Nurse-facilitated reflective exercise post patient death in the ICU: a best practice implementation project.

Introduction: ICUs are stressful environments where patient care is complex and demanding; death is not an unusual outcome. Nurses can become emotionally distressed from experiencing multiple, unexpected, or traumatic patient deaths. Performing a reflective exercise immediately post death is one coping strategy which encourages healthcare staff and family to debrief their feelings in a timelier manner.

Capnography monitoring of patients with obstructive sleep apnea in the post-anesthesia care unit: a best practice implementation project.

Introduction: The prevalence of OSA is substantial in North America. Post-operative patients with OSA are at risk for respiratory complications, but about 60% of surgical patients with this condition go undiagnosed. If the presence of sleep apnea is known, non-invasive capnography monitoring can be applied post-operatively to help detect early respiratory compromise during the recovery phase.

Clinical Effectiveness and Cost of a Hospital-Based Fall Prevention Intervention: The Importance of Time Nurses Spend on the Front Line of Implementation.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and incremental net cost of a fall prevention intervention that involved hourly rounding by RNs at 2 hospitals.

Background: Minimizing in-hospital falls is a priority, but little is known about the value of fall prevention interventions.

Methods: We used an uncontrolled before-after design to evaluate changes in fall rates and time use by RNs.

Is Spending More Time Associated With Less Missed Care?: A Comparison of Time Use and Missed Care Across 15 Nursing Units at 2 Hospitals.

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between nursing time use and perceptions of missed care.

Background: Recent literature has highlighted the problem of missed nursing care, but little is known about how nurses' time use patterns are associated with reports of missed care.

Methods: In 15 nursing units at 2 hospitals, we assessed registered nurse (RN) perceptions of missed care, observed time use by RNs, and examined the relationship between time spent and degree of missed care at the nursing unit level.

Implementing a conceptually based training program to increase nurses' effectiveness in securing patient rescue.

In this article, the authors describe a conceptually based training program designed to improve staff nurses' ability to successfully rescue patients. The 4-hour program includes both didactic material and a minimum of 1-hour skills' sessions. It was taught entirely by senior staff nurses skilled in crisis communications.