The Rapid Response Team

Identify the purpose of the rapid response team

The rapid response team (RRT) main purpose is to save lives and decreases the risk for harm by providing care to patients before a respiratory or cardiac arrest occurs (Ignatavicius, 2013). All facilities have different protocols when it comes to activating the Rapid Response Team and Code Team. The rapid response team are on-site and always available, the rapid response team usually includes ICU nurses, intensivist, respiratory therapist, and a hospitalist. In most cases a nurse will call for the rapid response team, but the patient’s family also have the authority to activate the rapid response team. A nurse may activate the rapid response team if the patient has an acute change in heart

A nurse providing patient centered care will focus on the culture, values and needs of the patient. The nurse will provide information related to care and encourage the patient to be fully involved in their care. Informatics refers to the use of information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision making (Ignatavicius, 2013) . Evidence based practice involves investigation and evaluation of patient care, appraisal, and assimilation of scientific evidence, and improvements in patient care. Interdisciplinary communication involves effective information exchange and working with patients, their families, and other health professionals. Quality improvement focuses on “using data to monitor the outcomes of the care processes and use improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of the health care system” (Ignatavicius, 2013). Safety is focused on proper medication administration, fall prevention, preventing errors and complication, and clearly communicating patient data and clinical

Before resulting to using a restraint on a patient, it is advised that the nurse assess the patient for possible reasons for the patient’s agitation. After assessing the patient the nurse should try to use alternative methods i.e distractions, reorientation, provide a calm environment, and reassess for basic needs. The nurse should document all alternative method attempts and outcomes. If the alternative methods didn’t work, the nurse may request a prescription for a restraint ( the least restrictive first). If the restraint request is approved, the nurse will need to check the patient’s restraint ever 30-60 minutes for possible chafing or injury, and remove the restraint every 2 hours for turning, repositioning and toileting (Ignatavicius, 2013). Some facilities require the prescription for restraint use to be re-evaluated