Geriatric simulation: practicing management and leadership in care of the older adult

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, patients age 65 and older account for 43% of hospital days. The complexity of caring for older adults affords nursing students opportunities to assess, prioritize, intervene, advocate, and experience being a member of an interdisciplinary health care team. However, these multifaceted hospital experiences are not consistently available for all students. Nursing clinical simulation (NCS) can augment or replace specific clinical hours and provide clinically relevant experiences to practice management and leadership skills while caring for older adults. This article describes a geriatric management and leadership NCS.

Perioperative nurses' knowledge of indicators for pressure ulcer development in the surgical patient population

Despite focused attention to improve the quality and safety of patient care, and the financial impact pressure ulcers (PUs) can have on a health care provider or institution, evidence supports that PUs continue to occur in other patient populations during admission to the hospital. An example of a patient population in which evidence indicates that the development of PUs occurs, is patients who have a surgical procedure. The article discusses a project designed to identify potential knowledge deficits among perioperative nurses of indicators for PU development in the surgical patient population.

Interprofessional simulation of a retained placenta and postpartum hemorrhage

To improve quality and safety in healthcare, national and international organizations have called for students to receive dedicated training in interprofessional communication and collaboration. We developed a simulation for nurse-midwifery and nurse-anesthesia students, using the Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice framework. The simulation, involving a postpartum women with a retained placenta and acute blood loss, allowed students to collaboratively manage a high-risk situation. We present the details of the simulation and evaluation to assist educators.

Spirochete infections: Lyme disease and southern tick-associated rash illness

This article describes the etiology, symptoms and stages, pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Lyme disease and a cluster of similar symptoms called "Southern tick-associated rash illness." It is important for the critical care nurse to be alert to the possibility of these infections because some of the symptoms can have devastating effects on the heart and meninges. In some cases Lyme disease may be a comorbidity, not the primary reason a patient is admitted to an ICU. The cause of the symptoms must be recognized for effective treatment to be initiated.