Laurie Kubes, RN, NP, Geriatric Psychiatry Team Coordinator

Cindy Gillett, RN-C, Geriatric Psychiatry

Bonnie Wakefield, PhD, RN, Research Scientist, Associate Chief Nursing Research, Iowa VA

VA Midwest Network 23 funded a Nursing Evidence Based Practice initiative in 2004. The Minneapolis VA Medical Center solicited teams interested in participating in this EBP project as a team.

In September 2004, Laurie Kubes, Nurse Practitioner, and Cindy Gillett, RN-C attended the Advanced Practice Institute: Promoting Adoption of Evidence-Based Practice. Their topic was the Recognition & Treatment of Veterans with Delirium. Laurie and Cindy determined the baseline nursing knowledge of delirium, collaborated with the Specials Task Force and an RCA team, reviewed the literature and conducted education of nursing champions on the three pilot units to implement the Confusion Assessment Measure (CAM). Each nurse champion was given a "delirium detective" workbook to use as a resource back on their unit.

As a result of their work, the CAM was embedded into the Nursing Admission Data Base of our electronic health record and was also put into the special templates folder to be used for reassessment. RNs are able to assess patients on admission and at any time indicated.

Laurie and Cindy presented a poster on their project at a U of Minnesota research day. Their project has led to additional work in Delirium. Nurses identified that subsequent to detection of delirium, patient's were not receiving adequate treatment. Last fall, a physician order set was implemented to manage delirium according to an evidence based protocol. Further study will be conducted to determine if delirium is being identified and treated.

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