Coronavirus disease COVID-19
Forensic Nursing Chronicles Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 Tutoring is available. Other healthcare subjects tutoring is available here during the shut down of colleges and schools.
Archive for the ‘Forensic Nursing in the healthcare occupational setting’ Category
Coronavirus disease COVID-19 Tutoring
March 18, 2020Where Is The ACLU?
October 15, 2015400% High Return on Lawsuit Investment
by Donna Wasson
3/12/2012 / Legal
After two years of legal contortions preparing a lawsuit filed by David Coppedge for religious discrimination in the workplace, opening statements are expected to begin in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, March 12, 2012. Supporting Mr. Coppedge’s case is the Alliance Defense Fund, A Christian civil rights group (What an oxymoron! We don’t have any civil rights), as well as the Discovery Institute, a proponent of intelligent design.
John West, Associate Director of the Center for Science and Culture at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute said, “It’s part of a pattern. There is basically a war on anyone who dissents from Darwin and we’ve seen that for several years. This is free speech, freedom of conscience 101.”
Uhthen where is the ACLU?
Mr. Coppedge worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA as a ‘team lead’ computer specialist for the Cassini probe mission exploring Saturn and its moons. He began as a contractor in 1996 and was designated as a ‘team lead’ in 2000, serving as a liaison between technicians and managers even before he was hired full time 2003. He held this position for nearly ten years before being demoted in 2009 and was let go last year, after fifteen years on the mission.
He contends he was demoted and fired because he enjoyed talking with his co-workers about his belief that because the universe and life is too complex to have developed through evolution alone, a higher power or intelligent designer had to be involved in creation. He is a board member of Illustria Media and gave his co-workers DVD’s made by the company, which examines scientific evidence for intelligent design.
Where is the ACLU? Oh yeah, Mr. Coppedge isn’t a minority or gay. Duh!
Can you even believe the outrageous criminality of his actions? Well, the only explanation I can imagine for all the brouhaha is that he must have been chasing people down the halls of his office, tackling them and stapling the DVD’s to their foreheads for this to result in his being terminated.
Otherwise, if they were not interested in the material, one would surmise all they would have had to do was simply say, “No thank you.” Apparently, this simple solution was too much for some of the courtesy challenged employees to handle, because a few complained to management they felt (*sniff*) harassed, which resulted in his receiving a written warning.
Coppedge’s attorney, William Becker, says, “David had this reputation for being a practicing (*GASP*) Christian. He did not go around evangelizing or proselytizing and he is not apologizing for who he is. He’s an evangelical Christian.”
He also had the unmitigated gall to publically support a state ballot that sought to define marriage as limited to a man/woman relationship and nearly caused catastrophic damage to the entire space program by requesting the annual office “holiday” party be called what it actually was, a “Christmas” party!
Yoo-Hoo, ACLUwhere are you?
Attorneys for the California Institute of Technology, which manages the Jet Propulsion Lab, state that Coppedge was one of two Cassini technicians and among 246 other employees let go last year due to planned budget cuts. Okaaaay. We’ll run with that explanation, unless maybe someone can come up with evidence that the mission still has plenty of life and funds to continue. Hmmm, perhaps someone like.ME?!
According to the official NASA Cassini Mission website, the missions and continued experiments of the probe will last at least through November 29, 2012. They are still getting a plethora of images and information from this probe and will, no doubt, continue to use it until it sputters, pops a couple more bolts and gives its last little squeak in outer space before going to that great space probe graveyard in the sky. Kind of makes me think the ‘budget cuts’ weren’t the whole reason Mr. Coppedge was fired after fifteen long, faithful years at NASA.
This should be an interesting case to follow. Is it about religious discrimination? Is it a simple employee/employer dispute? Scientists from both spectrums of the intelligent design argument are waiting with baited breath to see which way the court will rule. Can you imagine the high pitched, girly screams of angst and protest that will emanate from the court house if the Judge rules in favor of the plaintiff and his right to express in the workplace, his opinion that Almighty God designed the universe? Stay tuned!
Oh, ACLU-hooooo.! Now, where could they be??
Donna Wasson is all of the following: Married. Mom. Hospice RN. Avid reader. Animal lover. Needing to spread the Gospel while there is still time.
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com–CHRISTIAN WRITERS
Veterans and Family Violence
October 7, 2013Veterans and Family Violence
by Claire Grassick
Violent crime—and domestic violence in particular—among veterans is a growing problem. The situations our men and women in the armed forces experience during military conflict can trigger mental distress that gives rise to excessive anger and reduced impulse control, which combine to make, for some veterans, involvement in violent situations a matter of “when” rather than “if”.
Defining Violence: it’s Not Just Physical
One of the most pervasive myths in society, especially as it relates to abuse in families and intimate partner relationships, is that abuse and violence only “count” if it’s physical in nature. As one article points out, there are multiple types of violence, and they do not all involve physical acts. In families, for example, violence can include not only aggressive physical actions like punching, pushing, or choking; it also includes other physical actions such as sexual abuse, which is not always physically violent. Sometimes, violent threats—such as the threat to beat or rape—are just as damaging as the act itself, whether such an act occurs within the family or in another context. Acts of psychological abuse, such as emotional humiliation, isolation, and controlling behavior, are also acts of violence. Essentially, any act of violence, whether physical or otherwise, has the potential to cause harm of one kind or another.
Violent acts don’t only take the form of one person abusing another. Another kind is self-directed violence in the form of increased risk of alcohol and substance abuse, as well as acts of self-harm such as suicide. As compared to the general population, these types of self-directed violence are much more common in veterans.
What’s happening to our Veterans?
The men and women who return from war-torn countries experience situations and emotions that are virtually impossible for most ordinary people to grasp. They might witness acts of extreme violence, the deaths of fellow servicemen and women, and might survive hazardous situations where their own lives are in danger. The complex range of emotions that they experience during these events is a highly potent mix that can trigger the development of mood disorders and mental illness.
Now, as they return home from overseas stations in Afghanistan and Iraq, increasing numbers of violent incidents—domestic violence incidents in particular—involve the nation’s veterans. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of calls relating to incidents of family violence involving veterans more than tripled, and most are directly relatable to the time they spent in service. In January 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported that of veterans diagnosed with depression and PTSD, 81% had been violent towards their partner in the previous year.
As a direct result of what they experience on active duty, many veterans are being diagnosed with anxiety disorders, depression, explosive anger disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For some veterans this mental distress leads to self-directed violence, and in other cases, the violence is directed towards other people. PTSD in particular seemsto be a significant factor in veteran-related violence: male veterans with this disorder are up to three times more likely to act violently towards an intimate partner than male veterans who don’t have PTSD. They are also more likely overall to be involved in the legal system.
The problem has become so widespread that many organizations are now developing new policies and education initiatives to help veterans and their families. One example is Washington, DC organization The Aspen Institute, which in June 2013 held a summit focusing on the relationship between domestic violence and PTSD in veterans. Another is the Minneapolis Domestic Abuse Project which in 2012 launched a program called Change Step, developed specifically to help veterans who have become intimate partner abusers. The program was created to fulfill the specific needs of military families, who must deal with issues such as “the impact of military culture, deployment and resulting separation from family and the effects of combat”.
Crisis Support for Veterans and their Families
Veterans in crisis can access immediate support via the Department of Veteran Affairs Veterans Crisis Line. Call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. They can also text to 838255 or access a live confidential chat service. These services are also available for people seeking support on behalf of a Veteran.
People who are experiencing domestic abuse by an intimate partner or other family member can call The National Domestic Violence Hotline on 1-800-799-7233.
Bio-Terrorism and Nursing: Like it or Not!
April 2, 2013Nurses are use to yearly educational requirements. Each state requires a certain amount every year just to renew a license. The federal government requires that each hospital educates it’s employees in certain areas yearly, and then there are the classes a nurse has to take to work in the areas of specialization that interest them. As I said, nurses are use to educational requirements. That is why it is so surprising to see the resistance that most nurses seem to have in regards to bio-terrorism training. I have found very few nurses that say “oh how wonderful, I get to do my bio training and use some drain tarps.” I am not sure why this is. Do we find it boring? Is it so far from what we usually train for that we have trouble grasping it? Or is it so disturbing to think about the actual event happening in our country that we don’t want to face the true possibility. Whatever the reason, I know that each time I am faced with the information, a part of me cringes away from it wanting to put up a block such as a flame retardant tarp, and I seem to have more trouble remembering the information than any other topic I study. I have often asked myself, if truly faced with a bioterrorism threat, will I rush to the hospital to help, or will I want to take my family, wrap them in canvas blankets, and run from the area to protect them. I hope that I never have to face the choice.
“Critical Incident” Stress in the Workplace, comment
October 4, 2010In the thirty-five years of my professional career as a Registered Nurse, I have been involved in a wide variety of ‘critical incidents’; from the birth of an anacephalic baby, to MVCs with amputated limbs, to the loss of a patient to whom I had grown attached, to the death of someone too young, on our procedure table, that may not have happened if we had been able to care for him sooner.
This last incident was the only time I had the privilege of a defusing and formal debriefing. The hospital where I worked at the time, didn’t have a formal program. We were given the chance to talk to our Child Advisor (I’m not sure of her exact title) when we, the cath lab staff, were so distraught over losing this patient during an angioplasty, on the table. When I look back at this, I recognize it was very rudimentary, but it definitely helped us better than nothing at all.
I’m thinking this is something I need to pursue for the facility where I work now. There have been and always will be incidents that cause our professional staff emotional and/or physical ‘trauma’. To provide a program that gives support for staff when they experience an untoward event with one of their patients, is only right when we ask them to provide Relationship Based Care.
Original Post
April 4, 2004
Title: “Critical Incident” Stress in the Workplace
Many health care professionals at one time or another have experienced a “critical incident’ that has caused them strong emotional or physical reaction. The critical incidents vary from threats / assault, suicide, accidents, deaths or injury. These experiences may impair their ability to work safely and effectively in their care of patients for weeks or even months after the incident has occurred.
Nurses and other health care professionals are often expected to carry on after these incidents by simply relying on their own coping skills. However the use of formal debriefing in the workplace has been found to be a key component of recovery. Debriefing has produced many positive side effects for staff and their employers including:
• increase in team cohesiveness and mutual support.
• reduced sick time
• increased awareness of critical incidents and their impact
• decrease in staff turnover
Many hospitals and health care facilities have incorporated a formal model, the “Critical Incident Stress Management” (CISM) program that includes:
1. Defusing – a chance for to talk immediately after the incident, 45 to 60 minutes to restore order in a chaotic situation.
2. Formal Debriefing – longer, structured meeting including other professionals – chaplains, social or mental health workers.
3. Follow-up – possible long-term therapy to be arranged.
The best remedy for a nurse who has suffered this kind of reaction is often to get back to work as soon as possible; “to accelerate normal recovery in normal people with normal reactions to abnormal events.”
Should these programs not be adequate in reducing the after-effects, individuals and their co-workers should be aware of reaction symptoms that may occur. The following symptoms may be displayed:
Physical: nausea, rapid heart rate, dizziness, thirst, chills & headaches
Cognitive: poor concentration, disorientation, nightmares, memory
disturbances
Emotional: grief, guilt, fear, depression, anger, exaggerated responses
Behavioural: withdrawn, loss of appetite, sleep disturbances,
hyperalertness
Being aware of these symptoms when they occur and responding ethically and professionally will ensure that safe and effective patient care is maintained.
Online Forensic Nursing College wanted
Medical Malpractice Related to Nosocomial MRSA Infections, comment
July 7, 2010Prescreening patients for MRSA prior to admission to the hospital is a very proactive approach to managing this “super bug”. If we consider this part of our pre-surgical admission assessment rather than a legal issue, we can take some of the unnecessary fear and anxiety that has been instilled in the public from the media regarding MRSA. When patients are screened for Group B Strep prior to a vaginal delivery, it provides health care providers with useful information to treat the patient and potentially the infant prophylactically and could potentially save the hospital, patient and insurance companies money from complications. We should consider MRSA in a similar scope because it is no longer rare and only nosocomial in nature, but it is commonly acquired in the community as well. Prescreening patients upon admission, whether it be inpatient or outpatient, can only improve outcomes for patients and healthcare providers. This does not have to be seen as a legal issue, or a means to panic the community needlessly, but rather a way of arming ourselves with information to provide the best quality care possible. Protocols need to be established to prevent and control MRSA before it enters our patient environment, while still treating those who are carriers in a non-discriminatory manner.
Original Post
June 7, 2010
Title: MRSA frustrations! (comment)
I feel the same frustrations as posted in the attached! I feel like we, the nurses, are viewed as the Culprit in a patient acquiring a nosocomial infection. Never mind the fact that ‘we’ probably wouldn’t be in this predicament if these wonder drugs, antibiotics, hadn’t been given for every sore throat and cold that walked into the Dr’s office, clinic, or ER. In the hospital where I work, there is an ongoing ‘tally’ of hospital-acquired UTI, VAP, central-line infections, etc., by unit. It’s hard enough to work short-staffed, but to also glove and wash your hands every time you enter a patients presence then leave, just to enter another and wash all over again; takes even more time away from patient care and interactions; all the while someone standing over your shoulder monitoring… The pharmaceuticals have some ownership of this ‘super-bug’ epidemic. I don’t think they invested enough time and research into developing new antibiotics, because it didn’t make the money the other drug classes did. https://forensicnursingcourses.com/2010/05/26/medical-malpractice-related-to-nosocomial-mrsa-infection-comment/
Original Post
May 26, 2010
Title: Medical malpractice related to nosocomial MRSA infection, comment
After reading the posts regarding MRSA acquired during the hospitial stay and how this is a legal issue makes me think of one thing. Nurses need a law degree before stepping foot in a hospital. Well, that may be a little overboard. I see this everyday. Practicing medicine while keeping in mind that we can be sued. We order extra lab work, radiology, ultrasound, MRI, and swabs for MRSA so we cover all the bases and avoid going to court. I can understand the MRSA swabs that may need to be done in order to avoid a lawsuit, but we would have to swab everyone. We really don’t know if the history we are obtaining is inclusive. Is this done in other countries? Are people “sue happy”? This is a foriegn concept to some friends and family that visit the US. Maybe we can invent a body scan that will take photographs head to toe to cover wounds, swab every orifice, lower the beds to 1 foot off the ground, and make it mandatory to wear special non-slip shoes to avoid falls. Again, the above example is out of frustration that we are not only caring for patients, but always are adding new things to do in order to avoid a lawsuit. I wish it were different, but we all know it will only get worse.
Original Post
January 16, 2007
Title: Medical Malpractice Related to Nosocomial MRSA Infections
The media and government have educated the public in the “super bugs” some patients become infected with in the hospital environment. The most widely known “super bug” is methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In June 2006 there was a case brought to court regarding the death of patient who had been in the hospital for a knee joint replacement. Since the patient had not been screened for MRSA prior to hospitalization it could not be proved if he picked up the MRSA during the hospital stay. With the documented community acquired MRSA he could have had the bacteria dormant in his body when he was admitted for the planned surgery. The doctor and hospital were not found negligent in this case.
Many hospitals are fearful of similar lawsuits based on nosocomial infections. Some hospitals are now culturing high-risk patients prior to hospital admission to determine if they are colonized. There is now a nasal swab test that has a turn around time of two hours to identify MRSA. Certainly this can be helpful so that colonized patients coming in for elective procedures can have this treated and also be isolated from non-colonized patients. Patients that test positive for MRSA can be cohorted with like patients or put in private rooms. There are multiple hospitals in Europe starting to follow this intervention with positive outcomes in their nosocomial rates.
It would seem to me the hospital administrators would prefer paying for the MRSA culture versus facing the potential of law suits from patients who develop nosocomial MRSA infections while inpatient. If I had a family member going to the hospital I would much prefer they be tested for MRSA prior to a surgery as “knowledge is power” Having the knowledge of colonized MRSA prior to surgical intervention can allow for adjustments that lead to positive outcomes for the hospital, surgeon and patient. I can visualize hospitals even being forced to do it to allow them better leverage in the court system by being able to say, “this person was colonized with MRSA” prior to hospital admission. From the epidemiology stand point it would also allow the opportunity to keep the more virulent strain of community MRSA from entering the hospital environment.
Healthcare Medical Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer
Online Forensic Nursing Course
Online Forensic Nursing Certificate Program
Tags: Forensic Nursing, Forensic Nursing Chronicles, Forensic Nursing Theories, Forensic Nursing Nosocomial MRSA Infections, Healthcare Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer, Medical Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer, Nosocomial MRSA Infection Attorney Lawyer, Forensic Nursing Malpractice Negligence, Online Forensic Nursing Courses
MRSA frustrations! (comment)
June 7, 2010I feel the same frustrations as posted in the attached! I feel like we, the nurses, are viewed as the Culprit in a patient acquiring a nosocomial infection. Never mind the fact that ‘we’ probably wouldn’t be in this predicament if these wonder drugs, antibiotics, hadn’t been given for every sore throat and cold that walked into the Dr’s office, clinic, or ER. In the hospital where I work, there is an ongoing ‘tally’ of hospital-acquired UTI, VAP, central-line infections, etc., by unit. It’s hard enough to work short-staffed, but to also glove and wash your hands every time you enter a patients presence then leave, just to enter another and wash all over again; takes even more time away from patient care and interactions; all the while someone standing over your shoulder monitoring… The pharmaceuticals have some ownership of this ‘super-bug’ epidemic. I don’t think they invested enough time and research into developing new antibiotics, because it didn’t make the money the other drug classes did. https://forensicnursingcourses.com/2010/05/26/medical-malpractice-related-to-nosocomial-mrsa-infection-comment/
Original Post
May 26, 2010
Title: Medical malpractice related to nosocomial MRSA infection, comment
After reading the posts regarding MRSA acquired during the hospitial stay and how this is a legal issue makes me think of one thing. Nurses need a law degree before stepping foot in a hospital. Well, that may be a little overboard. I see this everyday. Practicing medicine while keeping in mind that we can be sued. We order extra lab work, radiology, ultrasound, MRI, and swabs for MRSA so we cover all the bases and avoid going to court. I can understand the MRSA swabs that may need to be done in order to avoid a lawsuit, but we would have to swab everyone. We really don’t know if the history we are obtaining is inclusive. Is this done in other countries? Are people “sue happy”? This is a foriegn concept to some friends and family that visit the US. Maybe we can invent a body scan that will take photographs head to toe to cover wounds, swab every orifice, lower the beds to 1 foot off the ground, and make it mandatory to wear special non-slip shoes to avoid falls. Again, the above example is out of frustration that we are not only caring for patients, but always are adding new things to do in order to avoid a lawsuit. I wish it were different, but we all know it will only get worse.
Original Post
January 16, 2007
Title: Medical Malpractice Related to Nosocomial MRSA Infections
The media and government have educated the public in the “super bugs” some patients become infected with in the hospital environment. The most widely known “super bug” is methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In June 2006 there was a case brought to court regarding the death of patient who had been in the hospital for a knee joint replacement. Since the patient had not been screened for MRSA prior to hospitalization it could not be proved if he picked up the MRSA during the hospital stay. With the documented community acquired MRSA he could have had the bacteria dormant in his body when he was admitted for the planned surgery. The doctor and hospital were not found negligent in this case.
Many hospitals are fearful of similar lawsuits based on nosocomial infections. Some hospitals are now culturing high-risk patients prior to hospital admission to determine if they are colonized. There is now a nasal swab test that has a turn around time of two hours to identify MRSA. Certainly this can be helpful so that colonized patients coming in for elective procedures can have this treated and also be isolated from non-colonized patients. Patients that test positive for MRSA can be cohorted with like patients or put in private rooms. There are multiple hospitals in Europe starting to follow this intervention with positive outcomes in their nosocomial rates.
It would seem to me the hospital administrators would prefer paying for the MRSA culture versus facing the potential of law suits from patients who develop nosocomial MRSA infections while inpatient. If I had a family member going to the hospital I would much prefer they be tested for MRSA prior to a surgery as “knowledge is power” Having the knowledge of colonized MRSA prior to surgical intervention can allow for adjustments that lead to positive outcomes for the hospital, surgeon and patient. I can visualize hospitals even being forced to do it to allow them better leverage in the court system by being able to say, “this person was colonized with MRSA” prior to hospital admission. From the epidemiology stand point it would also allow the opportunity to keep the more virulent strain of community MRSA from entering the hospital environment.
Healthcare Medical Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer
Online Forensic Nursing Course
Online Forensic Nursing Certificate Program
Tags: Forensic Nursing, Forensic Nursing Chronicles, Forensic Nursing Theories, Forensic Nursing Nosocomial MRSA Infections, Healthcare Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer, Medical Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer, Nosocomial MRSA Infection Attorney Lawyer, Forensic Nursing Malpractice Negligence, Online Forensic Nursing Courses
Medical malpractice related to nosocomial MRSA infection, comment
May 26, 2010After reading the posts regarding MRSA acquired during the hospitial stay and how this is a legal issue makes me think of one thing. Nurses need a law degree before stepping foot in a hospital. Well, that may be a little overboard. I see this everyday. Practicing medicine while keeping in mind that we can be sued. We order extra lab work, radiology, ultrasound, MRI, and swabs for MRSA so we cover all the bases and avoid going to court. I can understand the MRSA swabs that may need to be done in order to avoid a lawsuit, but we would have to swab everyone. We really don’t know if the history we are obtaining is inclusive. Is this done in other countries? Are people “sue happy”? This is a foriegn concept to some friends and family that visit the US. Maybe we can invent a body scan that will take photographs head to toe to cover wounds, swab every orifice, lower the beds to 1 foot off the ground, and make it mandatory to wear special non-slip shoes to avoid falls. Again, the above example is out of frustration that we are not only caring for patients, but always are adding new things to do in order to avoid a lawsuit. I wish it were different, but we all know it will only get worse.
Original Post
January 16, 2007
Title: Medical Malpractice Related to Nosocomial MRSA Infections
The media and government have educated the public in the “super bugs” some patients become infected with in the hospital environment. The most widely known “super bug” is methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In June 2006 there was a case brought to court regarding the death of patient who had been in the hospital for a knee joint replacement. Since the patient had not been screened for MRSA prior to hospitalization it could not be proved if he picked up the MRSA during the hospital stay. With the documented community acquired MRSA he could have had the bacteria dormant in his body when he was admitted for the planned surgery. The doctor and hospital were not found negligent in this case.
Many hospitals are fearful of similar lawsuits based on nosocomial infections. Some hospitals are now culturing high-risk patients prior to hospital admission to determine if they are colonized. There is now a nasal swab test that has a turn around time of two hours to identify MRSA. Certainly this can be helpful so that colonized patients coming in for elective procedures can have this treated and also be isolated from non-colonized patients. Patients that test positive for MRSA can be cohorted with like patients or put in private rooms. There are multiple hospitals in Europe starting to follow this intervention with positive outcomes in their nosocomial rates.
It would seem to me the hospital administrators would prefer paying for the MRSA culture versus facing the potential of law suits from patients who develop nosocomial MRSA infections while inpatient. If I had a family member going to the hospital I would much prefer they be tested for MRSA prior to a surgery as “knowledge is power” Having the knowledge of colonized MRSA prior to surgical intervention can allow for adjustments that lead to positive outcomes for the hospital, surgeon and patient. I can visualize hospitals even being forced to do it to allow them better leverage in the court system by being able to say, “this person was colonized with MRSA” prior to hospital admission. From the epidemiology stand point it would also allow the opportunity to keep the more virulent strain of community MRSA from entering the hospital environment.
Healthcare Medical Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer
Online Forensic Nursing Course
Online Forensic Nursing Certificate Program
Tags: Forensic Nursing, Forensic Nursing Chronicles, Forensic Nursing Theories, Forensic Nursing Nosocomial MRSA Infections, Healthcare Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer, Medical Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer, Nosocomial MRSA Infection Attorney Lawyer, Forensic Nursing Malpractice Negligence, Online Forensic Nursing Courses
Medical Malpractice related to nosocomial MRSA infections, comment
April 28, 2010After reading the 1/16/2007 post regarding nosocomial infections especially with MRSA, I had to respond. I think hospitals all over the US need to adopt what the hospitals are already doing in Europe. The nose swabs are a fast and effective way of determining whether a pt is at risk or not for MRSA. Many pts prior to leaving the hospital setting, suffered from MRSA which became very demanding for the nurse and ancillary staff to care for. Pts were placed on isolation and had to go into the room completely gowned up which requires extra steps to an already busy schedule for a 8-12 hour shift. This testing would also maintain the reimbursement Medicare gives hospitals because as of October 2008, it was determined by COHIaBA, who governs Medicare stipulations, would be taking away money from the hospitals if pts were diagnosed with MRSA or greater than Stage 3 Pressure Ulcers. THis would mean a greater reimbursement which would help maintain staffing and salaries to nurses and other ancillary staff. I think this is a great idea to assist with the on going changes with health care that this country is going through right now.
Original Post
January 16, 2007
Title: Medical Malpractice related to nosocomial MRSA infections
The media and government have educated the public in the “super bugs” some patients become infected with in the hospital environment. The most widely known “super bug” is methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In June 2006 there was a case brought to court regarding the death of patient who had been in the hospital for a knee joint replacement. Since the patient had not been screened for MRSA prior to hospitalization it could not be proved if he picked up the MRSA during the hospital stay. With the documented community acquired MRSA he could have had the bacteria dormant in his body when he was admitted for the planned surgery. The doctor and hospital were not found negligent in this case.
Many hospitals are fearful of similar lawsuits based on nosocomial infections. Some hospitals are now culturing high-risk patients prior to hospital admission to determine if they are colonized. There is now a nasal swab test that has a turn around time of two hours to identify MRSA. Certainly this can be helpful so that colonized patients coming in for elective procedures can have this treated and also be isolated from non-colonized patients. Patients that test positive for MRSA can be cohorted with like patients or put in private rooms. There are multiple hospitals in Europe starting to follow this intervention with positive outcomes in their nosocomial rates.
It would seem to me the hospital administrators would prefer paying for the MRSA culture versus facing the potential of law suits from patients who develop nosocomial MRSA infections while inpatient. If I had a family member going to the hospital I would much prefer they be tested for MRSA prior to a surgery as “knowledge is power” Having the knowledge of colonized MRSA prior to surgical intervention can allow for adjustments that lead to positive outcomes for the hospital, surgeon and patient. I can visualize hospitals even being forced to do it to allow them better leverage in the court system by being able to say, “this person was colonized with MRSA” prior to hospital admission. From the epidemiology stand point it would also allow the opportunity to keep the more virulent strain of community MRSA from entering the hospital environment.
Healthcare Medical Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer
Online Forensic Nursing Course
Online Forensic Nursing Certificate Program
Tags: Forensic Nursing, Forensic Nursing Chronicles, Forensic Nursing Theories, Forensic Nursing Nosocomial MRSA Infections, Healthcare Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer, Medical Malpractice Defense Attorney Lawyer, Nosocomial MRSA Infection Attorney Lawyer, Forensic Nursing Malpractice Negligence, Online Forensic Nursing Courses
Nursing satisfaction and work-related stress
March 18, 2010Satisfaction and happiness by definition are closely related. In adults, satisfaction is usually a derivative from two major spheres, work and family. However, both are frequently sources of stress too (Tennant, 2001). In today’s ever-changing work environment, work-related stress and distress is becoming more and more common every day and quickly taking a toll on our workforces and their lives. Sadly, work satisfaction and happiness is swiftly becoming a thing of the past. The implications of these stressors are of significant importance to both employees and employers alike. Negative bodily and emotional effects of work related stress in nurses are plentiful. Previous research shows positive relationships between chronic work stress and negative health outcomes (McNeely, 2005;R & T., 1990;Sauter, Murphy, & eds., 1995). According to Olson (2008) in Forbes, America is in the top 10 for hardest working countries in the world. Americans on a whole, work about 1,797 hours per year (Olson, 2008). That is about 5 hours every day for the rest of one’s life. One may equate this with increased productivity, however not directly because it depends on many more factors (Sharma, 2007). Yet studies have shown a positive relationship between overtime and extended hours with increased incidence of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, fatigue, stress and many other ailments (Dembe et al.,2005; Schaufeli et al., 2008; McNeely, 2005;Karasek & Theorel, 1990;Sauter, Murphy, & eds., 1995). The healthcare setting is no different, but special circumstances, apply. Nursing, in hospitals, is the largest part of the labor force (Stone, et al., 2007). The literature is quite extensive on the stress and emotional burden of managing illness, suffering and death (J.F., 1987; Poncet, et al., 2007; McNeely, 2005; Marine, et al., 2009; Stone, et al., 2007). In fact, studies show that levels of work related distress, dissatisfaction and burnout are quite high in healthcare workers. Healthcare workers, particularly nurses, additionally experience elevated job-related stress resulting from high expectations, inadequate time, resources and/or support. These stress factors enhance health dangers and lead to dissatisfaction and burnout among nurses (Marine, Ruotsalainen, Serra, & Verbeek, 2009). Consequently, negative effects on mental and physical health, ultimately, leads to absenteeism, turnover, associated economic costs and finally, employer liability related to patient safety (Tennant, 2001; Marine et al, 2009;Stone, et al., 2007). Therefore, the health and mental well-being of nurses directly affects organizational and patient outcomes. Awareness of stress dynamics can lead to improved employee health, productivity, patient safety and overall organizational outcomes. Recognizing signs and symptoms of distressed and unsatisfied employees can help identify nurses with potential risks. A hospital’s largest labor force directly influence larger outcomes, thus, making it the organizations greatest asset or biggest liability. Identification and understanding of the dynamics behind work related stress in nursing is critical and should be a focus for hospitals, clinicians and other institutional leaders.
Tags: Forensic Nursing, Forensic Nursing Chronicles, Forensic Nursing Theories, Forensic Nursing Work Stress, Forensic Nuring Healthcare Occupational Emotional Stress, Psychiatric Forensic Nursing
Forensic Nursing Chronicles 