Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA) is a technology-supported nursing tool that has become the standard of practice for medication administration. When used effectively and efficiently, this tool has the potential to reduce medication errors in acute care settings. In a pediatric unit at a major urban hospital in the northeast region of the…

Estimated age-adjusted Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised intelligence quotient (IQ) scores using linear regression techniques and continuous norming of two samples of psychiatric inpatients (total N=150) in Veteran's Administration hospital. Results support use of estimation procedure in clinical and research settings desiring brief but…

Ways in which some students responded to the stress of a two-month psychiatric clerkship in a Veterans Administration hospital are discussed. Particular problems are delineated and methods of preventing and dealing with them are suggested, including: anticipation, sharing concerns, being available, intervention, intrastaff communication, referral…

Dysphagia (impaired swallowing) is known to contribute to decreased quality of life, and increased length of hospital stay and mortality post-stroke. Despite the advancements in stroke treatment with the introduction of thrombolysis and endovascular clot retrieval (ECR), patients continue to present with high rates of dysphagia. Speech and…

Questionnaires, returned by nurses and clinical year medical students at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center and Portland Veterans Administration hospitals, were examined to clarify how well traditional teaching strategy is meeting medical students' need to acquire competency in clinical ward skills. A need for increased and systematic…

The nation's leading academic hospitals aspire to being the leader in medical research, but as the role of medical research grows in size and complexity, many departments are left without proper research support or oversight. This research explored the need for a research administrative support program to resolve many of the issues facing faculty…

Adverse drug events, resulting in preventable patient harm or death, are of great concern. To keep patients safe, hospitals have implemented barcode medication administration (BCMA) technology for RNs who have accepted this technology with varying levels of satisfaction. When nurses are dissatisfied with a BCMA system, they may find alternative…

This study compared 187 patients discharged from a Veterans Administration hospital rehabilitation unit with 215 discharges that occurred following implementation of a prospective payment system. There were no significant differences in demographics, self-care ability, or readmissions. Length of stay and referrals for home health care decreased,…

Elaborates on standards of care for assessment, management, and treatment of hospitalized suicidal patients. Attempts to synthesize concepts of minimal standard of care with clinical risk management and clinical judgment. Points out areas of overlap and shows where optimum care diverges from legal standards of care. Tables differentiate…

The adequacy of nursing education programs in preparing nurses to meet current and future societal needs is addressed, with attention directed to baccalaureate programs, faculty, and graduates. It is suggested that research findings and anecdotal reports have validated the dysfunction phenomena between baccalaureate nursing education, the practice…

The process of change at the academic Sepulveda (California) Veterans' Administration hospital during implementation of a new ambulatory primary care program was examined through individual or focus group interviews with 63 managers, house officers, and patients. Major problems included administrative integration of in- and outpatient services;…

Introduction: Annually, over 3,000 rural veterans are admitted to Veterans Health Administration (VA) hospitals for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), yet no studies of AMI have utilized the VA rural definition. Methods: This retrospective cohort study identified 15,870 patients admitted for AMI to all VA hospitals. Rural residence was identified…

Ten Veterans Administration hospitals in Appalachia participated in five biomedical communication experiments using the Advanced Technology Satellite (ATS-6). Material was collected and evaluated by both questionnaires and interviews with the medical staff of the 10 hospitals. The five experiments were conducted in the areas of: (1) video…

In compliance with legislation enacted by New York State in 1981, a manual of recommendations and standards for hospital libraries was developed (1) to assist in assessment of the quality of hospital library services; (2) to enable measurement of the improvement in individual institutions; and (3) to be used as criteria in the administration of…

An examination of the comparability of existing pharmacy home study courses and coursework required for the master's degrees in pharmacy administration and hospital pharmacy and the doctor of pharmacy degree revealed that about 70 percent of those studied covered material similar to some covered in 16 of the 75 degree courses. (MSE)