TY - JOUR T1 - Intra-articular and soft tissue injections: assessment of the service provided by nurses JF - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases JO - Ann Rheum Dis SP - 656 LP - 657 DO - 10.1136/ard.61.7.656 VL - 61 IS - 7 AU - J Edwards AU - B Hannah AU - K Brailsford-Atkinson AU - T Price AU - T Sheeran AU - D Mulherin Y1 - 2002/07/01 UR - http://ard.bmj.com/content/61/7/656.abstract N2 - Local steroid injections have traditionally been given by doctors in rheumatology practice, with varying accuracy and success.1–3 The first joint injection course for nurses approved by the English National Board (ENB) was established at Cannock Chase Hospital in 1995, jointly led by a rheumatology consultant and nursing sister, and has run annually since then (ENB-N78).4 Over 50 nurses have completed the course, including many from this unit. They now give an increasing proportion of these injections at this hospital (following medical prescription), releasing doctors for other activities. Our audit assessed this service increasingly provided by nurses, measuring the frequency and type of nurse injection and patient satisfaction. Injections given by nurses and doctors at this unit were compared, as we required a standard of service from the nurses at least equal to that of the doctors.The audit included all patients who underwent an intra-articular or soft tissue cortiocosteroid injection at this hospital over one calendar month. Injectors recorded their professional background and the … ER -