Full Moon in the ER

            Hello everyone! Last night I was back in the ER again, and we tried something a little bit different with our project; instead of screening only older adults presenting with confusion or delirium, we decided that we would do a convenience sample and screen every older adult in the ER that was over the age of 65 so that we can determine the prevalence of mental status change as well as determine which screen works the best.

            But so far, no one screen has worked the best; I believe this is because every patient is different and their situations and conditions are unique, so the test that worked for patient 1, might not be the best one to use for patient 2 even though they appear to be presenting the same way.

            This is a very important discovery, because often times only one screening tool is used and many cases of delirium and/or confusion are missed. Also, we added a 4^th screening tool called the TRST tool, which is a good indicator of patients that may return to the ER because of a history of falls, trouble with medication adherence, and difficulties with instrumental activities of daily living.

            We did about 5 screens last night and they went very well! It was a little crazy in the ER last night, I’m not sure if it was because of the full moon or Halloween…but it was very busy and fast paced. It was a lot of fun though! I plan on going back to the ER on Friday to continue with my project.