Orienting new respiratory therapists into the neonatal/pediatric environment: a survey of educators and managers.

Background: Neonatal/pediatric respiratory care is recognized as a unique and complex area of clinical practice. Despite the substantial effort and costs associated with orienting neonatal/pediatric practitioners, few data exist related to the process of training respiratory therapists (RTs) in the acute neonatal/pediatric environment. To gain insight into the adequacy of preparation of RTs entering the neonatal/pediatric environment, the length of orientation necessary to achieve a base level of competency, and the methods used to train new neonatal/pediatric practitioners, we surveyed neonatal/pediatric respiratory care educators and managers.

Oxygen therapy in the neonatal care environment.

The use of oxygen in the treatment of neonates with respiratory distress has been reported for more than a century. Oxygen therapy is generally titrated to one or more measures of blood oxygenation and administered to reverse or prevent hypoxia. Individual responses to oxygen therapy vary greatly, depending on the particular cause of hypoxia and the degree of impairment.

Toward a new paradigm in hospital-based pediatric education: the development of an onsite simulator program.

Objective: The low incidence of crises in pediatrics, coupled with logistic issues and restricted work hours for trainees, hinders opportunities for frequent practice of crisis management and teamwork skills. We hypothesized that a dedicated simulator suite contiguous to the intensive care unit (ICU) would enhance the frequency and breadth of critical-incident training for a range of clinicians.

Design: Descriptive study.