Orthopedic Nursing Meeting Report

The Lake Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Orthopedic Nurses (NAON) recently held a community meeting for healthcare professionals regarding sports injuries in the community. The meeting was lead by a local orthopedic surgeon and followed by a presentation by a paramedic. The purpose of the meeting was to assist healthcare professionals in the community identify orthopedic injuries and properly treat them as a first responders.
This particular meeting was informative and not exclusive to NAON members. The members of the organization felt there was a growing need to provide information to the community about orthopedic injuries, specifically sports related injury. A main reason stated for the importance of the presented information was because sports injuries are extremely prevalent and early intervention is crucial to recovery. Healthcare professionals are presented with orthopedic injuries on a regular basis, but the care patients receive before arriving at the hospital can have a huge impact on recovery and healing of injuries. …show more content…
The importance of intervention was emphasized and nurses were encouraged to be first responders in all situations, including sporting events. The orthopedic surgeon went through the different injuries that occur with each area of the body. He showed pictures of the injuries, how to recognize and treat the injuries, and when to seek emergency attention or routine care. A major focus and surprising intervention was relocating a dislocated joint. The first intervention that should be instituted when dealing with any type of dislocation is to attempt to relocate the joint within the first five minutes of injury, if possible. There was much concern from the attendees of causing further injury or misdiagnosing the dislocation. The Surgeon explained there was little to no chance of further injury and more good than bad would come from the