CriticalCare eNewsline — Feb. 14, 2013

NEWS - Celebrate Certified Nurses Day

ACTION - AONE's Emerging Nurse Leader Institute

EVIDENCE - High-frequency oscillation and ARDS

AACN NEWS - Plan ahead for NTI

RESOURCES - New toolkit to help prevent falls

"Critical Care Nursing: A Holistic Approach," 10th ed., by Patricia Gonce Morton and Dorrie Fontaine

Save on registration for Ethics of Caring conference

Register for the national Ethics of Caring conference, March 21-22, at the Hilton Universal City, Universal City, Calif. The conference features expert speakers, small group breakout sessions and participant discussions to enhance nurses' clinical practice through identifying and addressing ethical issues. The early-bird registration rate is $450 through Feb. 15.

Graduate students: Register for free webinar with Mary Wakefield

Register for the "Pathways to Leadership for the Graduate-Prepared Nurse" webinar Feb. 25, 4-5 p.m. EST, presented by Mary Wakefield, head of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. She will discuss expanding roles for graduate-prepared nurses in the healthcare system. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), Washington, D.C., is presenting the webinar to help launch its Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA), a new national network of students in master's and doctoral nursing programs. Before registering for the webinar, graduate students must register for the GNSA, a free service open to all graduate students from AACN member schools.

Apply for AACN scholarship to attend AONE's Emerging Nurse Leader Institute

The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) will hold its semiannual Emerging Nurse Leader Institute June 10-12, Portland, Ore.; Sept. 23-25, Baltimore; and Nov. 11-13, Chicago. AACN members can apply for an AACN continuing professional development scholarship to attend.

Florida nurses invited to participate in compassion fatigue study

The American Holistic Nurses Association, Topeka, Kan., is sponsoring a study on compassion fatigue in nurses and its effect on perceptions of nursing care, patient safety and nurse retention. Nurses who provide direct patient care and practice in Florida are invited to complete a survey. Participants are also eligible to enter a contest and win a prize. Email research nurse Aleida Drozdowicz with questions.

CNE article in CCN finds value in family presence during dressing changes for patients in burn ICU

"Family Presence in the Adult Burn Intensive Care Unit During Dressing Changes," a continuing nursing education (CNE) article in February's Critical Care Nurse (CCN), concludes that "allowing family presence during dressing changes provides an opportunity to educate and include patients' family members in care delivery."

High-frequency oscillation not recommended for routine care in ARDS

"High-Frequency Oscillation for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)," a multicenter study published online Jan. 22 by The New England Journal of Medicine, finds no significant difference in 30-day mortality between patients receiving high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) and those receiving conventional mechanical ventilation for ARDS. The study concludes HFOV should "not be used for routine care" in patients with ARDS.

Neonatal ICUs in AHRQ program see drop in CLABSIs

Neonatal ICUs that used the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program saw a "sharp drop" — 58 percent in less than a year — in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Rockville, Md. One hundred NICUs in nine states "relied on the program's prevention practice checklists and better communication to prevent an estimated 131 infections and up to 41 deaths and to avoid more than $2 million in health care costs."

Heart Month recognition continues

Recognized each year in February, Heart Month highlights the work of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women initiative to save lives and stop heart disease, the number-one killer of women. Each year, cardiovascular diseases claim the lives of nearly half a million women — almost one per minute. Participate in the America Goes Red Challenge, and upload photos of your Go Red activities by 6 p.m. EST Feb. 28.

Celebrate Certified Nurses Day

Certified Nurses Day, held annually on March 19, recognizes the important achievement of nursing specialty and subspecialty certification and encourages eligible nurses to become certified. AACN offers many ideas for recognizing, honoring and celebrating certified nurses. Please send your strategies, success stories and any photos to certification@aacn.org with "Celebrate Certified Nurses" in the subject line.

Consensus for infection prevention strategies

In a national survey, 90 percent or more of infection prevention personnel said the following practices are supported by "strong evidence": alcohol-based hand rub, aseptic urinary catheter insertion, chlorhexidine for antisepsis before central venous catheter (CVC) insertion, maximum sterile barriers during CVC insertion, avoiding the femoral site for CVC insertion and semirecumbent positioning of ventilated patients, notes "Perceived Strength of Evidence Supporting Practices to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infection: Results From a National Survey of Infection Prevention Personnel," in February's, American Journal of Infection Control.

New multispecialty surgical risk score for children

Access "A Novel Multispecialty Surgical Risk Score for Children," published online Feb. 4 by Pediatrics.

New toolkit from AHRQ to help prevent falls

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Rockville, Md., has released "Preventing Falls in Hospitals: A Toolkit for Improving Quality of Care." Between 700,000 and 1 million patients fall in U.S. hospitals each year, and nearly one-third can be prevented, AHRQ indicates. The toolkit is organized under six major areas to address hospital readiness, program management, choosing fall prevention practices, implementation, measurement and sustainability.

Guidelines for early management of patients with ischemic stroke

Access updated "Guidelines for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association," which Stroke published online Jan. 31.

Guidelines for insulin infusion in critically ill patients

December 2012's Critical Care Medicine includes "Guidelines for the Use of an Insulin Infusion for the Management of Hyperglycemia in Critically Ill Patients," which suggests that "the insulin regimen and monitoring system be designed to avoid and detect hypoglycemia (blood glucose ≤70 mg/dL) and to minimize glycemic variability."

Patient safety training

The Patient Safety Education and Training Catalog, from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Md., lists more than 300 patient safety programs available in the U.S.

New PCCN test plan released

The new PCCN test plan, based on the 2012 Progressive Care Study of Practice, was just released. The new PCCN exam forms, based on the new test plan, will launch June 26, 2013. PCCN certification is for nurses who care for acutely ill adult patients regardless of the geographic location of their nursing care. Nurses who achieve this certification typically work in areas such as intermediate care, direct observation, stepdown, telemetry and transitional care. Review the new test plan or learn more about the exam, and consider attending the review webinar beginning April 8.

Live PCCN certification review webinar starts April 8

AACN will conduct a live PCCN certification review course beginning Monday, April 8. This seven-part course — which fully aligns with the new PCCN test plan — helps prospective PCCN candidates affirm their clinical knowledge and know what to expect on the exam. Presented by nationally recognized educator Carol Rauen, each 2.5-hour session provides an interactive learning experience, exam practice questions and support materials. Designed for progressive care nurses, who work in many settings, the course offers 15.1 continuing nursing education (CNE) hours, costs $159 for individuals or $999 for groups up to 30 and includes 60-day access to archived webinar recordings.

Plan ahead for NTI

Plan ahead for AACN's National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI), Saturday, May 18 through Thursday, May 23, in Boston.

ACNPC-AG certification review online

AACN's new ACNPC-AG certification review course provides comprehensive exam preparation fully aligned with the new ACNPC-AG test plan. Authored and presented by subject matter experts and nurse educators, the course has a question-and-answer format and offers 9.5 continuing nursing education (CNE) hours, including 1.4 Pharm CNE hours. As a special value to prospective certificants, the on-demand version of the course is offered free of charge to individuals who purchase the ACNPC-AG exam.

Dare To

From February's AACN Bold Voices
"Dare to Take on Bullying"— Kathryn Roberts, AACN President 2012-2013