Infection Prevention and Control now has a video on the PHC Intranet demonstrating how to put on and remove personal protective equipment (e.g. gowns, masks, goggles) when entering and exiting an isolation room.  The video is called “Be Barrier Wise” and was produced by the Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare in British Columbia (OHSAH).

You can download the video from the PHC Intranet website under Programs and Services / Clinical Services - Nursing / Education - Education Materials / Resources / Self-Directed Learning. The video is most easily located by typing in “Be Barrier Wise” in the search box on the top right corner on PHC Connect.

Posted by at 11:10 AM | Permalink

  The "normal" CXR The appearance of the chest radiograph in ICU or in any acutely ill patient is affected by the necessity for AP positioning, supine or sitting position, and the variable degree of inspiration. When the radiograph is taken make sure that ECG cables and other radio-opaque objects are removed from the radiographic field, when reasonable. The AP view results in the magnification of anterior structures - the clavicle,

Posted by at 8:46 AM | Permalink

Monday, May 21                                ALL ROUNDS CANCELLED - VICTORIA DAY STAT HOLIDAY

Tuesday, May 22 

0730 hours                                Medical Grand Round:  Rehabilitation Medicine*

                                "Hit or Miss?  The Medically Impaired Driver"

                                Dr. E. Weiss and L. Kristalovich, Lecture Theatre

0830-0915 hours                                Combined Neurology-Neurosurgery Rounds, Radiology Library

0930 hours                                Professor Rounds for Senior Residents, Dr. G. Meneilly, 7CD Conf. Room

1200 hours      Immunology Round:  "Nasal Allergies, Polyps, and Associated Disease"

                                Dr. R. Schellenberg, Hurlburt Auditorium

1400-1530 hours                                CTU Multidisciplinary Rounds

1500 hours                                10C Rounds, 10CD Conf. Room

Wednesday, May 23

0800 hours                                CTU Morning Report, Dining Room 3

1300 hours      Medical Student Pharmacy Teaching Session, Dr. M. Legal, Dining Room 3

Thursday, May 24                         

0700 hours      Medical Student Teaching Session, Dr. S. Millington, Chief Resident, Dining Room 3

0730 hours      Cardiology/Cardiovascular Surgery Round: "Case Review and Discussion"

0800  hours                                "Smoking Cessation"*

                                Guest Speaker:  Dr. A. Pipe, Hurlburt Auditorium

0730 hours                                Medical-Surgical GI Rounds, GI Clinic Conf. Room, Level 2, Providence Bldg.

0730 hours                                Pulm X-Ray Rounds, 8AB Conf. Room

0800 hours                                CTU Morning Report, Dining Room 3

0900-1100 hours                                Rheumatology Rounds:  "Case of the Week and Topic Review", 7CD Conf. Room

1200 hours                                Noon Round Not Assigned

1200 hours                                CCU Teaching Rounds, CCU

1215 hours                                Infectious Diseases Round, Conf. Room 7, Level 1, Providence Bldg.

Friday, May 25

0800 hours                                CTU Morning Report, Dining Room 3

1130 hours                                iCapture Seminar Series:  "Growing Problems:  The Signaling Events that Underline Cardiac Hypertrophy"

                                C. Proud, Gourlay Conf. Room

1200 hours                        HIV/ID Round:  "TBA"

                                          Dr. M. Hull, Hurlburt Auditorium

1300 hours                                Clin Path Radiology Pulm Round, Gourlay Conf. Room, Hugh McDonald Research Wing

1300 hours      Medical Student ID Teaching Session, Dr. M. Hull, Dining Room 3

1315 hours      Junior Resident Bedside Teaching, Dr. S. Millington, Chief Medical Resident, 7CD Conf. Room

*"This event is an accredited group learning activity as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada"

Posted by at 8:53 AM | Permalink

Here is a link to an interesting "Intubation Proceedure" video from the "New England Journal of Medicine".

See the video Here

Posted by at 4:30 PM | Permalink

Monday, May 7    

0700 hours      Medical Student Teaching Session, Dr. S. Millington, Chief Resident, Dining Room 3

0800 hours                                CTU Morning Report, Dining Room 3

0900 hours                                General Surgery Pathology Rounds, GI Clinic Conf. Room

1200 hours      General Internal Medicine Round:  "TBA"

                                Hurlburt Auditorium

1315 hours                                Medical Student Bedside Teaching Session, Dr. S. Millington, Chief Resident, 7CD Conf. Room

Tuesday, May 8   

0730 hours                                Medical Grand Round:  Critical Care Medicine*

                                "Age, Sex, and ICU:  Access and Outcomes"

                                Dr. P. Dodek, Lecture Theatre

0830-0915 hours                                Combined Neurology-Neurosurgery Rounds, Radiology Library

1100 hours                                Neurology Professor Rounds, Dr. R. Keyes, 7CD Conf. Room

1200 hours      Neurology Round:  "CT Head Scan Review"

                                Dr. R. Keyes, Hurlburt Auditorium

1400-1530 hours                                CTU Multidisciplinary Rounds

1500 hours                                10C Rounds, 10CD Conf. Room

Wednesday, May 9

0800 hours                                CTU Morning Report, Dining Room 3

1300 hours      Medical Student Pharmacy Teaching Session, Dr. M. Legal, Dining Room 3

Thursday, May 10     

0700 hours      Medical Student Teaching Session, Dr. S. Millington, Chief Resident, Dining Room 3

0730 hours      Cardiology/Cardiovascular Surgery Round: "Case Review and Discussion"

0800  hours                                "TBA"*

                                Dr. R. Carere, Hurlburt Auditorium

0730 hours                                Medical-Surgical GI Rounds, GI Clinic Conf. Room, Level 2, Providence Bldg.

0730 hours                                Pulm X-Ray Rounds, 8AB Conf. Room

0800 hours                                CTU Morning Report, Dining Room 3

0900-1100 hours                                Rheumatology Rounds:  "Case of the Week and Topic Review", 7CD Conf. Room

1200 hours                                General Medicine Outpatient Round:  "Everything in the Known Universe Tagged Weakness"

                                Dr. J. Andrade, Hurlburt Auditorium

1200 hours                                CCU Teaching Rounds, CCU

1215 hours                                Infectious Diseases Round, Conf. Room 7, Level 1, Providence Bldg.

Friday, May 11

0800 hours                                CTU Morning Report, Dining Room 3

1130 hours                                iCapture Seminar Series:  "Bcl-2 Family Proteins With Functions Unrelated to Apoptosis"

                                V. Duronio, Gourlay Conf. Room

1200 hours                      Nephrology Round:  "Fascinating Case Presentation"

                                          The Renal Team, Hurlburt Auditorium

1300 hours                                Clin Path Radiology Pulm Round, Gourlay Conf. Room

                                Hugh McDonald Research Wing

1300 hours      Medical Student ID Teaching Session, Dr. M. Hull, Dining Room 3

1315 hours      Junior Resident Bedside Teaching, Dr. S. Millington, Chief Medical Resident, 7CD Conf. Room

*"This event is an accredited group learning activity as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada"

Posted by at 10:51 AM | Permalink

Nursing Week offers an opportunity to celebrate the unique contributions of both the nursing profession and the 2,300 individual nurses who work at Providence Health Care.

The history of PHC and our seven sites are filled with the stories of great nurses. Some have famous names like Sister Charles Spinola who invented the St. Charles Ether Vaporizing Machine in 1918 and Irene Goldstone from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV / AIDS who is one of Canada's most admired and respected nurses in HIV care - while the selfless deeds of others live on in nameless heroism.

Most nurses do not get their names or stories in history books. They serve quietly, humbly and without pretension. Ask any one of them why she or he chose to become a nurse and the answer is simply and invariably “because I wanted to care for people.”

That is one of the reasons why I became a nurse. As many of you know, I began my career as a staff nurse at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. Since then I have worked exclusively in our Providence Health Care facilities.

I’m very proud of my nursing background and the way it has informed my understanding of the healthcare system. Nurses have always played a pivotal role in the delivery of care, but today their profession has never been as varied or as challenging.

Nurses are a diverse group of health professionals. Some are RNs, others are Licensed Practical Nurses or Registered Psychiatric Nurses. They work as caregivers for the frail elderly and conduct research in the Heart Centre, as nurse practitioners on the cutting edge of practice, as leaders with management responsibilities, and as educators-both at the hospital and at colleges and universities

Across Providence’s sites, numerous activities are being held this week to mark Nursing Week, providing an opportunity to reflect back in time as well as looking ahead at what the future may hold for the profession.

Graduates from the St. Paul’s School of Nursing will gather May 27 to mark the 100th anniversary of the school’s founding.

At Mount Saint Joseph, a highlight is the third annual MSJ Idol competition, where singing talents take centre stage.

Immediately following Nursing Week, the Imagine Nursing conference will be held at St. Paul’s on May 15. Sponsored by the PHC Nursing Councils, topics will range from the Eden philosophy in residential care to infection control in cath lab device implantations. Keynote speaker Michael Villeneuve will discuss what nursing may look like by the year 2020.

As well, the latest issue of d’Vine takes a closer look at nursing, with a variety of articles on the many facets of a rapidly changing profession that remains grounded in compassionate care.

Please take a minute this week to consider the nurses who have affected your life. I’m sure that there have been many of them. I definitely will.

Dianne Doyle
President and CEO
Providence Health Care

Posted by at 10:46 AM | Permalink

The first phase of the ICU Outreach project began in October 2006. Initially, all Medicine units had access to the ICU Outreach services. In February the program was expanded to the Surgical units, resulting in all units, inclusive of the 7th floor and above in the Providence building, being covered.

We are now preparing to roll out ICU Outreach services to other clinical areas. On May 14, 2007 the Renal units on the 6th floor will be able to access the Outreach Team. Then on June 5, 2007 the Cardiac units on the 5th floor will have access. Education will be arranged with each of these areas and teams, to provide an overview of the program, processes, calling mechanisms, etc.

The ICU Outreach project is a phased hospital-wide approach to critical illness that aims for safety and prevention by education and action. The concept is to have an outreach team of health providers who are experienced at assessing patients' symptoms and the trajectory of their health. If a patient shows early warning signs of developing a critical illness, any staff member or physician can call the ICU Outreach Team to see the patient. The Outreach Team will assist staff in assessing the patient and work with them to form a plan of action and call on medical advice if necessary. Our goal is to reduce mortality and morbidity through early intervention and treatment.

ICU Outreach will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The team will also be available to follow patients recovering from a period of critical illness and provide follow-up support to patients and families recently transferred from ICU settings.

A key component of the ICU Outreach program is to share knowledge and enhance the skills and understanding of all staff in the delivery of critical care. This sharing of knowledge and expertise and improvement in patient safety should increase patient, family and staff satisfaction. Staff will also be able to help with the ongoing tailoring and structuring of the program by evaluating the services and providing feedback.
Our early results show:
· The team made 1,557 visits to 298 patients;
· The team handled an average of two new cases a day with eleven visits;
· Response time from the team is less than three minutes;
· The ICU LOS of those patients seen by Outreach has decreased by two days and the ICU mortality rate significantly decreased in the third quarter.

The staff satisfaction survey results are overwhelmingly positive. Some comments included:
· ICU outreach is a very good program, very helpful, because I know I'm not left alone.... It takes a lot of the stress off me;

· Excellent patient advocacy and communication between ICU and CTU;
· Service is well needed. ICU outreach programs advocate for the nurses and patients;
· They helped me identify areas that needed greater assessment with my patient such as ↑ vitals monitoring, output monitoring;

· Feeling supported by the team;
· I believe this program will improve patient outcomes and assist ward RNs in managing acutely ill patients.

We are anxiously awaiting our next data set to confirm and maintain this improvement.

The planning for this new delivery model of care has moved forward as a result of collaboration between clinical areas, health-care providers, Quality Improvement and multiple support services. Everyone has pulled together to make this happen for improved outcomes and care for our patients. Thank you to all those involved and especially the ICU Outreach planning team and Outreach Nurses who have worked tirelessly to make this happen.

For more information about the ICU Outreach project please contact Sandra Bazley at local 63218 or sbazley@providencehealth.bc.ca.

Posted by at 9:05 PM | Permalink