Leveraging Academic-Clinical Partnerships to Create an Operating Room Nurse Pipeline.

This article describes an academic-clinical partnership program between a school of nursing and an American Nurse Credentialing Center Magnet®- and National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center based on a shared vision and multifaceted for optimal new graduate operating room (OR) recruitment and use of clinical partner resources. The program, now in its 3rd year, has a 100% retention rate among the cohorts. Implementing a multifaceted OR partnership program based on nursing theory is a strategy for workforce development to increase retention of new graduate OR nurses.

The multi-dimensional matrix for consultation-liaison psychiatry (mMAX-LP).

OBJECTIVE: Consultation-liaison psychiatry (CLP) services are particularly susceptible to heterogeneity, developing haphazardly in response to local interests and perceived need. This hampers the generalisability of comparisons between services in terms of service models, resource requirements and outcome data. The objective of this paper therefore is to chronicle the development of a method to meaningfully describe, map and compare different CLP services. METHOD: A review of the literature was followed by multiple site visits in both New Zealand and England, and an extended process of consultation and feedback. RESULTS: Sixteen dimensions common to CLP services were extracted to create a multi-dimensional matrix (mMAX-LP) which had three broad clusters (structure, coverage and relationship with physical health services). The model was applied and discussed with the previously visited hospitals over the succeeding five years. Additionally, the matrix was tested, and its utility demonstrated during the planned reconfiguration of CLP services at a large teaching hospital in South Auckland, New Zealand by tracking the evolution of CLP services. CONCLUSIONS: mMAX-LP shows promise as a useful model for profiling and comparing CLP services; mapping their evolution over time; and sign-posting future service development.

Improving Anaphylaxis Care: The Impact of a Clinical Pathway.

BACKGROUND: Recommended durations of observation after anaphylaxis have been widely variable, with many ranging from 4 to 24 hours. Prolonged durations often prompt admission for ongoing observation. METHODS: In a multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative, we revised our emergency department (ED) anaphylaxis clinical pathway. Our primary aim was to safely decrease the recommended length of observation from 8 to 4 hours and thereby decrease unnecessary hospitalizations. Secondary aims included provider education on anaphylaxis diagnostic criteria, emphasizing epinephrine as first-line therapy, and implementing a practice of discharging ED patients with an epinephrine autoinjector in hand. The study period consisted of the 18 months before pathway revision (baseline) and the 18 months after revision. RESULTS: The overall admission rate decreased from 58.2% (106 of 182) in the baseline period to 25.3% (65 of 257) after pathway revision (P < .0001). There was no significant difference in the percentage of patients returning to the ED within 72 hours, and there were no adverse outcomes or deaths throughout the study period. After pathway revision, the median time to first epinephrine administration for the most critical patients was 10 minutes, and 85.4% (164 of 192) of patients were discharged with an epinephrine autoinjector in hand. CONCLUSIONS: By revising an anaphylaxis clinical pathway, we were able to streamline the care of patients with anaphylaxis presenting to a busy pediatric ED, without any compromise in safety. Most notably, decreasing the recommended length of observation from 8 to 4 hours resulted in a near 60% reduction in the average rate of admission.

Permanent education in primary health care: perception of local health managers. / Educação permanente em saúde na atenção básica: percepção dos gestores municipais de saúde.

OBJECTIVES: To know the health education strategies advocated and developed for workers of primary care, in the view of managers. METHOD: The study is characterized as a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory research. A semistructured interview was used to collect data. The sample population was chosen intentionally, with an audience of 26 municipal health managers ascribed to a regional health coordination office, located in the north/northwest of the Rio Grande do Sul State. RESULTS: The thematic analysis allowed the construction of two empirical categories: educational strategies, compartmentalized, discontinuous and with technicist bases; and the insipience/absence of educational proposals. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: The results show a reality that needs to be transformed by all people involved in health work process: teachers and students, users, members of health councils, workers and managers. Realistically, there is a quest for change in services, to qualify the comprehensiveness of health care.

Educação permanente em saúde na atenção básica: percepção dos gestores municipais de saúde / Educación permanente en salud en la atención basica: percepción de los gestores de salud municipal / Permanent education in primary health care: perception of local health managers

RESUMO Objetivos Conhecer as estratégias de educação em saúde preconizadas e desenvolvidas aos trabalhadores da atenção básica pelosgestores. Método O estudo está caracterizado como uma pesquisa qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória. Para a coleta de dados, utilizou-se a entrevista semiestruturada. A população amostral foi escolhida de forma intencional, tendo como público-alvo 26 gestores municipais de saúde adscritos a uma coordenadoria regional de saúde, localizada no norte/noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Resultados A análise temática permitiu a construção de duas categorias empíricas: estratégias educativas, compartimentadas, descontínuas e de bases tecnicistas; e a incipiência/ausência de propostas educativas. Considerações finais Os resultados demonstram uma realidade que precisa ser transformada por todas as pessoas envolvidas no processo de trabalho em saúde: docentes e discentes, usuários, membros dos conselhos de saúde, trabalhadores e gestores. Realisticamente, buscam-se transformações nos serviços para que se qualifique a integralidade da atenção em saúde.

RESUMEN Objetivos Conocer, desde de la perspectiva de los gestores, las estrategias de educación para la salud que son promovidas y desarrolladas para los trabajadores de atención primaria. Método El estudio se caracteriza como una investigación cualitativa, descriptiva, exploratoria. Para la recolección de datos se utilizó una entrevista semiestructurada. La población de la muestra se eligió intencional, dirigida a 26 gestores municipales de salud de una coordinación regional de salud, localizada al norte/noroeste del estado de Rio Grande do Sul. Resultados El análisis temático permitió la construcción de dos categorías empíricas: las estrategias educativas discontinuas, compartimentadas; y escasez o ausencia de propuestas educativas. Conclusión Los resultados muestran una realidad que necesita ser transformada por las personas involucrados en el proceso, profesores/estudiantes, usuarios, miembros de los consejos de salud, trabajadores y gestores. Siendo realistas, buscar los cambios en los servicios, con el fin de calificar la integralidad de la atención sanitaria.

ABSTRACT Objectives To know the health education strategies advocated and developed for workers of primary care, in the view of managers. Method The study is characterized as a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory research. A semistructured interview was used to collect data. The sample population was chosen intentionally, with an audience of 26 municipal health managers ascribed to a regional health coordination office, located in the north/northwest of the Rio Grande do Sul State. Results The thematic analysis allowed the construction of two empirical categories: educational strategies, compartmentalized, discontinuous and with technicist bases; and the insipience/absence of educational proposals. Final considerations The results show a reality that needs to be transformed by all people involved in health work process: teachers and students, users, members of health councils, workers and managers. Realistically, there is a quest for change in services, to qualify the comprehensiveness of health care.

Adapting the forms of yesterday to the functions of today and the needs of tomorrow: a genealogical case study of clinical teaching units in Canada.

Emergent discourses of social responsibility and accountability have in part fuelled the expansion of distributed medical education (DME). In addition to its potential for redressing physician maldistribution, DME has conferred multiple unexpected educational benefits. In several countries, its recent rise has occurred around the boundaries of traditional medical education practices. Canada has been no exception, with DME proliferating against a backdrop of its longstanding central node, the clinical teaching unit (CTU). The CTU first appeared just over 50 years ago with its position in Canadian health care largely taken-for-granted. Given the increasing prominence of DME, however, it is timely to reconsider what the place of tertiary centre-based practices such as the CTU might be in shifting medical education systems. From a genealogical perspective, it becomes clear that the CTU did not just "happen". Rather, its creation was made possible by multiple interrelated cultural, social, and political changes in Canadian society that, while subtle, are powerfully influential. Making them visible offers a better opportunity to harmonize the benefits of longstanding entities such as the CTU with novel practices such as DME. In so doing, the medical education field may sidestep the pitfalls of investing significant resources that may only produce superficial changes while unwittingly obstructing deeper transformations and improvements. Although this work is refracted through a Canadian prism, reconceptualizing the overall design of medical education systems to take advantage of both tradition and innovation is a persistent challenge across the international spectrum, resistant to tests of time and constraints of context.

A Diversity 3.0 Update: Are We Moving the Needle Enough?

Five years ago, in a previous Academic Medicine Commentary, the author asserted that the move toward health reform and a more equitable health system required a transformation of more than how we finance, deliver, and evaluate health care. It also required a new role for diversity and inclusion as a solution to our problems, rather than continuing to see it as just another problem to be fixed. In this update, the author assesses the collective progress made by the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals in integrating diversity into their core strategic activities, as well as highlighting areas for continued improvement.The author identifies five new trends in diversity and inclusion within academic medicine: broader definitions of diversity to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and those who have disabilities; elevated roles for diversity leaders in medical school administration; growing use of a holistic approach to evaluating medical school applicants; recognition of diversity and inclusion as a core marker of excellence; and appreciation of the significance of subpopulations within minority and underrepresented groups.More work remains to be done, but institutional initiatives to foster and prioritize diversity and inclusion coupled with national efforts by organizations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges are working to build the capacity of U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals to move diversity from a peripheral initiative to a core strategy for improving the education of medical students and, ultimately, the care delivered to all of our nation's people.

Future and training of craniofacial surgery in India.

Craniofacial surgery, in the strictest sense, is the surgery of structures above and behind the maxilla. Craniofacial surgery is not new to India and has been around for more than 4 decades now since the 1970s. Keeping in mind the promotion of the specialty in India, an Indian Craniofacial Foundation was launched in the year 2012 at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India. To develop a craniofacial center in India, the primary requirement is a source of funding. Several craniofacial centers, which are already running successfully in India, have amply demonstrated that this can be done in several ways. We would like to discuss here the 2 models of craniofacial service delivery and training that the authors have seen and experienced firsthand.

The association of spiritual care providers' activities with family members' satisfaction with care after a death in the ICU*.

OBJECTIVES: Spiritual distress is common in the ICU, and spiritual care providers are often called upon to provide care for patients and their families. Our goal was to evaluate the activities spiritual care providers' conduct to support patients and families and whether those activities are associated with family satisfaction with ICU care. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Three hundred fifty-bed tertiary care teaching hospital with 65 ICU beds. SUBJECTS: Spiritual care providers and family members of patients who died in the ICU or within 30 hours of transfer from the ICU. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Spiritual care providers completed surveys reporting their activities. Family members completed validated measures of satisfaction with care and satisfaction with spiritual care. Clustered regression was used to assess the association between activities completed by spiritual care providers and family ratings of care. Of 494 eligible patients, 275 family members completed surveys (response rate, 56%). Fifty-seven spiritual care providers received surveys relating to 268 patients, completing 285 surveys for 244 patients (response rate, 91%). Spiritual care providers commonly reported activities related to supporting religious and spiritual needs (≥ 90%) and providing support for family feelings (90%). Discussions about the patient's wishes for end-of-life care and a greater number of spiritual care activities performed were both associated with increased overall family satisfaction with ICU care (p < 0.05). Discussions about a patient's end-of-life wishes, preparation for a family conference, and total number of activities performed were associated with improved family satisfaction with decision-making in the ICU (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Spiritual care providers engage in a variety of activities with families of ICU patients; several are associated with increased family satisfaction with ICU care in general and decision-making in the ICU specifically. These findings provide insight into spiritual care provider activities and provide guidance for interventions to improve spiritual care delivered to families of critically ill patients.

Caseload midwifery compared to standard or private obstetric care for first time mothers in a public teaching hospital in Australia: a cross sectional study of cost and birth outcomes.

BACKGROUND: In many countries midwives act as the main providers of care for women throughout pregnancy, labour and birth. In our large public teaching hospital in Australia we restructured the way midwifery care is offered and introduced caseload midwifery for one third of women booked at the hospital. We then compared the costs and birth outcomes associated with caseload midwifery compared to the two existing models of care, standard hospital care and private obstetric care. METHODS: We undertook a cross sectional study examining the risk profile, birth outcomes and cost of care for women booked into one of the three available models of care in a tertiary teaching hospital in Australia between July 1st 2009 December 31st 2010. To control for differences in population or case mix we described the outcomes for a cohort of low risk first time mothers known as the 'standard primipara'. RESULTS: Amongst the 1,379 women defined as 'standard primipara' there were significant differences in birth outcome. These first time 'low risk' mothers who received caseload care were more likely to have a spontaneous onset of labour and an unassisted vaginal birth 58.5% in MGP compared to 48.2% for Standard hospital care and 30.8% with Private obstetric care (p < 0.001). They were also significantly less likely to have an elective caesarean section 1.6% with MGP versus 5.3% with Standard care and 17.2% with private obstetric care (p < 0.001). From the public hospital perspective, over one financial year the average cost of care for the standard primipara in MGP was $3903.78 per woman. This was $1375.45 less per woman than those receiving Private obstetric care and $1590.91 less than Standard hospital care per woman (p < 0.001). Similar differences in cost were found in favour of MGP for all women in the study who received caseload care. CONCLUSIONS: Cost reduction appears to be achieved through reorganising the way care is delivered in the public hospital system with the introduction of Midwifery Group Practice or caseload care. The study also highlights the unexplained clinical variation that exists between the three models of care in Australia.

How five leading safety-net hospitals are preparing for the challenges and opportunities of health care reform.

Safety-net hospitals will continue to play a critical role in the US health care system, as they will need to care for the more than twenty-three million people who are estimated to remain uninsured after the Affordable Care Act is implemented. Yet such hospitals will probably have less federal and state support for uncompensated care. At the same time, safety-net hospitals will need to reposition themselves in the marketplace to compete effectively for newly insured people who will have a choice of providers. We examine how five leading safety-net hospitals have begun preparing for reform. Building upon strong organizational attributes such as health information technology and system integration, the study hospitals' preparations include improving the efficiency and quality of care delivery, retaining current and attracting new patients, and expanding the medical home model.

Decreased resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with restriction of ciprofloxacin in a large teaching hospital's intensive care and intermediate care units.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of restricting ciprofloxacin on the resistance of nosocomial gram-negative bacilli, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to antipseudomonal carbapenems. DESIGN: Interrupted time-series analysis. SETTING: Tertiary care teaching hospital with 11 intensive care and intermediate care units with a total of 295 beds. PATIENTS: All nosocomial isolates of P. aeruginosa. INTERVENTION: Restriction of ciprofloxacin. RESULTS: There was a significant decreasing trend observed in the percentage (P = .0351) and the rate (P = .0006) of isolates of P. aeruginosa that were resistant to antipseudomonal carbapenems following the restriction of ciprofloxacin. There was also a significant decreasing trend observed in the percentage (P = .0017) and the rate (P = .0001) of isolates of ciprofloxacin-resistant P. aeruginosa. The rate of cefepime-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates declined (P = .004) but the percentage of cefepime-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates did not change. There were no significant changes observed in the rate or the percentage of piperacillin-tazobactam-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates. There were no significant changes observed in the susceptibilities of nosocomial Enterobacteriaciae or Acinetobacter baumannii isolates that were resistant to carbapenems. Over the study period there was a significant increase in the use of carbapenems (P = .0134); the use of ciprofloxacin decreased significantly (P = .0027). There were no significant changes in the use of piperacillin-tazobactam or cefepime. CONCLUSION: Restriction of ciprofloxacin was associated with a decreased resistance of P. aeruginosa isolates to antipseudomonal carbapenems and ciprofloxacin in our hospital's intermediate care and intensive care units. There were no changes observed in the susceptibilities of nosocomial Enterobacteriaciae or A. baumannii to carbapenems, despite increased carbapenem use. Reducing ciprofloxacin use may be a means of controlling multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa.

Integrating a complementary medicine service within a general surgery department: from contemplation to practice.

This article describes experience in developing a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) service within a general surgery department in a public academic hospital in Israel. A framework is suggested for integrating CAM services within a hospital, based on the authors' experience, along three themes: the organizational structure of such a service, communication with the conventional team, and self-appraisal using a research-based documentation and assessment process. With the anticipated increase in CAM utilization within medical institutions, it is hoped this article will provide foundations for successful integration of other such services.

An interprofessional education pilot program in maternity care: findings from an exploratory case study of undergraduate students.

An interprofessional team of maternity care providers and academics developed a pilot interprofessional education (IPE) program in maternity care for undergraduate students in nursing, midwifery and medicine. There are few published studies examining IPE programs in maternity care, particularly at the undergraduate level, that examine long-term outcomes. This paper outlines findings from a case study that explored how participation in an IPE program in maternity care may enhance student knowledge, skills/attitudes, and may promote their collaborative behavior in the practice setting. The program was launched at a Canadian urban teaching hospital and consisted of six workshops and two clinical shadowing experiences. Twenty-five semi-structured, in-depth interviews were completed with nine participants at various time points up to 20 months post-program. Qualitative analysis of transcripts revealed the emergence of four themes: relationship-building, confident communication, willingness to collaborate and woman/family-centered care. Participant statements about their intentions to continue practicing interprofessional collaboration more than a year post-program lend support to its sustained effectiveness. The provision of a safe learning environment, the use of small group learning techniques with mixed teaching strategies, augmented by exposure to an interprofessional faculty, contributed to the program's perceived success.

Co-managed care for fragility hip fractures (Rochester model).

Hip fractures in older adults are a common event with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Patients who sustain a hip fracture often present with multiple co-morbid conditions that can benefit from co-management by orthopedic surgeons and geriatricians. This manuscript describes a co-managed model of care for patients with hip fractures. This model of care will be explained, and the benefits and results will be described. Retrospective review of the care of all native non-pathological hip fracture patients aged 60 years and older admitted between April 2005 and March 2009 to a 261-bed community teaching hospital. The outcome measures include patient characteristics, length of stay, mortality, 30-day readmission, re-operation, and costs of care. Seven hundred fifty-eight patients were identified with an average age of 84.8 (SD 8.4); 77.8% of the patients were female, 94.7% Caucasian, and 37.3% from nursing homes, and the mean Charlson score is 2.9 (SD 2.1). The length of stay was 4.3 days, 30-day readmission rate was 10.4%, 17-month re-operation rate was 1.9%, and costs of care to the system were $15,188. The 1-year mortality rate was 21.2%. This model of care resulted in improvements in all measures studied. Previous studies have shown reduction in in-hospital complications. Additional studies are needed to show if this model of care can be translated to other systems or to other surgical conditions. Wide application of this model care could substantially improve the quality of care and cost of caring for frail elders with hip fractures.

Potenciais interações medicamentosas em prescrições de um hospital-escola de Porto Alegre / Potential drug interactions among prescriptions of a teaching hospital in Porto Alegre

Introdução: Relatos das prevalências de interações medicamentosas em hospitais brasileiros são escassos. Objetivos: Descrever a prevalência de interações medicamentosas potenciais entre os fármacos prescritos nas enfermarias clínicas e cirúrgicas de um hospital-escola. secundariamente, descrever as características dessas interações e relacionar a sua ocorrência com o número de medicamentos prescritos e a idade dos pacientes. Pacientes e Métodos: Os dados foram coletados durante uma semana de out/2007, de 2a a 6a feira, a partir da última ficha de prescrição encontrada nos prontuários, envolvendo 128 fichas de prescrição com 10,5±4,1 fármacos. Os pacientes tinham 58,6±16,9 anos e 51,2% eram homens. A doença cardiovascular foi a enfermidade principal (23,4%) e a comorbidade (42,5%) mais frequentemente encontrada. A análise das interações foi feita através de consulta a um sistema interativo (Micromedex®). Resultados: 485 interações foram encontradas, estando presentes em 79,7% (IC95%: 72,6-86,8) das fichas de prescrição (média 3,8). A interação mais frequente foi captopril/dipirona (9,7%), seguida por dipirona/furosemida (4,5%), e os fármacos mais envolvidos foram dipirona (29,3%) e captopril (21,2%). A maioria das interações tinha mecanismo farmacodinâmico (65,5%), gravidade moderada (55,5%), começo tardio (61,3%) e bom embasamento científico (71,1%). A prevalência de interações esteve associada fortemente com o número de fármacos prescritos (r=0,65, p<0,001) e fracamente com a idade do paciente.

Introduction: Reports of the prevalence of drug interactions in Brazilian hospitals are scarce. Aims: To describe the prevalence of potential drug interactions among the medical drugs prescribed in the clinical and surgical units of a teaching hospital. Secondarily, to describe the characteristics of drug interactions and relate their occurrence to the number of prescribed medications and patient age. Patients and Methods: The data were collected from Monday to Friday of a week in Oct 2007, starting from the last prescription form found in the medical charts, and involved 128 prescription forms with 10.5±4.1 drugs. The patients’ mean age was 58.6±16.9 years and 51.2% were males. Cardiovascular disease was the main disease (23.4%) and the most frequently found comorbidity (42.5%). The analysis of interactions was done through consultation with an interactive system (Micromedex®). Results: 485 cases of drug interactions were found, being present in 79.7% (CI95%: 72.686.8) of the prescription forms (mean 3.8). The most frequent interaction was captopril/dipyrone (9.7%), followed by ipyrone/furosemide (4,5%), and the most frequently involved drugs were dipyrone (29.3%) and captopril (21.2%). Most of the interactions had a pharmacodynamic mechanism (65.5%), moderate severity (55.5%), late onset (61.3%), and a good scientific basis (71.1%). The prevalence of interactions was strongly associated with the number of drugs prescribed (r=0.65, p<0.001) and weakly associated with patient age.