Introduction
This article intends to analyze the journal of trauma critically. It considers an article published in March 2008 by Karen Janeen George, The Systematic Approach to Care: Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Karen’s article focuses on trauma patients who are suffering from Adult Respiratory distress syndrome (ADRs) and system approaches to caring for them. This article aims at analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of Karen’s article. Additionally, it seeks to suggest ways to improve and modify these systems. Overall, this article seeks to establish how effectively Karen’s approach can be implemented in a practice.
Summary of article
Karen’s article considers new nurses in the practice dealing with trauma patients suffering from ADRs. She talks of challenges that new nurse graduates face when working in the intensive care units. She adds that practice nurses dealing with multi-trauma patients with ADRS face more challenges than nurses in other practices. Therefore, Karen suggests procedures, rationales, tools, and strategies of health assessment that can be used to address these challenges to improve result outcomes and reduce mortality rates of trauma patients with ADRs.
Karen discusses the health complications for trauma patients with ARDS. She identifies “blood transfusion, resuscitation fluids and blunt chest injuries as independent factors of ARDS” (George, 2008). She adds symptoms such as dyspnea, tachypnea, and increased breathing. She attributes this to oxygenation abnormalities in people with ARDS. Additionally, trauma patients with ADRS show dismal levels of consciousness. These patients also suffer from adrenal insufficiency that leads to hypertension.
Further, Karen discusses procedures and rationales that are appropriate for nurses to follow when handling trauma patients suffering from ADRs. She suggests “activation of leukocytes, activation of inflammatory responses and release of mediators to contribute to tachycardia” (George, 2008). She adds that to stabilize consciousness nurses should prevent hemorrhagic loss as they add damage to hypoxia and hypotension.
Further, she recommends that nurses in practice help patients to avoid loss of surfactants, the influx of fluids, and debris in epithelial space as these conditions increase damage to hypoxia and hypotension. Regarding containing hypotension, she advocates for use of bacteria, increases of the proinflammatory cytokine, and use of oxygen free radicals to reduce corticosteroid receptors.
Karen uses a case presentation to illustrate the procedures, tools, and strategies that nurses should follow when handling ADRS patients. According to Karen, nurses should check the patient’s vital signs
as soon as the patient arrives. The nurses transfer the patient to an emergency room using a spine board where they attend to him.
Medical history is important to health caregivers as it supplements the information that they have. For instance, in the case presented the nurses find that the boy does not have prior chronic diseases. Therefore, Karen emphasizes the need to have historical records. Additionally, nurses should maintain, manage and follow up on medication and nursing of patients. Nurses can do this by “following the guidelines of FASTHUG and BANDAIDS as they provide opportunities in giving care to multi trauma patients with ARDS” (George, 2008).
Evaluation of article
Karen’s article is effective and can be easily understood. New nurses can follow the procedures given easily. Another impressive factor is the way she organizes the ideas in her work. This article has high readability the author captures the main points and displays them efficiently.
This article is very captivating. It manages to catch the reader’s attention because of the way it explains the content. The author balances depth and scope properly. Further, catches the reader’s attention more by using a case presentation. This helps the reader to familiarize themselves with what the article is explaining. Finally, this article is easy to use even when one has limited time, screening through the article gives the reader a perfect hint on what the author is trying to capture.
The health strategy in Karen’s article is beneficial. In addition, I would adopt it for my practice. The strategy is beneficial as it contains steps that are easy to follow and implement.
The clarity of this health strategy is fair. One can understand what the author is saying. However, this article would have been even more effective if it would be deeper and wider. For instance, at some points when reading one feel that some points have not been completely exhausted or explained.
Researchers should write many articles about this area of health assessment. This would be beneficial to the readers as they would have a wide range of sources to supplement their knowledge.
This article is mainly beneficial to individuals familiar with the medical profession. This is because of the terms used. The depth of this article does not favor the ordinary man.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would term Karen’s article as successful in passing the content. The article is easy to understand and the organization of content is appropriate. The content in the article is relevant and logical. In addition, the content is very practical and easy to implement. Even though the article needs improvement in terms of flow and scopes, it is still efficient. Moreover, the author captures the attention of readers and comfortably achieves the goals of this article.
References
George, K. (2008). The Systematic Approach to Care: Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Journal of Trauma nursing , 19-24.