Nosocomial infections
Nosocomial infections. Seeing my patients suffer as a result of poor infection control was the force that drove me into chosen my topic (Nosocomial infections). A few incidents left me paralyzed at work because I was afraid to stand up to a superior staff, reminding them to either put on an isolation grown, or not to sit on patient’s bed of a patient who was immunocompromised after sitting on the bed on a patient who tested positive for C.def. My research reminded me of the tools I need to not only practice safe bedside care but to understand my role in the fight against hospital acquired infections.
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I understand that the actions of any nurse who provides first hand bedside care has a direct role in positive patient outcome which can be imparted by control and prevention of infection. The nursing staff has the responsibility to be proactive and control nosocomial infections especially when performing invasive procedures such as placing a catheter. Studies have shown that although we know about hospital acquired infections, we are not doing everything we were taught to prevent it, we don’t perform the right techniques and procedures, our Knowledge in sterilization and disinfection procedures is becoming increasing low (Chandak, R. J et al 2016). I put this to test at work today asking a few coworkers for the steps to change a central line dressing and 4 out of 5 directed me to the hospital policy, this got me worried because in the case of emergency, there might not be time to print out one and that might put a patient in danger of acquiring an infection. As nurses it is therefore important for us to stay educated on this issue, work with other healthcare team members, stay informed on the topic and apply new evidence-based research (Dutra, G. et al 2015) on our daily routines so we can reduce and eradicate the amount of infections.
RESPONSE 2 PIERRE
Each year, an estimated $ 9.8 billion is spent in treating nosocomial infection. Of the top 5 HAIs (Hospital Acquired Infection), surgical site infections contributed the most to overall costs (33.7%), followed by ventilator-associated pneumonia (31.6%), central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs; 18.9%), Clostridium difficile infections (15.4%), and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (Waknine, 2013). As a nurse working in the ICU, I see firsthand the burden of nosocomial infection in the community. Hospitals all over the country are striving to reduce the number of cases of nosocomial infection. The topic of my literature review will focus on evidence-based bundles to prevent ventilator associated pneumonia. The artificial airway of the ventilator or the endotracheal (ET) tube can transmit microorganisms to the lungs. Ventilator associated pneumonia has significant consequences in the healthcare with increased mortality and length of ICU and hospital stay.
Nurses are the first line of defense in preventing ventilator associated pneumonia. Simple tasks such as elevating the head of the bed and mouth care can make a substantial difference in preventing ventilator associated pneumonia. Although many studies have shown that head-of-bed elevation and mouth care help prevent VAP, these interventions are implemented inconsistently. In the hospital where I practice, there are bundle of cares set as protocol to care for patients that are ventilated. These bundles are evidence-based practice that are grouped together to encourage the consistent delivery of these cares. Those interventions that have been shown to have a clinical impact include the following: 1) maintaining ET-tube cuff pressure 2) sedation and weaning protocols for those patients who do require mechanical ventilation 3) mechanical ventilation protocols including head of bed elevation above 30 degrees and oral care, and 4) removal of subglottic secretions ( Keyt, Faverio, & Restrepo, 2014).
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument. Nosocomial infections
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS
Discussion Questions (DQ)
- Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
- Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
- One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
- I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
- Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
- In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
- Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
- Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
- Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
- Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
- I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
- I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
- As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
- It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
- For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
- Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
- Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
- Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
- The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
- Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
- If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
- I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
- As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
- Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
- Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
- Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours. Nosocomial infections