Feasibility of using a pediatric call center as part of a quality improvement effort to prevent hospital readmission.

The primary aim of this intervention was to assess the feasibility of using call center nurses who are experts in telephone triage to conduct post discharge telephone calls, as part of a quality improvement effort to prevent hospital readmission. Families of patients with bronchiolitis were called between 24 and 48 hours after discharge. The calls conducted by the nurses were efficient (average time was 12 minutes), and their assessments helped to identify gaps in inpatient family education.

Developing a robust professional practice model using a shared governance approach.

This article describes the development and implementation of a framework for nursing practice in a freestanding children's hospital and the subsequent improvement process used to transition that framework into a robust professional practice model (PPM). The development of a PPM encompassing all aspects of nursing in all clinical settings is an important milestone on a successful Magnet journey. Strategies for linking the PPM to core processes and structures of nursing are shared.

Using continuous process improvement methodology to standardize nursing handoff communication.

The purpose of this article was to describe the use of continuous performance improvement (CPI) methodology to standardize nurse shift-to-shift handoff communication. The goals of the process were to standardize the content and process of shift handoff, improve patient safety, increase patient and family involvement in the handoff process, and decrease end-of-shift overtime. This article will describe process changes made over a 4-year period as result of application of the plan-do-check-act procedure, which is an integral part of the CPI methodology, and discuss further work needed to continue to refine this critical nursing care process.

Assessing the strength and integrity of an intervention.

Purpose/objectives: To evaluate the strength and integrity of a pilot behavioral intervention designed to assist mothers with breast cancer and their children.

Research Approach: A single-group analysis of the strength and integrity characteristics of an intervention developed for a pilot research study.

Setting: Homes of study participants in an urban area.

Making the most of the moment: when a child's mother has breast cancer.

The demands and uncertainties associated with adjustments to chronic illness present challenges to maintaining a stable family life. Little has been reported about mother-child relationships within the cancer experience and even less about interventions that may be useful to help these dyads maintain stability. The focus of this article is a pilot study of an intervention addressing the mother-child relationship of women with breast cancer and their school-aged children.