A Quality Improvement Project to Increase Infection Control Compliance Among Endoscopy Staff at a Large Urban Medical Center.

Although nurses and other healthcare professionals play a key role in preventing hospital-associated infections, studies show that infection control compliance rates have remained low. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase infection control compliance of hand hygiene and procedure room disinfection among endoscopy staff at a large urban medical center in Cincinnati, Ohio. This quality improvement project provided an education session on current evidence-based infection control guidelines to 20 participants, including registered nurses and technicians within the endoscopy department.

Implementation of a best-practice guideline: Early enteral nutrition in a neuroscience intensive care unit.

Current evidence suggests that early enteral nutrition is a best practice and leads to improved clinical outcomes. An evidence-based practice project was implemented in a busy neurointensive care unit in a midwestern tertiary care facility that was designed to improve care by implementing the early nutrition portion of Guidelines for the Provision and Assessment of Nutrition Support Therapy in the Adult Critically Ill Patient: Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American Society for Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition. The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario's (RNAO) Toolkit: Implementation of Best Practice Guidelines (BPGs) was selected and followed to guide implementation and achieve optimal results.

Implementation of a clinical practice guideline in a primary care setting for the prevention and management of obesity in adults.

Over two-thirds of American adults have obesity or overweight, increasing the risk of comorbidities, mortality, and healthcare costs. Despite this growing issue, screening and counseling for an unhealthy weight are not common in primary care and clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for prevention and management of obesity are underutilized. Following the stepwise approach outlined in the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario Toolkit: Implementation of Best Practice Guidelines, the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement: Prevention and Management of Obesity for Adults were implemented in a primary care office in Lexington, KY.

The Role of Army Nurse Practitioners Supporting Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Family nurse practitioners are an essential member of the military medical team. They were incorporated into the Army medical system almost as soon as there was an academic program to develop the role in primary care settings. The role for nurse practitioners during deployment has not been as clear.

The overlooked heroines: three Silver Star nurses of World War I.

As members of forward-deployed combat hospitals, World War I Army nurses Miss Jane Rignel, Miss Linnie Leckrone, and Miss Irene Robar received the Citation Star for gallantry in attending to the wounded while under artillery fire in the month of July 1918. In 1932, they were authorized to exchange their Citation Stars for the new Silver Star Medal. Nursing in the war was difficult and required caring for patients exposed to chemical weapons and trauma while in harsh field conditions.