Pediatric Nursing Commons^™

Nursing At Summer Camp: Piloting A Novel Clinical Rotation Experience For Undergraduates In Pediatrics, Vanessa Lugo

CompassPoint

Nursing schools have traditionally relied on inpatient settings as the primary venue for clinical placement for undergraduate courses. However, the availability of clinical placement sites has diminished in recent years for reasons that include faculty retirements, problems with administrative support and coordination in large hospital systems, and intensified competition among health-profession schools for a limited pool of rotation sites (Chesney et al., 2021; American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2022). Clinical placement sites became especially sparse during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many facilities prohibited on-site student instruction (Kaveh et al., 2022; Ridgway et al., 2022). Nursing schools in rural areas …

Congolese Mothers' Beliefs That Influence Health-Seeking Behaviors For Their Infants., Shawn Meiman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2024, approximately 100,000 refugees were admitted to the United States, with 20% coming from the DRC, while Kentucky continues to rank fourth in the country for refugee resettlement. The increasing number of Congolese refugee children in the United States and Kentucky necessitates a greater understanding of these beliefs and practices to ensure equitable, quality, and culturally informed health services. The purpose of this study was to explore Congolese refugee mothers’ culturally and socially situated beliefs, perceptions, practices, and resources related to health care that may influence their views and practices of preventive well-child health care for their infants in …

Prevention Of Burnout Among Critical Care Nurses, Jenelle Balaoing, Junela Bautista

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Background: Nursing burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by excessive stress among nurses. Critical care nurses face challenges with direct patient care that contribute to emotional and psychological strain that are greatly influenced by workplace adversity and emotional management. Purpose: This research examines the prevalence of burnout among pediatric and adult intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, highlighting particularly high rates of burnout among those with extended years of service. Method: ICU nurses will participate in a qualitative interview that involves open ended questions relevant among burnout and resilience during shifts. Aspects specifically years of critical experience …

Benefits Of Animal Assisted Therapy In Pediatric Inpatient Units: A Literature Review, Logan M. Shiflett

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this systematic review of literature was to establish if animal assisted therapy (AAT) is helpful in the reduction of stress for patients on pediatric inpatient floors. The PICOT question that led this review was: In pediatric patients, how does animal assisted therapy affect patient outcomes related to increased hospitalizations? The EBSCOhost database, as well as the Web of Science and CINAHL Complete information sources, were used to find relevant studies for this review that assessed the benefits and contraindications for AAT. Key terms such as “animal assisted therapy,” “pediatrics,” and “inpatient” were used to narrow down the …

Advancing Cardiorespiratory Care In The Heart Center: Development Of A Specialized Cardiac Curriculum For Respiratory Therapists, Alexandra Birely, Andrea Torzone, Jill Kleiber, Elysia Harshman, Melinda Cory

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: As innovations advance the outcomes and survival of pediatric patients with heart disease, an evolving patient population is increasing the complexity of inpatient heart care. The Heart Center at Children’s Health Dallas has seen a twofold increase in ventilator dependent tracheostomy patients since 2022, illustrating just one example of the shifting acuity profile of patients being cared for on the Acute Care Cardiology Unit (ACCU). Providing safe and high-quality care within a pediatric Heart Center requires enhanced resources and expertise across the entire multidisciplinary team. The need for increased respiratory therapy support was identified on …

Advancing Health Equity Through Comprehensive Haircare Training To Reduce Pediatric Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries, Afra Evans, Adrienne Johnson, Adrienne Davis

2025

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Background: Increased awareness of health equity and a rise in hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) to the scalp and head—particularly among pediatric patients with textured hair—prompted a comprehensive initiative at a pediatric healthcare organization. Environmental scanning revealed that while new haircare products had been introduced into clinical areas, staff lacked the training and resources to use them effectively. A current-state analysis survey of 133 staff members (86% clinical) revealed significant gaps: 69% had never received training in diverse haircare, 51% did not feel equipped to provide appropriate care, and 36% felt nervous or intimidated when caring for hair …

Elevating Nursing Leadership: How Nurse Managers Empower Unit Practice Councils, Katie Fields

2025

EBP

Literature Review: Utilizing OVID and databases CINAHL and PubMed, a comprehensive review of 22 articles, including integrative reviews and qualitative studies, was conducted to examine leadership behaviors that support NPG and UPCs. Across the literature, empowerment, accountability, and presence are consistently highlighted as essential leadership behaviors for effective shared governance that strengthens engagement and professional growth. Clavelle and Tarasenko (2024) emphasized accountability as critical to advancing NPG, while Rollins et al. (2024) underscored the importance of adaptable leadership styles to meet the evolving needs of frontline nurses and practice councils.

PICO: What are the best practices and leadership behaviors …

From Competence To Confidence: Fostering A Culture Of Certification In Nursing, Derhonda Dossett, Sunni Fleming, Amanda Grantham, Johanna Muller

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: Nursing certifications help promote excellence in nursing and support the professional identity of nurses. In an urban academic pediatric hospital system, nursing leaders were tasked with increasing professional nursing certification rates within their departments. One team has excelled in increasing their professional certification rate. The team went from 8 to 35 certified nurses which was a 33.75% increase from July 2022 to July 2025. This has elevated the confidence and knowledge base of the nurses and leaders in the Variable Staffing department. Objectives included increasing knowledge and awareness of professional certification, providing resources available to …

Planting Seeds Of Success: Cultivating Cpen Certification In Pediatric Emergency Nursing, Shelby Flusche, Johanna Muller

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: Children’s Health Plano campus has faced challenges in supporting nurses preparing for the Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN) exam, with limited resources available for study and preparation. To encourage certification, a certification champion was identified to provide leadership and guidance. However, it soon became evident that additional support was needed, as many nurses were unsure how to obtain a test voucher and reported low confidence levels regarding exam success. In fact, 75% of nurses initially rated themselves as neutral to not confident in their ability to pass the CPEN exam, highlighting a significant gap in …

We Float So You Don’T Sink: Implementation Of Float Nurse Support Role, Amanda Anderson, Caroline Kelley, Mary Moore, Carlie Phillips, Krista Westbrook

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: Critical care float pool nurses possess broad clinical expertise and flexibility to support a wide range of patient care areas across the organization. Their familiarity with multiple units, patient populations, and

established relationships with provider teams helps them to facilitate timely and effective clinical support. Acute care staff regard critical care nurses’ judgment with high respect, enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration and trust. Because of a rising patient acuity and census, there is risk for failures in escalation of care, with 16% of serious pediatric adverse events linked to delays is escalation (Sosa et al., 2022). Critical …

A Quality Attack On Hacs, Chasity Tyree-Lee, Krystan Smith, William Gaines, Samantha Frederick, Kendel Richards

2025

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Background: Hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) pose a dual challenge to pediatric organizations, compromising patient safety while creating substantial financial burdens, with a single central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) costing an estimated $48,108 and delaying discharge (Forrester, 2022; Li, 2024). While prior studies have focused on reducing individual HACs through standardized rounding, our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) adopted a broader, integrated approach.

Methodology: In 2022, we launched a nursing-led initiative to reduce multiple HACs—catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), CLABSI, hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI), and peripheral intravenous catheter infiltration and extravasations (PIVIE)—simultaneously. The program empowered Quality Champions (QCs), …

Precision In Practice: Subject Matter Expert Integration To Support Excellence In Population-Specific Documentation, Sara Pump, Lauren Spain, Virginia Kasenic, Meagan Talent, Alivia Stewart, Carrin Shaw, Chad Gautreaux, Dori Cousin, Ronesea Allen, Jonathan Rowe

2025

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Background: An initial internal pilot audit of patient charts, performed by the Plano psych RN team within the Emergency department in November 2024 revealed significant gaps in documentation compliance for behavioral health patients. Many areas of required charting were found to be incomplete, partially completed, or inconsistently documented across disparate sections of the electronic medical record. This fragmentation not only impedes the ability to efficiently locate critical information but also fails to meet the documentation standards outlined in Children’s Health organizational policies. These deficiencies pose risks to continuity of care, clinical decision-making, regulatory compliance, patient and staff …

Community Health Worker (Chw) Initiative To Address Low Acuity Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization, Jana Neal, Danielle Hayle

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: A Medicaid payor-funded collaborative was initiated in partnership with Children’s Health System of Texas to reduce low-acuity emergency department (ED) visits—defined as triage levels 4 or 5—among Medicaid patients, who account for the largest share of ED use, with nearly 50% of visits considered low acuity. To address this, certified Community Health Workers (CHWs) were deployed in the Dallas and Plano EDs to engage eligible caregivers. CHWs provide education on insurance benefits, assist with establishing primary care provider (PCP) relationships, and promote appropriate healthcare utilization. They also work to identify barriers preventing the use of …

Engaging The Night Shift To Sustain A Healthy Work Environment, Kelsey Walsh, Delaney Dewolf, Annie Tolliver

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: Night shift nurses often feel overlooked, leading to disengagement and higher turnover. The common question, “What about for the night shift?” highlights gaps in recognition, communication, and collaboration. In 2024, a large pediatric health system launched a Night Shift Forum (NSF) to improve the work environment for this critical group. Results from the AACN Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) showed true collaboration (3.41) and meaningful recognition (3.73) as the lowest-scoring areas. Recent studies show that night-shift nurses consistently report lower scores on healthy work environment domains, while organizations with dedicated night councils demonstrate stronger …

A Nurse-Led Investigation Into Rising Cardiology Clinic Admission Holds And A Multidisciplinary Strategy To Reduce Them, Jennifer Dickson, Haley Byrne, Katherine Harris, Leah K. Toombs

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: The Dallas Cardiology Clinic, the only hospital-based clinic within the Heart Center’s outpatient network, serves specialized, high-acuity cardiac patients who often require direct admission. Due to inpatient bed constraints in the Acute Care Cardiology Unit and Cardiac ICU, rising patient complexity, patients are increasingly held in the ambulatory space, not intended for, or equipped for prolonged care. In 2024, average admission wait times rose to 118 minutes (often taking 200+ minutes) up from 97 minutes in 2022. Long admit wait times can lead to treatment delays, raise nursing concerns about safety, and disrupt outpatient flow. …

Addressing Gaps In Breastfeeding Education Among Pediatric Nurses, Bethany Stokes, Shannon Abbott

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: Breastfeeding is a modifiable health-related behavior widely recognized for its short-and long-term health benefits (Standish, 2022). The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends breastfeeding for at least two years or as long as mutually desired (Meek, 2022). Despite this guidance, pediatric nurses outside of neonatal units often receive minimal breastfeeding education, creating a gap in care for breastfeeding families admitted to other areas of the hospital. This project aimed to assess the breastfeeding knowledge needs of pediatric nursing staff across two hospital campuses. A lack of standardized breastfeeding education was identified. To quantify this gap, …

Blinatumomab Without Borders: Taking Life-Saving Treatment Home, Susan Mccollom, Tami Beaudin, Shareta Jackson, Jamie Gebhard

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: Blinatumomab administration has become a standard treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), following promising early outcomes from the AALL1731 study. The randomized groups in this trial demonstrated a 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate of 96% in those receiving blinatumomab, compared to 87.9% in the non-blinatumomab arms. Blinatumomab is administered in two non-consecutive 28-day blocks with ideally approximately 24 days of treatment at home.

Implementation: The staff at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCBD) at Children’s Health faced a significant challenge due to the volume and urgency of the therapy to start. We …

Defying Gravity: Fall Prevention Quality Improvement Project, Taylor Ryan, Madeline Bartush

2025

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Background: In March of 2025, an increase in inpatient falls led to a hospital-wide containment period. In response, a fall prevention nurse role was created to identify gaps, provide targeted education and lead improvement efforts. Initial surveys of 101 nurses revealed that while 91% reported using the teach-back method of education as part of their practice with patients and families, only 36.6% reported they always use this method, and just 19.8% reported feeling very comfortable doing so. Direct observations revealed families unable to teach-back fall prevention strategies despite nurse documentation of education completion. A gap analysis also …

Development Of A Continuous Renal Replacement Therapies (Crrt) Team, Lainey Segovia, Taelor Pena, David Zolezzi, Tami Turrubiarte, Keri Drake

2025

INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Background: Our organization identified an opportunity to provide Continuous Renal Replacement therapy (CRRT) to more patients while simultaneously reducing time to initiation by building a dedicated CRRT team. Although CRRT has been provided for years, it lacked formal standardized education and oversight.

Implementation: Recognizing these gaps in care we formed a CRRT team in May 2024, consisting of three RN coordinators, one Advanced Practice Provider (APP), a nursing director, and a nephrology medical director. The aim was to improve CRRT delivery by authoring guidelines, providing formal in-person education for nurses and providers, creating a centralized …

Embedding Health Literacy Practices Through A Champion Program: A Strategic Expansion, Diana Montoya, Cameron Stine, Kelli Williams, Leslie Moore, Carol Howe

2025

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Background: The importance of becoming a Health-Literate Organization gained momentum in our pediatric organization, driven by the Healthy People 2030 initiative, Social Determinants of Health Screening and organizational strategies focused on enhancing patient outcomes. The Health Literacy Champion Program (HLCP) was expanded in 2024-2025 to embed subject matter experts into inpatient care units, thereby infusing health literacy best practices to enhance patient communication.

Methodology: The initial phase involved aligning the HLCP interventions with organizational strategic priorities and establishing shared goals among stakeholders. The program leads identified key priority indicators and metrics to evaluate the program. The …