Nurses' Understanding and Practice of Minimal Stimulation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Pediatric patients receiving neurologic and neurosurgical critical care undergo many procedures that result in stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, which increases their risk of poor outcomes. Nurses typically implement a variety of interventions to minimize such stimulation; however, minimal stimulation has not been specifically defined in the literature or described as a standardized bundle of care.

Objective: To examine pediatric intensive care unit nurses' interpretation and practice of minimal stimulation in patients with neurologic and neurosurgical conditions and specifically to triangulate nurses' descriptions of this practice with related findings in the literature.

Massive Transfusion Protocol Simulation: An Innovative Approach to Team Training.

At a 72-bed pediatric facility, a multidisciplinary team approach was used to prepare for the expansion of services for patients requiring spinal fusion. This preparation included emergency response requiring massive transfusion, necessitating the need for a Massive Transfusion Protocol (MTP) process to be in place. Such instances are low volume/high risk, creating difficulty for staff to gain and maintain proficiency with the equipment and processes related to the MTP in a secure environment.