Category: Emergency

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  • 98. Case: Talking About an Adverse Event

    You are a respiratory therapist working in a large hospital seeing a range of patients, but primarily working with the teams in the Emergency Department and ICU.  With one complex patient in ICU there was a miscommunication that resulted in improper settings being used for ventilation and this resulted in the patient having a longer-than-expected…

    View Case Study: 98. Case: Talking About an Adverse Event

  • 89. Case: Who Has a Right to Know?

    Kevin is a14-year-old admitted to hospital with persistent headache, muscle spasms, tremors, significant motor impairment, fever, cough and symptoms of liver damage. A diagnosis of lipoid pneumonia has been made and his clinicians are very suspicious that he has been inhaling nitrite compounds. Eventually they are able to confirm this when one of the team…

    View Case Study: 89. Case: Who Has a Right to Know?

  • 86. Case: Herbs in the Hospital

    Katrina Chen is a 23 year old with a history of severe anxiety and hospitalization after particularly acute panic attacks.  She has tried a variety of psychotropic medications and of these she believes that Prozac is the best at managing her symptoms.  She is concerned, however, with its addictive nature and doesn’t like taking “chemicals”.…

    View Case Study: 86. Case: Herbs in the Hospital

  • 60. Case: Health Care Providers Under Quarantine

    My story starts in early April, during a routine day shift in our minor care area. A previously well middle-aged man, recently returned from Hong Kong, presented with fever. Because SARS was already recognized and we’d gone through the recent experience of a crash intubation with our first case at Vancouver General, this patient was…

    View Case Study: 60. Case: Health Care Providers Under Quarantine

  • 33. Case: Ethical Advertising?

    A hospital has placed billboards throughout the region with the following statement:  “Are You a Victim of Sexual or Domestic Assault?  Come to Warman Center Where We Will Treat You Immediately. Our Staff of Counsellors and Providers Have Received Special Sensitivity Training in This Area. You Are Our Main Concern.” A twenty-five-year-old college student presents…

    View Case Study: 33. Case: Ethical Advertising?

  • 20. Case: To Treat or Not to Treat

    Stan Miller, a retired widower, sustains severe burns covering 80% of his body surface in a house fire secondary to a propane gas leak. He is initially assessed in the ED of the local hospital where he is sedated and intubated without any pre-resuscitation discussion about the seriousness of his thermal injuries and his care…

    View Case Study: 20. Case: To Treat or Not to Treat

  • 13. Case Mind Over Matter?

    Essie Marshall is well-known in the community for her many years of dedicated volunteer work and leadership. She is also well-known in the emergency department for her frequent visits. As one of the doctors describes her, “She’s a challenging patient, but not in the medical sense.” Today Essie is back in the emergency department, saying…

    View Case Study: 13. Case Mind Over Matter?

  • 7. Case: Unknown Risks

    A person who was a first responder at an accident comes into the Emergency Room with blood/body fluid on himself. The patient who was involved in the accident was immediately sent to Halifax where he later passed away. His family had refused to allow his blood to be drawn for testing. The first responder is…

    View Case Study: 7. Case: Unknown Risks

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