Invest in Yourself: Have a Laugh! Have a Healthy Laugh!

As we rush around attending to the essentials of our lives (family, friends, clients, employers), what is left? Nursing Forum invites readers to engage in thoughts and activities that may awaken an untouched place. We hope these writings will kindle your personal involvement in something that was previously avoided—because of bias, fear, or uneasiness—in order to stretch your mind and spirit.     

He's got a gun! Weapons in the emergency room--you can survive!

With the increasing amount of violence prevalent in our society, it is inevitable that this violence will enter emergency departments. Nurses are increasingly likely to see guns and other deadly weapons in the emergency department. The purpose of this article is to explain how a firearm works and how to safely handle and store the weapon until someone with more training can take possession of the weapon.     

Accidental ingestion of a toothbrush!

A case is reported of a 16-year-old girl who accidentally swallowed a toothbrush, which was safely extracted under local anaesthesia using a fibre-optic endoscope. The technique described is safe, and can be adapted for the extraction of a variety of foreign bodies from the oesophagus and the stomach. Guidelines are presented for the management of ingested foreign bodies, based on a review of the literature.     

Rigors a Chilling Event!

The article is a discussion and review of sepsis as encountered in the Interventional Radiology setting. Relevant physiology, signs, symptoms, and therapy are discussed. A case scenario of a life event is used to reinforce the reason that attention to sepsis demands quick action by the clinician.