Failing emergency medical services To the Editor: I refer to the scientific letter entitled ‘Emergency centres lack defibrillator knowledge’.1 I am a recently retired UK accident and emergency consultant who is now attempting to plough back knowledge gained in the discipline of emergency medicine (EM) and trauma to peripheral hospitals in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) under the umbre...

INTRODUCTION Following twenty years of economic and social growth, Liberia's fourteen-year civil war destroyed its health system, with most of the health workforce leaving the country. Following the inauguration of the Sirleaf administration in 2006, the Ministry of Health & Social Welfare (MOHSW) has focused on rebuilding, with an emphasis on increasing the size and capacity of its human resou...

The aim of this study was to understand the social representations of nurses in the emergency room and their relationship to stress. This descriptive, exploratory study was performed using a qualitative approach, with Social Representations Theory being the prime focus. Research was conducted at a benchmark public hospital for emergency services in the municipality of Natal/RN. The sample consi...

AIMS This article aims (a) to get insight into intensive care nurses' most critical work-related incidents, (b) their reactions and coping and (c) perceived support, in a Dutch intensive care unit. BACKGROUND Research about the impact of critical incidents has largely been aimed at ambulance and emergency nurses; knowledge about intensive care nurses in this respect is scarce. Persistent stre...

conclusions there are a wide range of requirements for disaster aid. proper aid worker selection, frequent and continuous administration of workshops and drills, and cooperation and alignment of different governmental and private organizations are among the suggested initiatives. results four major themes emerged from the data; 1) psychological support, 2) appropriate clinical skills education,...

Workplace violence is increasing across the nation's Emergency Departments, and nurses often perceive it as part of their job. Reporting processes were inconsistent, and nurses often did not know what acts constitute violence and underreported it. A staff nurse-led workgroup developed an initial survey and a reporting tool, and education was provided. A posteducation survey documented the repor...

The Consortium on Intraosseous Vascular Access in Healthcare Practice consisted of Lynn Phillips, Infusion Nurses Society and Consortium Chair; Lucinda Brown, Society of Pediatric Nurses; Teri Campbell, Air and Transport Nurses Association; Julie Miller, American Association of CriticalCare Nurses; Jean Proehl, Emergency Nurses Association; and Barbara Youngberg, Visiting Professor of Health La...

From the EMSC Panel (Writing Committee) on Critical Issues in the Sedation of Pediatric Patients in the Emergency Department: Sharon E. Mace, MD, Chair, American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Lance A. Brown, MD, MPH (ACEP) Lisa Francis, BSN, RN (Society of Pediatric Nurses) Steven A. Godwin, MD (ACEP) Sigrid A. Hahn, MD (ACEP) Patricia Kunz Howard, PhD, RN, CEN (Emergency Nurses Associ...