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 Winter, 2008 Volume 6, Issue 1
 Consultant's Corner
Feature Article
Quote of the Month
New Articles / Abstracts
In the News
Upcoming Meetings
For free articles, abstracts, Emergency Care Briefs, and more, visit our Resource Center at PetrackConsulting.com...
CalmerKids: the first ever training module that changes how your facility serves children and their families... Show me... Upcoming Conferences: Dr. Petrack will be giving Pediatric Grand Rounds for the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital on April 1, 2008 at 8:00AM (for more information, click here). His topic will be "Integration of Pharmacologic & Non-Pharmacologic Techniques to Enhance Minor Pediatric Procedures." Dr. Petrack will also be speaking at the Urgent Care Association of America annual conference, to be held April 29- May 2 in New Orleans (see the Upcoming Meetings section for details). His topic will be "Focus on pediatric procedures: improving the experience for children and providers alike." |
Consultant's Corner Emory Petrack, MD, FAAP, FACEP I'm thinking back to a particularly distressing evening many moons ago, when I was but a young resident in a New York City emergency department. A 14-month-old came in with severe respiratory distress. We decided to intubate. Yet despite our "best" attempts, we were not successful. Every time we inserted the laryngoscope blade, the infant perked up and struggled enough to make the intubation all but impossible. Concerned that we were getting nowhere fast, we called for help from the Pediatric ICU fellow. She hurried down, assessed the situation, and immediately said, "Geez guys, you've got to paralyze the patient!" She quickly performed a rapid sequence intubation, and all was well again. Although the infant ultimately fared well, it was a traumatic experience for me. I took with me several lessons, one of which is simply that we need to continually learn so we can do our jobs efficiently and effectively-also the topic of this month's article.
Feature Article Jumpstart Your New Year With ED Learning and Training Opportunities
The New Year is a great time to assess where were are now in relation to where we want and need to be. It's also a great time to develop an action plan for moving our skill set and career forward. Self-development through effective training is essential if we are to be successful in our jobs. If you're involved in management and/or leadership in healthcare, which I suspect includes almost everyone on this subscriber list, you're generally very busy. If you're not putting out fires, you're creating new programs and implementing them. Our jobs demand much of our time and energy.
In the News
Quote of the Month
New Articles/Abstracts
Brief summary of recent new articles and abstracts from http://www.PetrackConsulting.com/articles.html
Kanter, R. K.Moran, J. R.
These authors sent a survey to assess pediatric preparedness to all US emergency departments in 2003. A total of 1,489 useable surveys (29%) were received for analysis. 89% of pediatric ED visits occurred in non-children's hospitals, with 26% occurring in rural or remote facilities. Of note, 75% of respondents saw less than 7,000 children annually. Only 6% of EDs had all recommended equipment and supplies, with neonatal or infant equipment frequently lacking. The authors conclude that there is significant opportunity for improvement in pediatric preparedness. While this study has led to some controversy, it supports concerns raised by the Institute of Medicine regarding preparedness for pediatric emergency care in our nation's emergency departments.
This policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics focuses on patient safety in the emergency department. It delineates specific suggestions and guidelines for reducing medication errors and enhancing patient safety for children. These include practices such as time-outs before procedures, mock codes, teamwork training, use of clinical tools to aid medication dosing and administration, integrating family-centered care into the ED, and supporting Institute of Medicine recommendations.
This article is a systematic review of 15 studies on parent presence during invasive pediatric procedures or resuscitation. The data support recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Society of Critical Care Medicine that parents be offered the option to be with their children during this difficult period. It is noted that there remains significant controversy among clinicians concerning this practice, and few institutions have developed guidelines.
These authors sought to understand factors associated with the availability of pediatric services and expertise in US hospitals for treating pediatric emergencies. They used data from the 2002-2003 NHAMCS survey, compared with guidelines developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Emergency Physicians. Pediatric volume, teaching hospital status, geographic region, and per capita income of the community were strongly related to better preparedness on each of their measures. Many hospitals that did not offer specialized pediatric care lacked transfer agreements with hospitals offering such care.
Upcoming Meetings
Feb 28- March 2, 2008, Emergency Nurses Association, Leadership Conference, Honolulu, HI
April 29- May 2, 2008, Urgent Care Association of America, National Conference, New Orleans, LA
May 29- June 1, 2008, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, Annual Meeting, Washington, DC
Sept 24-27, 2008, Emergency Nurses Association, Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN About Our Organization
Created in 2003, Petrack Consulting is dedicated to helping physician and hospital
leadership bring excellence to emergency services. We work collaboratively to
fully understand our client's needs, and then address programmatic initiatives
with measurable outcomes. Our unique background in emergency medicine, administrative
medicine, and organization development allows us to create uniquely effective solutions
for enhancing emergency services.
Website: http://www.PetrackConsulting.com |
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