Nurses roles in
Emergency and
Trauma
By Alison Mclean, Nurse Practitioner – ED,
Tauranga Hospital
In October I attended the 3rd Global
Conference on Emergency Nursing and Trauma
Care in Noordwijkerhout, in The Netherlands.
The conference was attended by a large
number of Emergency Nurses, Advanced
Nurse Practitioners, and nurses who undertake
advanced nursing care roles. There was a
range of speakers and a diverse range of topics.
The main speakers included Professor Margaret Fry, who is an
authorised Nurse Practitioner in New South Wales Australia. Another
speaker was Margie Peden, who has degrees in nursing and
epidemiology, and a PHD in Injury Epidemiology. She is currently
working in South Africa. She gave a presentation on how and why
nurses should be involved in addressing the global injury epidemic.
Doctor Teri Reynolds, Emergency, Trauma and Acute Care Lead,
World Health Organization, based in Switzerland spoke about
WHO resources for emergency and trauma care.
The conference’s, aim was to share the latest research,
knowledge, ideas, innovations, and current developments within
nursing and healthcare, in both the developed and developing
world. There is an ever increasing demand for emergency care
globally. Nurses around the world face significant challenges in
delivering timely emergency care.
There was an opportunity to discuss models of care used globally,
and to compare these. There was also an opportunity to view some
research articles related to ED as well as posters presentations.
There was a presentation on Suicide Prevention. The Netherlands
has created a group called SUNA, who take referrals from the ED
to decrease the number of suicides and repeated suicide attempts.
SUNA undertakes assertive case management to prevent suicide.
The core principle for mental health clients presenting to EDs with
either a physical or Mental Health problem should have access to
staff who understand and can address their condition and provide
access to appropriate Specialist services.
Conference key topics
Emergency care in different environments
Specialties in Emergency management
Pre Hospital care
Advanced practice
Research and Education
Patient safety and non-technical skills
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