Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a valuable tool, not only for diagnosing and staging cancer, but also for other interventional therapies. As the demand for this service continues to grow, how feasible is it to offer this service in a non-academic community setting? This presentation will provide valuable tips that were learned from the initial three year experience of implementing an EUS program in a community hospital. This presentation will include the need for and role of EUS, physician recruitment, development of the core group, role of team members and staffing issues. In addition, scope and equipment inventory, room set-up, equipment and cart set-up, EUS "recipes," chart forms, and documentation will be discussed. Finally, helps and hints for negotiating the anatomy, slide preparation for EUS specimans, trouble-shooting, cost and reimbursement issues, overview of cases from the first three years of the speakers' EUS program, case study, benefits and limitations of the program, and impact on gastrointestinal practice will be shared.

Section Description

We are pleased to present the abstracts from sgna's 36th annual course, SGNA: your gateway to opportunity. The diversity of these topics certainly reflects the richness and breadth of our specialty. in keeping with the tradition of the annual course, we hope the following abstracts will encourage discussions for improving nursing practice and patient care outcomes.