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Nursing2007 sponsors audio-web seminar on Luer connectors
Tune in on December 12, 2007 at 1:00 pm EST for a must-see audio-web seminar, “Misconnections between Medical Devices with Luer Connectors: Under-Recognized but Potentially Fatal Events in Clinical Practice,” brought to you by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

In April 2006, The Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert that urged health care organizations to pay special attention to how tubes and catheters are connected to patients. Beverly Gallauresi, RN, MPH, and Melissa Eakle, MSN, CRNP, MBA, nurse consultants with the FDA, have been monitoring misconnections events over the past few years. In this seminar, they point out that Luer connector misconnections continue to occur because Luer connectors are widely available, easy to use, and inexpensive. Following The Joint Commission recommendations on proper practice is part of the solution, as is the creation of new standards by patient safety organizations. Manufacturers also have a role in this issue.

Cost is $29.95 per individual, $249.00 per site. One (1) contact hour is available for all participants. To register for this education session, visit http://www.nursingsymposium.com/audio-web1.html.

LPNs honored by Cherokee Uniforms for exceptional service and sacrifice
Fawn Fitz, LPN, and Margaret Stewart, LPN, were chosen as Grand Prize Winner and Top National Winner, respectively, of the 2007 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award. Since 2003, more than 4,200 nurses and other health care professionals have been nominated for this award, sponsored by Cherokee Uniforms. Recipients of the Inspired Comfort Award are remarkable human beings who lead by example. Their stories stand as testaments to the many others who serve their fellow man without recognition or celebration. To read more about these amazing, inspiring LPNs and the eight other winners, go to http://www.inspiredcomfort.com.

Internet-based point-of-care tool offers step-by-step procedures
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins announces the launch of Lippincott’s Nursing Procedures and Skills, an Internet-based point-of-care tool that offers evidence-based clinical reference and training for nurses and support for hospitals seeking American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet accreditation. Developed by a team of expert nurses with extensive clinical experience, Lippincott’s Nursing Procedures and Skills offers more than 580 procedures and skills with nearly 1,000 full-color images and videos, which give nurses accurate, step-by-step guidance. It also allows nurse managers and administrators to create an unlimited number of custom procedures, competency check lists, and quick lists to ensure that all content matches their facility’s current policies and guidelines.

For more information or to request a free trial, contact a LWW representative at 1-800-326-1685.

Wireless access to pediatric disease and treatment information
Unbound Medicine recently released its new Pediatric Central bundle, which offers Web, wireless, and PDA access (including Blackberry and iPhone) to evidence-based information on pediatric diseases and treatment. Combining the American Academy of Pediatrics’ The Red Book: 2006 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases and Lippincott Wilkins & Wilkins’ 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, the bundle provides information on more than 200 childhood infectious diseases with immediate practical advice that can be linked to Pediatric Central’s drug reference, a comprehensive database of 4,600 drugs with pediatric dosing considerations. The bundle also includes MEDLINE, which allows users to track leading journals and search the latest medical literature.

For more information, visit http://www.unboundmedicine.com.

IHI to host 19th annual National Forum in December
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) will host its 19th annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care from Sunday, December 9 to Wednesday, December 12 at the Orlando World Center Marriot Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The focus of this year’s forum is the “energy of many,” with more than100 workshops and presentations, including:

• engaging hospital boards in quality and safety reform
• developing better systems to handle high volumes in emergency departments
• reducing hospital-acquired infections
• managing chronic conditions
• redesigning medical-surgical care to improve patient outcomes
• engaging patients and families at all levels of care.

IHI’s National Forum offers an opportunity to learn from and interact with leading researchers, practitioners, and advocates who are working to address the underlying defects in the U.S. health care delivery system. For the agenda and more information, go to http://www.ihi.org.

FDA studies acute pancreatitis in patients taking Byetta
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently reviewed 30 postmarketing reports of acute pancreatitis in patients taking exenatide (Byetta) to treat type 2 diabetes to determine whether an association between taking the drug and acute pancreatitis exists. Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the manufacturer of Byetta, has agreed to include information about acute pancreatitis in the precautions section of the product’s label. Health care providers should instruct their patients taking Byetta to immediately report unexplained, persistent severe abdominal pain, with or without vomiting.

NAEPP updates asthma diagnosis and management guidelines
The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) has issued an update of clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. The first comprehensive update in a decade, the new guidelines focus on four components of asthma care: measures to assess and monitor asthma, patient education, control of factors that can worsen asthma, and medications. They provide new guidance for selecting treatment based on a patient’s individual needs and level of asthma control and emphasize that asthma can change over time in a patient and can differ among individuals and age groups. Updated recommendations for managing asthma include an expanded section on childhood asthma, with an additional age group.

For the complete Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, visit http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/asthma/asthgdln.htm.