Familiarity with the clinical environment, achieved by priming, improves time to antibiotic administration in a simulated paediatric sepsis scenario: a randomised control trial.

Aim: The early administration of antibiotics in sepsis reduces mortality and improves outcomes. This randomised control trial evaluated the effect of environmental priming (EP) on healthcare student performance in a simulated paediatric sepsis scenario.

Methods: Medical and nursing students were randomised into primed and unprimed groups.

Reflection on the assessment and care of a child with osteogenesis imperfecta.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare genetic condition that causes bones to become brittle and fracture. This article draws on the reflective experiences of two second-year children's nursing students on placement. It includes a case study that explores the assessment and care of a child with OI.

Treating abdominal pain in young people.

A common complaint in children, abdominal pain can be clinically challenging for healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat. Accurate assessment and thorough investigations, combined with the measurement and monitoring of vital signs, are essential to eliminate any underlying conditions. Self-reporting tools can be used to aid communication with children, who may have difficulties articulating their thoughts and feelings.

Is care planning still relevant in the 21st century?

As we progress into the second decade of the 21st century, the healthcare needs of an increasingly diverse population are changing. Children's nurses must respond to these challenges by creating clear and effective plans of care in collaboration with children and their families. Legally and professionally, children's nurses are required to accurately record plans of care given to individual patients to provide a legal document demonstrating that care has been delivered (Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), 2008).

Restraint in the care of children.

As a nursing student on an emergency department (ED) placement, the author of this article experienced personal and professional conflict while restraining a child during a clinical procedure. This experience should be familiar to ED nurses, many of whom, however, lack confidence in the use of restraint techniques. This article describes how nurses can acquire this confidence while understanding the practical and legal implications of restraint.

Incidence of group C human rotavirus in central Australia and sequence variation of the VP7 and VP4 genes.

Human group C rotavirus was identified in central Australia in each of eight years over a 16-year period between 1982 and 1997. Cases occurred either sporadically but over a relatively short period of time or as clustered outbreaks. These are the only reports of human group C rotavirus in Australia other than that of a single case reported approximately 1,800 km away in 1982.