- Email: [email protected]
Emergency Nursing: An Essential Guide for Patient Care
MEDIA REVIEWS
Reviews of Books, Videos, CDs, Audiotapes, Web Sites, and More, Written by Emergency Nurses Media Reviewers: Melanie Barnes, RN, BSN, and J. Jeffery Jordan, RN, BS, BSN, CEN, EMT-LP, San Diego, Calif, and Houston, Tex
Emergency Nursing: An Essential Guide for Patient Care Selfridge-Thomas J. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1997, 212 pp, $28.95, ISBN 0-7216-4703-0.
Melanie Barnes is Lead Clinical Nurse, Sharp Memorial Hospital Emergency Department, San Diego, Calif; E-mail: [email protected]. J. Jeffery Jordan, Houston Chapter, is Staff Nurse, Emergency Department, St Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Tex; E-mail: [email protected]. J Emerg Nurs 2001;27:385-6. Copyright © 2001 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/2001 $35.00 + 0
August 2001 27:4
In the introduction to Emergency Nursing: An Essential Guide for Patient Care, Judy Selfridge-Thomas points out that “within the past five years, many previously assigned emergency nursing positions have been reengineered into multiskilled positions...this has produced an even greater blurring of traditional nursing roles, with nurses assuming increasing responsibility for managing patient care.” This book provides experienced emergency nurses as well as new emergency nurses an excellent resource for the information needed to be successful in today’s changing environment. The book is divided into 4 sections: section 1, lifethreatening conditions; section 2, major system injuries; section 3, frequently encountered emergency illness/ injuries; and section 4, appendixes (including such items as evidence collection, medication infusion rates, pediatric tables, and common laboratory values/interpretations). On initial review, the organization did not seem logical. However, once I got familiar with the table of contents and general layout of the book, it was very easy to use. Each page has information on only one type of injury or illness, which makes the information easy to find. For each complaint, the author lists the etiology, common complaints, triage rating, related factors, nursing diagnoses, assessment findings, diagnostics, common interventions, and disposition. There seems to be a lot of blank space on pages that cover some of the less acute complaints. However, I believe that to condense the space would definitely make the book less user-friendly.
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
385
MEDIA REVIEWS/Barnes and Jordan
At first glance this book seems to cover very basic emergency nurse knowledge. After reading the book and asking how it could be useful in the ED environment today, it occurred to me that this book is an excellent resource and reference for emergency nurses and especially new emergency nurses to help give them direction and let them know where to focus their attention. It would aid in setting priorities for each patient, as well as in identifying physical and laboratory findings to watch. ED visits are at an all-time high. This book can help nurses anticipate and stay a step ahead. It would be an excellent tool for emergency nurse new graduate programs as well. I would recommend this book to every new emergency nurse, as well as to every emergency department, to keep on hand as a resource tool.—Melanie Barnes 18/9/116354 doi:10.1067/men.2001.116354
EmedHome.Com: The Home Page Of Emergency Medicine http://www.emedhome.com.
This site is designed to provide a user-friendly, premiere educational Web site for emergency physicians. Launched in February 2000, EmedHome was created by an independent emergency physician out of dedication to his specialty and an interest in Web-based technology. The site is easy to use, well displayed, and functional. It has limited graphic illustrations, so your eyes do not wander around looking at all the colors. I like this feature in a Web site. Even though it was created for emergency physicians, this site has a wealth of information for emergency nurses and emergency nurse practitioners. The user has the ability to review clinical cases, learn about clinical pearls, and read current articles related to emergency practice. I found the clinical calculators to be a great added feature. There are many calculators to choose from, including those that calculate pediatric maintenance fluid requirements, anion gap, mean arterial pressure, and sodium correction in hyperglycemia. As an emergency nurse, I found the site interesting, overall. The database includes many documents, protocols, algorithms, sample orders, and guidelines that you can download and view in your Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Web master has put at your fingertips an excellent resources area that links you to helpful sites, organizations, on-line texts, and journals. These links have emergency physicians in mind, but they are still helpful to the ED nurse. The site includes the “Question of the Day,” along with an answer and a rationale. On the day that I viewed the site, the question was, “What is the peak time to onset of symptoms in the development of compartment syndrome?” [Answer: 15 to 30 hours.1] I would recommend this site for nurses who are curious about the latest treatment modalities for specific diseases, and I think that it is worth a look, just for the downloaded material alone.—J. Jeffery Jordan REFERENCE 1. Roberts JR, Hedges JR, editors. Clinical procedures in emergency medicine (3rd ed). Philadelphia: Saunders: 1998. p. 934. 18/9/116647 doi:10.1067/men.2001.116647
386
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
27:4 August 2001
Reviews of Books, Videos, CDs, Audiotapes, Web Sites, and More, Written by Emergency Nurses Media Reviewers: Melanie Barnes, RN, BSN, and J. Jeffery Jordan, RN, BS, BSN, CEN, EMT-LP, San Diego, Calif, and Houston, Tex
Emergency Nursing: An Essential Guide for Patient Care Selfridge-Thomas J. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1997, 212 pp, $28.95, ISBN 0-7216-4703-0.
Melanie Barnes is Lead Clinical Nurse, Sharp Memorial Hospital Emergency Department, San Diego, Calif; E-mail: [email protected]. J. Jeffery Jordan, Houston Chapter, is Staff Nurse, Emergency Department, St Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Tex; E-mail: [email protected]. J Emerg Nurs 2001;27:385-6. Copyright © 2001 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/2001 $35.00 + 0
August 2001 27:4
In the introduction to Emergency Nursing: An Essential Guide for Patient Care, Judy Selfridge-Thomas points out that “within the past five years, many previously assigned emergency nursing positions have been reengineered into multiskilled positions...this has produced an even greater blurring of traditional nursing roles, with nurses assuming increasing responsibility for managing patient care.” This book provides experienced emergency nurses as well as new emergency nurses an excellent resource for the information needed to be successful in today’s changing environment. The book is divided into 4 sections: section 1, lifethreatening conditions; section 2, major system injuries; section 3, frequently encountered emergency illness/ injuries; and section 4, appendixes (including such items as evidence collection, medication infusion rates, pediatric tables, and common laboratory values/interpretations). On initial review, the organization did not seem logical. However, once I got familiar with the table of contents and general layout of the book, it was very easy to use. Each page has information on only one type of injury or illness, which makes the information easy to find. For each complaint, the author lists the etiology, common complaints, triage rating, related factors, nursing diagnoses, assessment findings, diagnostics, common interventions, and disposition. There seems to be a lot of blank space on pages that cover some of the less acute complaints. However, I believe that to condense the space would definitely make the book less user-friendly.
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
385
MEDIA REVIEWS/Barnes and Jordan
At first glance this book seems to cover very basic emergency nurse knowledge. After reading the book and asking how it could be useful in the ED environment today, it occurred to me that this book is an excellent resource and reference for emergency nurses and especially new emergency nurses to help give them direction and let them know where to focus their attention. It would aid in setting priorities for each patient, as well as in identifying physical and laboratory findings to watch. ED visits are at an all-time high. This book can help nurses anticipate and stay a step ahead. It would be an excellent tool for emergency nurse new graduate programs as well. I would recommend this book to every new emergency nurse, as well as to every emergency department, to keep on hand as a resource tool.—Melanie Barnes 18/9/116354 doi:10.1067/men.2001.116354
EmedHome.Com: The Home Page Of Emergency Medicine http://www.emedhome.com.
This site is designed to provide a user-friendly, premiere educational Web site for emergency physicians. Launched in February 2000, EmedHome was created by an independent emergency physician out of dedication to his specialty and an interest in Web-based technology. The site is easy to use, well displayed, and functional. It has limited graphic illustrations, so your eyes do not wander around looking at all the colors. I like this feature in a Web site. Even though it was created for emergency physicians, this site has a wealth of information for emergency nurses and emergency nurse practitioners. The user has the ability to review clinical cases, learn about clinical pearls, and read current articles related to emergency practice. I found the clinical calculators to be a great added feature. There are many calculators to choose from, including those that calculate pediatric maintenance fluid requirements, anion gap, mean arterial pressure, and sodium correction in hyperglycemia. As an emergency nurse, I found the site interesting, overall. The database includes many documents, protocols, algorithms, sample orders, and guidelines that you can download and view in your Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Web master has put at your fingertips an excellent resources area that links you to helpful sites, organizations, on-line texts, and journals. These links have emergency physicians in mind, but they are still helpful to the ED nurse. The site includes the “Question of the Day,” along with an answer and a rationale. On the day that I viewed the site, the question was, “What is the peak time to onset of symptoms in the development of compartment syndrome?” [Answer: 15 to 30 hours.1] I would recommend this site for nurses who are curious about the latest treatment modalities for specific diseases, and I think that it is worth a look, just for the downloaded material alone.—J. Jeffery Jordan REFERENCE 1. Roberts JR, Hedges JR, editors. Clinical procedures in emergency medicine (3rd ed). Philadelphia: Saunders: 1998. p. 934. 18/9/116647 doi:10.1067/men.2001.116647
386
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
27:4 August 2001