SJO nurses present "virtual posters" at the ANCC 2010 Magnet Conference

We are proud to announce St. Joseph Hospital of Orange nurses presenting two of the 25 "virtual posters" accepted at the 2010 ANCC Magnet Conference.

Transformational Leadership: Building Leadership Competency with Blended Learning by Vivian Norman, RN, MSN, CCRN and Factors Associated with Nurses' Discussions of Hospice by Denise Boyd, RN, BSN, OCN; Kristen Merkh, RN, BSN, OCN; Dana N. Rutledge, RN, PhD; and Victoria Randall, RN.

Those who follow this blog know how much Flat Maggie loves to travel, but even she has difficulty getting away from the office. Fortunately, their posters are now available for viewing at the ANCC 2010 National Magnet Conference Virtual Poster Session via Virtual World and will remain on view until the end of the October conference.

To access Virtual World please follow the steps below (note, the software required for entry into the Virtual World is not compatible with Mac).

1. View this training video with step by step instructions (Windows Media Player 9 or later & speakers/headphones are required), or view the written instructions.


2. Register and DOWNLOAD the Virtual World software which must be installed on your computer.


3. You may need to work with your Information Systems department in order to be able to download the software at your desktop computer (if accessing Virtual World from work).


4. Technical support for actual technical difficulties is available, call 1-800-679-3646 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time and ask for “virtual technical support.” You may also email virtual technical support at support@virtualbeginnings.com. Please, carefully review the instructions above before asking for technical support.

New article published by St. Joseph Hospital Nurses: Jeannine Loucks, Dana Rutledge, Beverly Hatch and Victoria Morrison

Congrats to  Jeanine Loucks, Dana Rutledge, Beverly Hatch and Victoria Morrison  for their newly published article. The article is so new it hasn't yet ( as of 5/26/10) been picked up PubMed or CINAHL.

Rapid Response Team for Behavioral Emergencies

Jeannine Loucks St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, CA, USA, jeannine.loucks@stjoe.org
Dana N. Rutledge
St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, CA, USA, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, USA
Beverly Hatch
St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, CA, USA
Victoria Morrison
St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, CA, USA
Behaviors of patients with psychiatric illness who are hospitalized on nonbehavioral health units can be difficult to address by staff members. Instituting a rapid response team to proactively de-escalate potential volatile situations on nonpsychiatric units in a hospital allows earlier treatment of behavioral issues with these patients. The behavioral emergency response team (BERT) consists of staff members (registered nurses, social workers) from behavioral health services who have experience in caring for patients with acute psychiatric disorders as well as competence in management of assaultive behavior. BERT services were trialed on a medical pulmonary unit; gradual housewide implementation occurred over 2 years. Tools developed for BERT include an activation algorithm, educational cue cards for staff, and a staff survey. Results of a performance improvement survey reveal that staff nurses have had positive experiences with BERT but that many nurses are still not comfortable caring for psychiatric patients on their units.

Key Words: rapid response team • psychiatric emergencies • behavioral health • psychiatric nursing • de-escalation • Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice