New educational package in review

Fisons Pharmacruticals have sponsored an educational parkagc for nurses and arc willing to prcscnt one on a complimentar) basis to staff in intensivr care Imits. It would be particularly valuable to those running English National Board Courses 100 or 124, and the cquivalcnt coursrs validated by the other National Boards in the UK but could also be useful fbr other in- tensive cart staff.

It has been rccognised that intensive care/coronary care nurses want to know more about some of the trch- nical procedures used for their patients, the reasons for thr procedurrs, and the interpretation of the informa- tion obtained. This information has often not been readily available in a suitable form and this package should help to fill that gap.

The package consists of a videotape with six scc- tions, each lasting about 12 min and dealing with one procedurr at an introductory level. The techniques covered are Radionuclide Imaging, Echocardiogra-

plly. I’ulmonar~ :1rtrr)- I:loatation (;athcterisatiorl. Left Heart (:athrtc.risation, use of an Intra-aortic Bal- loon Pump, and Cardiac Surgery. ‘I‘hrrc booklcl\. each covering two of thr tcchniqucs in more detail. complement the videotape and extra booklets will b( available fi)r students.

This material is well-produced and provides a good basis of tcrhnical information which nurses can use in planning and providing patient carr. It does not spcci- fically show nurses’ roles and functions in relation to the trchniqurs, but thest arc in any case best defined by nurses within their own situations. ‘I’here arc’ a number ofways in w-hich this material could be usc*d in the education of intcnsivc cart nurses. and Fisons arc to br congratulated for making the material availablt..

Access to this material can hc obtained by compltt- ing and arnding to Fisons the insert cncl~~sccl in tlliy journal.

Pat Ashworth

NOTICES ‘I‘he British Association of Critical Carr Nurses will been issued. Critical care nursing research, or clinical hold their second National Conference on June 23-~25 innovations, may focus on any aspect of intensive cart 1987 at the University of Manchester. For further nursing. Abstracts for either paper or poster presen- details please contact: Sister E. McMillan, Respirator) tations will hc considered and the deadline for sub- Intensive Care Unit, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow mission of abstracts is August I 1987. G4 OSF. To obtain an official abstract form and guidelines

for abstract submission please write to: International The Third International Intensive Care Nursing Con- Research Abstract Office, American Association of ference is to be held from August 2%September 3 1988 Critical-Care Nurses, One Civic Plaza, Newport in Montreal, Canada. A call for research abstracts has Beach, CA 92660, USA.

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