Defining curricular priorities for student-as-teacher programs: A National Delphi Study.

Background: "Student-as-Teacher" (SaT) programs have been growing in number to prepare medical students for their teaching roles in residency and beyond, but it remains unknown what content areas should be covered in SaT curricula.

Aim: To determine five to ten "essential" content areas for inclusion in SaT curricula using expert opinion.

Methods: Using a three-round Delphi process, moderators iteratively surveyed a panel of 28 medical educators (25 academy directors and three individuals identified as having expertise in undergraduate medical education) representing 25 medical schools in the United States.

Family participation during intensive care unit rounds: goals and expectations of parents and health care providers in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit.

Objective: To compare perceptions, goals, and expectations of health care providers and parents regarding parental participation in morning rounds and target specific areas of opportunity for educational interventions.

Study Design: Semistructured interviews of parents and focus groups of health care providers to learn about their experiences in, goals for, and perceived barriers to successful parental participation in morning rounds. Qualitative methods were used to analyze interview and focus group transcripts.

Family participation during intensive care unit rounds: attitudes and experiences of parents and healthcare providers in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit.

Objective: To compare the experiences and attitudes of healthcare providers and parents regarding parental participation in morning rounds, in particular to evaluate for differences in perception of parental comprehension of rounds content and parental comfort with attendance, and to identify subgroups of parents who are more likely to report comfort with attending rounds.

Study Design: Cross-sectional survey of 100 parents and 131 healthcare providers in a tertiary care pediatric medical/surgical intensive care unit. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze survey responses; univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to compare parent and healthcare provider responses.

Fluid balance in critically ill children with acute lung injury.

Objectives: In the Fluid and Catheter Treatment Trial (NCT00281268), adults with acute lung injury randomized to a conservative vs. liberal fluid management protocol had increased days alive and free of mechanical ventilator support (ventilator-free days). Recruiting sufficient children with acute lung injury into a pediatric trial is challenging.

Head computed tomography scanning during pediatric neurocritical care: diagnostic yield and the utility of portable studies.

Background: We report our use of portable head computed tomography (CT) and the diagnostic yield and radiation dose from head CT in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Methods: 204 PICU patients underwent head CT during 2008-2009. Therapeutic interventions and resource intensity during CT were categorized.