Biomedical subjects

L McAlpine

Publications and source records attributed to L McAlpine.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1988

Heart-rate spectral analysis: a noninvasive probe of cardiovascular regulation in critically ill children with heart disease.

Children may die suddenly and unexpectedly following cardiac surgery, even while receiving intensive medical care, when current noninvasive and invasive monitoring techniques fail to warn us of an impending problem. This report examines the efficacy of heart-rate spectral analysis, a noninvasive method that quantitates the beat-to-beat fluctuations in heart rate, in characterizing and tracking cardiovascular regulatory status. A total of 45 heart-rate fluctuation studies, performed on selected patients, at the bedside, using heart-rate spectral analysis, were retrospectively correlated with clinical events. The spectral pattern of 18 patients who sustained a cardiac arrest differed significantly from the others in the study group (p less than 0.0001).

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Reducing resource consumption through work redesign in a surgical intensive care unit: a multidisciplinary, protocol-based Progressive Care Area.

Patients with prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, though few in number, consume as much as 50% of ICU resources. With increasing pressures for cost containment in health care, the availability of ICU beds may be jeopardized. To improve the efficiency of care for patients requiring a surgical intensive care unit (SICU) stay of 3 or more days, a multidisciplinary, highly "protocolized," Progressive Care Area was developed within the existing SICU environment. Entry into this area is limited to patients whose acuity level is not high by ICU standards, but too high for a general surgical floor. In designing the Progressive Care Area, we drew on a number of published management strategies-including total quality management concepts and our prior experience in establishing ventilator management teams. The Progressive Care Area has resulted in a reduction in both the frequency and variation of resources used. A Progressive Care Area within an existing ICU is a viable alternative for the care of the patients who have prolonged lengths of stay and are less acutely ill, and it significantly improves ICU efficiency.

Data Collection↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of summer employment on student nurses: implications for recruitment and retention of staff nurses.

Nursing students often seek summer employment in hospital settings to practice and refine previously learned skills. Nursing administrators possibly view this employment as a means of relieving short-term staffing problems. However, if summer employment is seen as a potential strategy for recruiting future graduate nurses, then one needs to address the following: how to provide support for the student nurse to deal with the same concerns and issues as the new graduate (role confusion and reality shock); how to ensure that appropriate feedback is provided to enhance clinical skills. A pilot study of the effects of summer employment in a Quebec hospital on six second year CEGEP (diploma) nursing students explored these issues. The findings suggest actions which might suitably be taken by an agency in order to reinforce and facilitate the maintenance and promotion of excellence in patient care, as well as commitment to the profession and integration into the nursing culture.

Employment↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of the effectiveness of tutored videotape instruction versus traditional lecture for a basic hemodynamic monitoring course.

As nurse educators find themselves faced with increasing responsibilities and as nursing administrators seek to use nurse educators in the most cost-effective, resource-efficient manner, alternatives to the traditional lecture must be sought. Tutored videotape instruction is an educational method in which a tutor serves to clarify points of confusion and to stimulate discussion during a videotape presentation. Using a hierarchal nested research design, there were no significant differences in participant preference or posttest knowledge scores between the methods. As a result, tutored videotape instruction was adopted as an acceptable educational method. In addition, tutored videotape instruction can serve as a developmental tool for RN preceptors as tutors and for newly hired critical care educators.

Adult↗