Month: December 2016

The purpose of this study was to determine if a tailored, multifaceted Stroke Competency Program would improve nurses’ knowledge of and adherence to evidence-based practices in the care of patients with stroke. This program bundled implementation strategies of local opinion leaders, printed educational materials, and educational outreach. This study used a pretest/posttest program design. Nursing adherence was measured via documentation audits with knowledge measured by an author-developed assessment. Most participating nurses had approximately 10 years of nursing experience and were baccalaureate prepared; participation ranged from 32% to 58% (n = 88). Overall, an improvement in nursing adherence was noted after the program as well as significant improvements in nursing knowledge. Although the Stroke Competency Program improved nursing knowledge of and adherence to stroke guidelines, future research should seek to extend these findings to identify which bundle of strategies are most effective for implementing evidence into nursing practice using psychometrically sound outcome measures.

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The risks imposed by mechanical ventilation can be mitigated by nurses’ use of strategies that promote early but appropriate reduction of ventilatory support and timely extubation. Weaning from mechanical ventilation is confounded by the multiple impacts of critical illness on the body’s systems. Effective weaning strategies that combine several interventions that optimize weaning readiness and assess readiness to wean, and use a weaning protocol in association with spontaneous breathing trials, are likely to reduce the requirement for mechanical ventilatory support in a timely manner. Weaning strategies should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure congruence with the best available evidence.

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Introduction Infusion preparation in British PICUs uses the Rule of Six (ROS) which was developed for administration without infusion devices. This method is inaccurate.1 Regulators recommend standardised approaches to IV infusions to improve patient safety and quality of care.2 Administration set changes also have an association with resource use and central line infections. 3 We report the impact of fixed concentration infusions and reduced administration set changes on nursing time and infusion equipment cost.

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The introduction of nurse endoscopy in Australia has been contentious with one of the criticisms being the quality of the procedure. We report the quality of the procedures performed by nurse endoscopists (NE) in our institution and the subsequent benefit of increased utilization of the endoscopy facilities reducing lost capacity. Atricle’s conclusion: Nurse endoscopy is an effective high-quality service initiative, with NEs’ endoscopic performance meeting the required standards of all endoscopists. Along with recruitment strategies for medical staff, the nurse endoscopist model has resulted in 97% utilization of endoscopy sessions.

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An assumption in nursing education is that clinical experience equals competent practice. Knowing the extent of learning acquired during these experiences is important, and in graduate education, this is not always known. This study examined the nature of clinical hours that nurse practitioner students complete during practicum courses and explored activities of students when not engaged in direct patient care.

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