Safe Staffing For Pediatric Patients

Alabama Nurse,  Mar-May 2004  

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* Standards and Guidelines for Pre-Licensure and Early Professional Education for the Nursing Care of Children and Their Families (Woodring, 1998).

6. Organizations and nursing staff providing care for pediatric patients should commit to ongoing maintenance of nursing staff's clinical competency through continuing education that ensures a current knowledge base of issues and trends in pediatrie care delivery.

7. Organizations should work to establish practice environments characterized by open communication, teamwork, and effective collaborative problem solving to address nurse staffing issues and ensure safe, effective care for children and families.

8. Nurses are encouraged to assume professional accountability for their own practice. Nurses have the accountability for the following:

* Being an advocate for the role of the registered professional nurse

* Being knowledgeable of state practice acts

* Being knowledgeable of the mechanisms available to address potential staffing issues

References

Aiken, L.H., Clark, S.P., Sloane, D.M., Sochalski, J., & Silber, J.H. (2002). Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout, and job dissatisfaction. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288, 1987-1993.

Aiken, L.H., Clarke, S.P., Cheung, R.B., Sloane, D.M., & Silber, J.H. (2003). Education levels of hospital nurses and patient mortality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 290, 1-8.

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2003). Clinical report: Facilities and equipment for the care of patients in a community hospital. Pediatrics, 111(5), 1120-1122.

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2002). Policy statement: Guidelines for pediatric cardiovascular centers. Pediatrics, 109(3), 544-549.

American Academy of Pediatrics. (1999). Policy statement: Guidelines for pediatric perioperative anesthesia environment. Pediatrics, 103(2), 512-515.

American Academy of Pediatrics. (1993). Policy statement: Guidelines and levels of care for pediatric intensive care units. Pediatrics, 92(1), 166-175.

American Nurses Association. (2003). Scope and standards of pediatric nursing practice. Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing.

American Nurses Association. (2000). Nursing staffing and patient outcomes: In the inpatient setting. Washington, DC: Author.

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). (2003). The Magnet Recognition Program For Excellence in Nursing Service Health Care Organization, Instructions and Application Process. Pub# MAGMAN03. Washington, DC: Author.

Broome, M., & Rollins, J. (Eds.). (1999). Core curriculum for the nursing care of children and their families. Pitman, NJ: Jannetti Publications.

Buerhaus, P.I., Staiger, D.O., & Auerbach, D.I. (2000). Implications of an aging registered nurse workforce. Journal of the American Medical Association, 283, 2948- 2954.

Children's Defense Fund. (December 2002). Basic facts on poverty. Child Poverty FAQs. Washington, DC: Author. Institute of Medicine. (1999). To err is human: Building a safer health care system. Washington, DC: Author.