Pharmacy-controlled documentation of drug allergies.

The implementation of a pharmacy-enforced policy for documenting drug allergies is described. After two incidents at a 600-bed teaching hospital in which patients experienced severe allergic reactions to drugs, an audit was conducted to evaluate the existing drug allergy documentation policy. Physicians documented allergies in medical charts and treatment orders for 68% and 78% of patients, respectively; no initial drug orders contained this information.

Effect of personal pain experience on pain assessment.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of nurses' personal pain experiences on the assessment of their patients' pain. The sample consisted of 134 registered nurses employed in three Midwestern hospitals. In response to a personal pain history questionnaire, pain with headache, menstrual distress and dental events were cited most frequently.