completed the Advanced Heart Failure Clinical Competency Survey as a pretest/posttest measure. Each participant attended a 30-minute HF education session.

Improving recovery time following heart transplantation: the role of the multidisciplinary health care team.

Background: The care of cardiac transplant patients is complex requiring a finely orchestrated endeavor to save a patient's life. Given the chronic and complex nature of these patients, multiple disciplines are involved in their care. Recognizing difficulties with communication among team members and striving for improved efficiencies in our pretransplant listing process and in our inpatient care, our team was prompted to change the existing approach to patient care related to heart transplantation.

Improving glycemic control in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit: clinical experience in two hospital settings.

Objective: Recent studies suggest that strict perioperative glycemic control improves clinical outcomes after cardiothoracic surgery. However, optimal methods and targets for controlling blood glucose (BG) levels in this setting have not been established. Currently published intensive insulin infusion protocols (IIPs) have important practical limitations, which may affect their utility.