Preparing for Life’s Mishaps by Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Having this card in your wallet could save your life in an ER When Real Simple Magazine reporter contacted me for a story on emergency rooms, I was delighted to help out. I think it’s important for readers to have the perspective from a nurse on the front line of the ER as well as ER doctors. The March edition of Real Simple is on…
Read More...Increased Nurse Staffing Leads to Greater Patient Satisfaction
Increased Nurse Staffing Leads to Greater Patient Satisfaction By Debra Wood, RN, contributor AMN Healthcare [Barbara Ficarra is quoted as an expert in this article about nurse staffing.] American patients generally express satisfaction with their hospital stays, and those treated in facilities with a high ratio of nurses to patient days feel more positively about their experience than other patients, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. “Whenever there…
Read More...Leaving the Emergency Room – It’s Great to be Discharged, but be Sure to Follow Instructions!
By Barbara Ficarra Have you ever been a patient in an emergency department? If your visit to the ED didn’t require an admission, that’s good news. After being told by the ED doctor that you could go home and armed you with discharge instructions, you most likely want to high tail it out of there as fast as you can. Wait! Not so fast. It’s really vital that you do not leave the ED until…
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