Australasian Emergency Care最新文献

Background

Emergency Department (ED) care is provided for a diverse range of patients, clinical acuity and conditions. This diversity often calls for different vital signs monitoring requirements. Requirements often change depending on the circumstances that patients experience during episodes of ED care.

Aim

To describe expert consensus on vital signs monitoring during ED care in the Australasian setting to inform the content of a joint Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and College of Emergency Nursing Australasia (CENA) position statement on vital signs monitoring in the ED.

Method

A 4-hour online nominal group technique workshop with follow up surveys.

Results

Twelve expert ED nurses and doctors from adult, paediatric and mixed metropolitan and regional ED and research facilities spanning four Australian states participated in the workshop and follow up surveys. Consensus building generated 14 statements about vital signs monitoring in ED. Good consensus was reached on whether vital signs should be assessed for 15 of 19 circumstances that patients may experience.

Conclusion

This study informed the creation of a joint position statement on vital signs monitoring in the Australasian ED setting, endorsed by CENA and ACEM. Empirical evidence is needed for optimal, safe and achievable policy on this fundamental practice.

Background

Internationally, over one-third of women experience birth trauma, leading to adverse mental health outcomes. Poor communication with healthcare professionals is a primary contributing factor. Paramedics attend various clinical presentations, including childbirth, yet their potential impact on women's birth experiences has been largely overlooked.

Methods

A systematic literature search was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodological framework. The search identified 1015 potentially suitable articles, and 5 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis from a feminist standpoint.

Results

Three themes were generated: 1. First Impressions Count: paramedic demeanour impacted the woman's sense of safety and perception of paramedic clinical competence. 2. Choice as a Pathway to Control: when paramedics involved women in decision-making, it led to empowerment, while non-involvement led to women becoming passive participants. 3. Exposed, Violated and Disempowered: some paramedics disrespected and abused women, treating them solely as objects for the purpose of producing a baby.

Conclusions

This review highlights the influence of paramedic communication on women's birth experiences. While some paramedics communicated respectfully, other paramedics were the perpetrators of Obstetric Violence. Future research should inform paramedic education and improve outcomes for birthing women.

Background

Emergency nurses are the first clinicians to see patients in the ED; their practice is fundamental to patient safety. To reduce clinical variation and increase the safety and quality of emergency nursing care, we developed a standardised consensus-based emergency nurse career pathway for use across Australian rural, regional, and metropolitan New South Wales (NSW) emergency departments.

Methods

An analysis of career pathways from six health services, the College for Emergency Nursing Australasia, and NSW Ministry of Health was conducted. Using a consensus process, a 15-member expert panel developed the pathway and determined the education needs for pathway progression over six face-to-face meetings from May to August 2023.

Results

An eight-step pathway outlining nurse progression through models of care related to different ED clinical areas with a minimum 172 h protected face-to-face and 8 h online education is required to progress from novice to expert. Progression corresponds with increasing levels of complexity, decision making and clinical skills, aligned with Benner’s novice to expert theory.

Conclusion

A standardised career pathway with minimum 180 h would enable a consistent approach to emergency nursing training and enable nurses to work to their full scope of practice. This will facilitate transferability of emergency nursing skills across jurisdictions.

Background

Hospitals frequently introduce new medical devices. However, the process of clinicians adapting to these new vascular access devices has not been well explored. The study aims to explore clinicians’ experience with the insertion of a new guidewire peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) introduced in the emergency department (ED) setting.

Methods

The study was conducted at two EDs in Queensland, Australia, utilising a qualitative explorative approach. Interviews were conducted with guidewire PIVC inserters, including ED doctors and nurses, and field notes were recorded by research nurses during insertions. Data analysis was performed using inductive content analysis, from which themes emerged.

Results

The study compiled interviews from 10 participants and field notes from 191 observation episodes. Five key themes emerged, including diverse experience, barriers related to the learning process, factors influencing insertion success, and recommendations to enhance clinicians’ acceptance. These themes suggest that the key to successful adoption by clinicians lies in designing user-friendly devices that align with familiar insertion techniques, facilitating a smooth transfer of learning.

Conclusion

Clinician adaptation to new devices is vital for optimal patient care. Emergency nurses and doctors prefer simplicity, safety, and familiarity when it comes to new devices. Providing comprehensive device training with diverse training resources, hands-on sessions, and continuous expert support, is likely to enhance clinician acceptance and the successful adoption of new devices in ED settings.

Background

The aim of this study was to describe and compare the demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics and patient and health service outcomes of emergency department (ED) presentations brought in by police with and without an emergency examination authority.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study of adult (≥ 18 years old) presentations brought in by police to EDs in Queensland, Australia from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2020. Routinely collected ED data were used to describe and compare the demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of people brought in by police with and without an emergency examination authority.

Results

A total of 42 502 adult ED presentations were brought in by police over the three-year period, of which 22 981 (44.7%) had an emergency examination authority. Compared with presentations brought in by police without an emergency examination authority, those brought in by police with an emergency examination authority had a higher proportion of presentations for mental health problems, were from major cities, and were allocated more urgent Australasian Triage Scale categories. Presentations brought in by police with an emergency examination authority were less likely to be seen within their Australasian Triage Scale timeframe and experienced a longer length of stay than those brought in by police without an emergency examination authority whether admitted (217 mins vs. 186 mins, p < 0.001) or discharged (212 mins vs. 97 mins, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The characteristics and outcomes of people brought in by police with emergency examination authorities differed to those brought in by police without emergency examination authorities. Further research is required to enhance understanding of this relatively unexplored group of people and foster interagency collaborations.

Background

Registered nurses report the experience of delivering end of life care in emergency departments as challenging. The study aim was to understand what it is like to be a registered nurse providing end of life care to an older person in the emergency department.

Methods

A hermeneutic phenomenological study was conducted in 2021, using semi-structured interviews with seven registered nurses across two hospital emergency departments in Queensland, Australia. Thematic analysis of participants’ narratives was undertaken.

Findings

Seven registered nurses were interviewed; six of whom were women. Participant’s experience working in the emergency department setting ranged from 2.5–20 years. Two themes were developed through analysis: (i) Presenting the patient as a dying person; and (ii) Mentalising death in the context of the emergency department.

Conclusions

Nurses providing end of life care in the emergency department draw upon their personal and aesthetic knowing to present the dying patient as a person. The way death is mentalised suggests the need to develop empirical knowing about ageing and supportive medical care and ethical knowing to assist with the transition from resuscitation to end of life care. Shared clinical reflection on death in the emergency department, facilitated by experts in ageing and end of life care is recommended.

Accessing care in the Emergency Department is often fraught with stress and heightened emotions due to illness or injury, and the complexity of navigating an often busy and overwhelming healthcare setting. For people who identify as trans (binary and non-binary), accessing Emergency Department care is often associated with additional stress or avoided due to fears of discrimination, or previous negative experiences (1). The aim of this integrative review was to identify and review the literature relating to the experiences of trans (binary and non-binary) people accessing Emergency Department care, to guide practice and future research. A structured search process was used to identify 11 articles published between January 2013 and November 2023. These articles were appraised using the mixed methods appraisal tool (MMAT) (2) and included in this review. Utilising the methodology outlined by Whittemore & Knafl (3), a constant comparison analytic approach identified five key themes; 1. emergency department context; 2. interactions with staff and language; 3. health professional knowledge; 4. advocacy; and 5. disclosing trans status. This review identified a perceived lack of competence for healthcare providers to deliver gender affirming healthcare in the Emergency Department due to perceptions of inadequate healthcare provider knowledge, and structural barriers founded on cisgender processes.