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Alarm Fatigue Research Paper

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Alarm Fatigue Research Paper
The Adverse Effects of Clinical Alarms: Alarm Fatigue
Juleen Barnes
Maria Galo-Parrilla
Harriet Meulendyke
Elynor Furlan
HSN 510
February 23, 2015
Delores Deihl
The Adverse Effects of Clinical Alarms: Alarm Fatigue

Technology has taken over the patient’s bedside. The sounds of ventilator alarms, cardiac monitors, and infusion pumps are only a few reverberations heard through the halls of any hospital. As we attempt to protect our patients by using sophisticated technology, device alarms place them in danger. Constant alarms sound in the hospital lead to staff desensitization, complacency, and distraction, which eventually can lead to ‘alarm fatigue’ (Tanner, 2013). Alarm Fatigue Alarm fatigue is prevalent in every hospital worldwide. …show more content…
Alarm fatigue is an unintended negative discovery in the pursuit of patient safety. Reliance on the machine rather than the human is a dangerous pitfall and steps to avoid it need implementation. Creating alarm protocols may help to decrease adverse effects of alarm fatigue (Horvath, 2014). For actual patient monitoring, nurses should rely on the fundamentals of the nursing process. These simple steps can aid in eliminating alarm fatigue and ensure the safety of patients (Horkan, 2014).

References
Cvach, M. (2012, July/August). Monitor alarm fatigue an integrative review. Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology, 46(4), 268-277. ProQuest database.
Horkan, A. (2014). Alarm fatigue and patient safety. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 41(1), 83-85.
Tanner, T. (2013, June). The problem of alarm fatigue. Nursing for Women’s Health, 17(1), 153-157.
The Joint Commission. (2013). The joint commission. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org
RN.com. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.rn.com/pages/resourcedetails.aspx?id=3417
Wyatt, R. (2015). The Joint Commission. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/jc_physician_blog/the_alarming_world
Zhani, E. (2015). The Joint Commission. Retrieved from
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