Well, I
can’t believe the semester is already coming to an end and my project is still
in full swing! It’s crazy to think how fast this past semester has flown by. With
that being said, it’s time to provide a summery of my project thus far.
After
getting off to a slow start, things started to pick up rather quickly. Due to
scheduling conflicts, problems gaining computer access, and evolving project
goals, I wasn’t able to really get going on my project until about the
beginning of October.
Once we had
decided on which screening tools to use and had finished compiling our
collection packet, we gained our IRB approval and I was “off and running”. Our
goal was to collect data on about 50 patients over the age of 65 and then begin
analyzing the data. During the data collection, I tried as best as I could to
follow the patients from the time they arrive in the ER until they are either
discharged or admitted to a unit. While they are in the ER, I documented any
medications they received, medications they are currently taking, as well as
any invasive procedures performed. The main documentation that I did was doing
the cognitive assessments on the patients every hour to try and monitor for
changes in mental status.
Monitoring
for changes in mental status is very important especially when caring for
elderly patients in an ER setting because if the underlying cause is not
treated then they have an incredibly high risk of returning to the ER, which
leads to overcrowding, decreased quality of care, and increased health care
costs.
There has
been quite a lot of research done on how to monitor for cognitive changes on
patients in an ICU setting, but not so much in an ER setting. What we are
finding is that the instruments that are commonly used in the ICU actually are
not ideal for an ER setting; there needs to be more objective tools used that
have a scale to show cognitive change.
So far, we
are about halfway done with the data collection process and are starting to
enter the data into an analyzing software program so that we can start sifting
through all of our results, which is VERY exciting! I have learned so much from
this project and I am so grateful for the experience.
Even though
the semester is coming to an end, my project is really just getting started and
I continue to look forward to updating you all on the status of it!
