Monday, March 25, 2013

Post 4


For the fourth blog post, I want you to start planning out the the Project 3 Video you're going to make.  Create an outine for what you are putting into the video with section headings with notes that explain what you're thinking of putting in each section.  Add images or clips to each section if you can.

Try to think about visual literacy concepts we've learned from McCloud.  Synaesthetics, tone, Word/Picture compinations, Simplicity/Universal Understanding.  What concepts are you going to apply to the video?

Also, what kinds of visuals, transitions, effects, text, and/or music are you thinking about putting in the project?

This is a rough outline, but do your best and put in as much info as you can.



I want to keep my video simple.  I want everyone to be able to understand how important color coding is in healthcare.  I will most likely use colorful text and simple transition.  I am still deciding on what kind of music I would like to use.


Colors and Uniforms- show how different color uniforms mean different professions in healthcare.



Emergency Color Codes- The importance of emergency color codes in the hospital, and what they mean.  What they mean for healthcare workers and patients.
















Color Coding in a Pediatric Emergency- The difference in colors used and ages of pediatric patients.


Medication and Color Coding - How color coded medication is safer for the patient and important in emergency situations.









Monitors and Equipment- Show how how different color equipment and monitors help make a job easier and more efficient for healthcare workers.















Pain Scales - How color pain scales can help assess pain in any age group.


Monday, March 18, 2013

post 3


This week's Research Bog Post is as follows:

Create an outline that sets up the paper you are working on.  I'm looking for your thesis, and then section headings that indicate what you are going to discuss in each part of the paper.  Make a few notes in each section about the specifc details you will discuss.  Finally, in each section, show me where you are going to use each source--remember, 8 sources are minimum for the whole paper; if you don't have 8 yet, I want to see at least 5 sources (including the ones from your annotated bibliography draft).

1. Intro/Abstract (later)
Thesis- The use of colors in healthcare is beneficial to healthcare workers and to patent's and their safety.

2. Scrubs/Uniform colors
The benefits to patients and healthcare workers to knowing who is who.  Emergencies, comfort for patients

Litak, D. (2011). Colour coding scrubs as a means of improving perioperative communication. Journal of Perioperative Practice, 21(5), 177.

3. Emergency color codes/Pedeactric codes
Color code system, describe and give examples.  Importance of response time, use to not overwhelm patients and visitors, code blue universal for cardiac arrest


Keys, V. A., & Selzler, M. (2011). Emergency code color standardization: Implementation without traumatization.Journal for Nurses in Staff Development : JNSD : Official Journal of the National Nursing Staff Development Organization, 27(3), 148.

Deboer, S., Seaver, M., & Broselow, J. (2005). Color coding to reduce errors. The American Journal of Nursing, 105(8), 68.


4. Medication/IV pump colored labels
Easily identify which line is what and what medication it is.  Medications in code cart are color coordinated, very important in a code situation.

Dembrow, M. (2009). Color coding cuts medication errors in OR.(MALPRACTICE NEWS). Renal & Urology News, 8(1), 36.

Brown, M. (2005). Optimize I.V. infusion safety with a comprehensive approach. Nursing Management (Springhouse), 36(IT Solutions), 19-22. doi: 10.1097/00006247-200510001-00005

5. Monitors (vitals) and equipment
Makes it easier to tell different vital tracings on the monitor.  Can identify a problem faster.  Discuss how almost every piece of equipment we use in the hospital is color coded in some way.  If in a hurry or emergency, easy to identify so we can help the patient faster.

http://www.medicalgasinfo.com/content/uses.htm
Interview from Michelle

6. Pain Scale color charts
Very helpful with children to asses pain level.

Use color-coded scale to assess children's pain. (2008). ED Nursing,

7. Conclusion
Summary

Monday, March 11, 2013

post 2

How do colors affect the world?  Do they make things easier or harder for identification purposes?  Colors are an important tool in everyday life.  For example, people know red means stop, and green means go.  Color coordination is used in different areas of life.  This is especially important in healthcare.  Healthcare providers use colors to quickly and efficiently treat patients in emergent situations.  Medications and uniforms are color coordinated for ease of identification. Different emergencies are color coded so that workers know what is going on.  Healthcare providers rely on colors to make their job more efficient and safer for the patients they are caring for.

One example of color coordination used in the healthcare setting is the color coding of scrub uniforms.  This is important for identification purposes.  In the workplace, you may not know the names of all your coworkers, especially if working at a large institution.  By having color coded uniforms, it is easy to identify the person that is needed in a particular situation.  At Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, nurses wear seal blue scrubs, emergency room nurses wear navy blue scrubs, respiratory therapists wear hunter green scrubs, doctors wear surgical green scrubs, female housekeepers wear purple scrubs while male housekeepers wear gray uniforms, students wear white scrubs, and transporters wear royal blue and black scrubs.  For example, if a patient was having trouble breathing, the nurse knows to look for someone in green scrubs and they can help the patient.  It is important for both patients and healthcare providers to know who is who in the hospital setting.  It saves time identifying the worker and therefore can save a life in the event of an emergency (Litak, 2011). Color coding scrubs is a easy and efficient way to help improve patient care in the healthcare setting.  

Emergency color codes are very important to healthcare workers in a hospital.  This tells workers emergencies that are going on in the hospital without causing panic for patients and visitors.  It also alerts the proper responders to the emergency.  Not all hospitals adapt the same color system for emergencies.  This can make things confusing to workers that work at more than one institution.  Emergency color codes are very thoroughly gone over during orientation for new employees, students, or volunteers.  If all workers are not on the same page, this can result in a dangerous situation.  A life threatening emergency for patients and staff can be the consequence of the poor communication (Keys & Selzler, 2011). For most institutions, code blue is an adult cardiac arrest and requires immediate response by designated personnel.  Code red is a fire in the area called overhead when the code is called.  Appropriate personnel respond to the fire.  Workers are provided with a quick reference card that goes on their badge with a list of all emergencies and their designated colors.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8treCu98I Code Blue Video 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8treCu98I




http://goingtomedschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/scrub-color-guide.png  

http://www.apsf.org/newsletters/html/2013/winter/images/colors.jpg

http://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/bracelets.jpg?w=494&h=221

http://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/documents/image/ucm113914.jpg

http://www.waterloohealthcare.com/images/P/UXGLU-9PEDS2.jpg

http://c.spacesaver.com/DefaultFilePile/Public/Spacesaver/SpacesaverProduct/EZRail/Atrium_01.jpg

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/cppn/resources/clinical_skills_refresher/crash_cart/graphics/CrashCart-Drawer1.jpg

http://www.cardinalhealth.com/us/en/distributedproducts/images/0/001240.jpg

http://www.medincn.com/cache_user/china-haitian/photo/Closed_Suction_Catheter.jpg

http://meded.ucsd.edu/isp/2001/sicu/images/vital_signs_bot_image_blk.jpg













    
 

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Post 1

The first post should explain in about 150-300 words who you are, the intentions of the blog, and the focus you intend to take for the projects.  Plan out the basic ideas you want to cover in both projects.  Tell me how you feel about the work you're doing thus far, and then tell me what you need that will help you with the project.

My name is Shana Romancheck and for project 2 and 3 I will be researching the effects of colors in the healthcare profession.  I plan to use this blog as a journal to update each week and keep progress on the work of my projects.  For project 2, I would like to find research articles to answer the questions I turned in with my notes and my proposal.  I want to discuss the impact the color coding system has for the healthcare professional and how it makes our jobs easier.  I want to find out exactly how it helps patient focused care and if there are any downfalls to it.  For project 3, I would like to show my findings in a visual way.  Unless you work in healthcare, most people are not familiar with the systems we use and how color coding things makes our job a lot easier and better for the patient.  I would like to make a presentation that shows that so everyone can understand.  While I have no picked out specific articles at this point, I have found a bunch of them that I am going to look over and read and see if I would like to use them in my paper.  This will be my first time writing a research paper.  Healthcare uses color for many things including: medication, equipment, vital signs, uniform differentiation, isolation  codes, and various hazards. Should I touch on all of these in my paper or just stick to one or two of the topics?  Also, I think an outline of what the paper should be like would help me a lot.