Effect of Combined Clinical Practice Guideline and Electronic Order Set Implementation on Febrile Infant Evaluation and Management.

OBJECTIVE: Management of febrile infants 60 days and younger for suspected serious infection varies widely. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are intended to improve clinician adherence to evidence-based practices. In 2011, a CPG for managing febrile infants was implemented in an urban children's hospital with simultaneous release of an electronic order set and algorithm to guide clinician decisions for managing infants for suspected serious bacterial infection. The objective of the present study was to determine the association of CPG implementation with order set use, clinical practices, and clinical outcomes. METHODS: Records of febrile infants 60 days and younger from February 1, 2009, to January 31, 2013, were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical documentation, order set use, clinical management practices, and outcomes were compared pre-CPG and post-CPG release. RESULTS: In total, 1037 infants pre-CPG and 930 infants post-CPG implementation were identified. After CPG release, more infants 29 to 60 days old underwent lumbar puncture (56% vs 62%, P = 0.02). Overall antibiotic use and duration of antibiotic use decreased for infants 29 to 60 days (57% vs 51%, P = 0.02). Blood culture and urine culture obtainment remained unchanged for older infants. Diagnosed infections, hospital readmissions, and length of stay were unchanged. Electronic order sets were used in 80% of patient encounters. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic use and lumbar puncture performance modestly changed in accordance with CPG recommendations provided in the electronic order set and algorithm, suggesting that the presence of embedded prompts may affect clinician decision-making. Our results highlight the potential usefulness of these decision aids to improve adherence to CPG recommendations.

Exploring paediatricians' experiences with performance improvement modules and quality improvement.

OBJECTIVE: The American Board of Pediatrics' (ABP) maintenance of certification (MOC) programme seeks to continue educating paediatricians throughout their careers by encouraging lifelong learning and continued improvement. The programme includes four parts, each centring on a different aspect of medical practice. Part 4 MOC centres on quality improvement (QI). Surveys by the ABP suggest that paediatricians are dissatisfied with aspects of part 4, but their reasons are unclear. This study sought to explore factors contributing to dissatisfaction with part 4 by focusing on performance improvement modules (PIMs), a popular means of achieving part 4 credit. METHODS: The study used cross-sectional purposive sampling drawing from US physicians working in a range of practice settings: private outpatient, hospital, academic and low-income clinics. The sampling frame was divided by practice characteristics and satisfaction level, derived from a five-point Likert item asking about physician satisfaction regarding a recent PIM. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 physicians, and the interview data were coded, categorised into themes and analysed using a framework analysis approach. RESULTS: Paediatricians expressed nuanced views of PIMs and remain globally dissatisfied with part 4, although reasons for dissatisfaction varied. Concerns with PIMs included: (1) excessive time and effort; (2) limited improvement and (3) lack of clinically relevant topics. While most agreed that QI is important, participants felt persistently dissatisfied with the mechanics of doing PIMs, especially when QI tasks fell outside of their typical work regimen. CONCLUSIONS: Paediatricians agreed that part 4, PIMs, and QI efforts in general still lack clinical relevance and need to be more easily incorporated into practice workflow. Clinicians specifically felt that PIMs must be directly integrated with physicians' practice settings in terms of topic, data quality and metrics, and must address practice differences in time and monetary resources for completing large or complex projects.

Hospital-level compliance with asthma care quality measures at children's hospitals and subsequent asthma-related outcomes.

CONTEXT: The Children's Asthma Care (CAC) measure set evaluates whether children admitted to hospitals with asthma receive relievers (CAC-1) and systemic corticosteroids (CAC-2) and whether they are discharged with a home management plan of care (CAC-3). It is the only Joint Commission core measure applicable to evaluate the quality of care for hospitalized children. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate longitudinal trends in CAC measure compliance and to determine if an association exists between compliance and outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Cross-sectional study using administrative data and CAC compliance data for 30 US children's hospitals. A total of 37,267 children admitted with asthma between January 1, 2008, and September 30, 2010, with follow-up through December 31, 2010, accounted for 45,499 hospital admissions. Hospital-level CAC measure compliance data were obtained from the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions. Readmission and postdischarge emergency department (ED) utilization data were obtained from the Pediatric Health Information System. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Children's Asthma Care measure compliance trends; postdischarge ED utilization and asthma-related readmission rates at 7, 30, and 90 days. RESULTS: The minimum quarterly CAC-1 and CAC-2 measure compliance rates reported by any hospital were 97.1% and 89.5%, respectively. Individual hospital CAC-2 compliance exceeded 95% for 97.9% of the quarters. Lack of variability in CAC-1 and CAC-2 compliance precluded examination of their association with the specified outcomes. Mean CAC-3 compliance was 40.6% (95% CI, 34.1%-47.1%) and 72.9% (95% CI, 68.8%-76.9%) for the initial and final 3 quarters of the study, respectively. The mean 7-, 30-, and 90-day postdischarge ED utilization rates were 1.5% (95% CI, 1.3%-1.6%), 4.3% (95% CI, 4.0%-4.5%), and 11.1% (95% CI, 10.5%-11.7%) and the mean quarterly 7-, 30-, and 90-day readmission rates were 1.4% (95% CI, 1.2%-1.6%), 3.1% (95% CI, 2.8%-3.3%), and 7.6% (95% CI, 7.2%-8.1%). There was no significant association between overall CAC-3 compliance (odds ratio [OR] for 5% improvement in compliance) and postdischarge ED utilization rates at 7 days (OR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.98-1.02), 30 days (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.90-1.04), and 90 days (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.77-1.18). In addition, there was no significant association between overall CAC-3 compliance (OR for 5% improvement in compliance) and readmission rates at 7 days (OR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.99-1.02), 30 days (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.96-1.02), and 90 days (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.90-1.12). CONCLUSION: Among children admitted to pediatric hospitals for asthma, there was high hospital-level compliance with CAC-1 and CAC-2 quality measures and moderate compliance with the CAC-3 measure but no association between CAC-3 compliance and subsequent ED visits and asthma-related readmissions.

Room Costs for Common Pediatric Hospitalizations and Cost-Reducing Quality Initiatives.

BACKGROUND: Improvement initiatives promote safe and efficient care for hospitalized children. However, these may be associated with limited cost savings. In this article, we sought to understand the potential financial benefit yielded by improvement initiatives by describing the inpatient allocation of costs for common pediatric diagnoses. METHODS: This study is a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of pediatric patients aged 0 to 21 years from 48 children's hospitals included in the Pediatric Health Information System database from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017. We included hospitalizations for 8 common inpatient pediatric diagnoses (seizure, bronchiolitis, asthma, pneumonia, acute gastroenteritis, upper respiratory tract infection, other gastrointestinal diagnoses, and skin and soft tissue infection) and categorized the distribution of hospitalization costs (room, clinical, laboratory, imaging, pharmacy, supplies, and other). We summarized our findings with mean percentages and percent of total costs and used mixed-effects models to account for disease severity and to describe hospital-level variation. RESULTS: For 195 436 hospitalizations, room costs accounted for 52.5% to 70.3% of total hospitalization costs. We observed wide hospital-level variation in nonroom costs for the same diagnoses (25%-81% for seizure, 12%-51% for bronchiolitis, 19%-63% for asthma, 19%-62% for pneumonia, 21%-78% for acute gastroenteritis, 21%-63% for upper respiratory tract infection, 28%-69% for other gastrointestinal diagnoses, and 21%-71% for skin and soft tissue infection). However, to achieve a cost reduction equal to 10% of room costs, large, often unattainable reductions (>100%) in nonroom cost categories are needed. CONCLUSIONS: Inconsistencies in nonroom costs for similar diagnoses suggest hospital-level treatment variation and improvement opportunities. However, individual improvement initiatives may not result in significant cost savings without specifically addressing room costs.

A Project-based Curriculum for Driving Organization-wide Continuous Improvement.

BACKGROUND: Creating the capacity and capability for meaningful improvement in healthcare quality is a challenge many organizations face. Before 2012, Children's Mercy sponsored 20 leaders to obtain advanced improvement training from peer organizations. Recognizing an opportunity to build upon this momentum, we developed an organization-wide curriculum for teaching continuous improvement. METHODS: A steering committee was created in 2011 to define, advise, and oversee education in improvement science. We agreed upon a framework for improvement, a program name [Continuous Quality and Practice Improvement (CQPI)], and a phased curriculum development approach, beginning with a project/experiential learning based course (Team CQPI). Course evaluation for Team CQPI consisted of a standard evaluation of objectives, pre- and post-course assessment, qualitative feedback, and serial assessment of project progress using the Team Assessment Score (TAS). The curriculum committee monitored improvement. RESULTS: From 2012 to 2017, 297 people participated in the project-based course, completing a total of 83 projects. TAS improved throughout the 4-month project-based course, from an average starting score of 1 ("forming a team") to 2.7 ("changes tested"). The average TAS at 12 months following completion of the Team CQPI course was 3.5 ("improvement") out of 5. CONCLUSIONS: Development of a comprehensive curriculum for driving continuous improvement has resulted in a measurable change in TAS scores representative of local improvement efforts.

Meningitis.

* Young infants who have meningitis may present with nonspecific clinical manifestations. * S. pneumoniae and N. meningitidis remain the most common causes of bacterial meningitis in the infant and child, and GBS continues to be the most common neonatal pathogen. * Empiric therapy for suspected bacterial meningitis in a non-neonate includes a combination of parenteral vancomycin and either cefotaxime or ceftriaxone. * Children whose GCS scores are less than 8, show signs of shock or respiratory compromise, and have focal neurologic findings or clinical signs of elevated intracranial pressure should be admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit. * Sensorineural hearing loss occurs in 30% of children who have pneumococcal and 10% of those who have meningococcal meningitis.

Promoting Oral Health in Childhood: A Quality Improvement Project.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends periodic oral health risk assessments (OHRAs) for young children to prevent early childhood caries and promote oral health. The objective of this quality improvement project was to incorporate OHRAs, including documentation of the oral screening examination, into well-child visits for patients aged 12 to 47 months to drive (1) improved rates of preventive fluoride varnish (FV) application and (2) improved dental referrals for children at high risk for caries. METHODS: We identified a quality gap in our OHRAs, oral examination completion, FV application rates, and dental referral rates via retrospective data collection. Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles targeted modification of electronic medical record templates, oral health education, and standardization of work processes. Process and outcome measures were analyzed with statistical process control charts. RESULTS: At baseline, OHRAs and oral screening examinations were documented in <2% of patients. Of eligible children, 42% had FV applied. Routine dental referrals before age 3 years were uncommon. After multiple Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, documentation of OHRAs and oral screening examinations (process measures) improved to 45% and 73%, respectively. The primary outcome measure, FV rates, improved to 86%. Referral of high-risk patients to a dentist improved to 54%. CONCLUSIONS: A systematic, evidence-based approach to improving oral health, including electronic medical record-based interventions, resulted in improved documentation of oral health risks and oral screening, improved rates of FV application in young children, and increased identification and referral of high-risk patients.

Improving Wait Time for Patients in a Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory - a Quality Improvement Project.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged wait times for echocardiograms in the outpatient pediatric cardiology clinic led to patient and provider dissatisfaction at our institution. The aims of this project were to measure our baseline performance with regard to echocardiogram wait time (EWT), to implement a formal quality improvement (QI) program to improve EWT, and to measure the impact of QI on EWT. METHODS: A QI team was formed comprising of cardiologists (A.P., T.S.), sonographer (A.W.), and QI mentor (J.M.). EWT was defined as time in minutes from initiation of the order in the electronic medical record to start of the echocardiogram. Goal EWT was set as ≤ 20 minutes for 90% patients. Flowcharts were created after process observation to identify sources of potential delay contributing to EWT. QI methodology such as driver diagrams were utilized to identify interventions, which were then implemented and studied as Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. RESULTS: Sequential interventions included early start time, huddles involving clinic and echo laboratory staff, patient tracking system, and repurposing of a clinic room for echo. EWT was tracked for 840 patients. Mean EWT was 22.5 ± 17.5 minutes at baseline and decreased to 15.3 ± 7.8 minutes postintervention (P < 0.001). Postintervention, 81% of the patients waited < 20 minutes for their echo, and 98% patients waited < 30 minutes, compared with baseline numbers of 62% and 76%, respectively (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We were able to utilize QI methodology to derive interventions and track changes, resulting in quantifiable improvement in EWT in a busy pediatric echo laboratory.

Improving Guideline-Based Streptococcal Pharyngitis Testing: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Acute pharyngitis is a common diagnosis in ambulatory pediatrics. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) clinical practice guideline for group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis recommends strict criteria for GAS testing to avoid misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment of children who are colonized with group A Streptococcus. We sought to improve adherence to the IDSA guideline for testing and treatment of GAS pharyngitis in a large community pediatrics practice. METHODS: The Model for Improvement was used, and iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles were completed. The quality improvement project was approved for American Board of Pediatrics Part 4 Maintenance of Certification credit. Interventions included provider education, modification of existing office procedure, communication strategies, and patient and family education. Outcomes were assessed by using statistical process control charts. RESULTS: An absolute reduction in unnecessary GAS testing of 23.5% (from 64% to 40.5%) was observed during the project. Presence of viral symptoms was the primary reason for unnecessary testing. Appropriate antibiotic use for GAS pharyngitis did not significantly change during the project; although, inappropriate use was primarily related to unnecessary testing. At the end of the intervention period, the majority of providers perceived an improvement in their ability to communicate with families about the need for GAS pharyngitis testing and about antibiotic use. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of GAS pharyngitis testing in this practice before intervention was inconsistent with IDSA guideline recommendations. A quality improvement initiative, which was approved for Part 4 Maintenance of Certification credit, led to improvement in guideline-based testing for GAS pharyngitis.

Provider Communication, Prompts, and Feedback to Improve HPV Vaccination Rates in Resident Clinics.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates lag behind vaccination rates for other adolescent vaccines; a bundled intervention may improve HPV vaccination rates. Our objective is to evaluate the impact of quality improvement (QI) training plus a bundled practice-based intervention (provider prompts plus communication skills training plus performance feedback) on improving HPV vaccinations in pediatric resident continuity clinics. METHODS: Staff and providers in 8 resident clinics participated in a 12-month QI study. The intervention included training to strengthen provider communication about the HPV vaccine. Clinics also implemented provider prompts, received monthly performance feedback, and participated in learning collaborative calls. The primary outcome measure was eligible visits with vaccination divided by vaccine-eligible visits (captured HPV vaccination opportunities). Practices performed chart audits that were fed into monthly performance feedback on captured HPV vaccination opportunities. We used conditional logistic regression (conditioning on practice) to assess captured vaccination opportunities, with the time period of the study (before and after the QI intervention) as the independent variable. RESULTS: Overall, captured opportunities for HPV vaccination increased by 16.4 percentage points, from 46.9% to 63.3%. Special cause was demonstrated by centerline shift, with 8 consecutive points above the preintervention mean. On adjusted analyses, patients were more likely to receive a vaccine during, versus before, the intervention (odds ratio: 1.87; 95% confidence interval: 1.54-2.28). Captured HPV vaccination rates improved at both well-child and other visits (by 11.7 and 13.0 percentage points, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: A bundled intervention of provider prompts and training in communication skills plus performance feedback increased captured opportunities for HPV vaccination.

Evaluating the Impact of Implementing a Clinical Practice Guideline for Febrile Infants With Positive Respiratory Syncytial Virus or Enterovirus Testing.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate clinical practice patterns and patient outcomes among febrile low-risk infants with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection or enterovirus (EV) meningitis after implementing a clinical practice guideline (CPG) that provides recommendations for managing febrile infants with RSV infection and EV meningitis. METHODS: Our institution implemented a CPG for febrile infants, which gives explicit recommendations for managing both RSV-positive and EV-positive infants in 2011. We retrospectively analyzed medical records of febrile infants ≤60 days old from June 2008 to January 2013. Among 134 low-risk RSV-positive infants, we compared the proportion of infants who underwent lumbar puncture (LP), the proportion of infants who received antibiotics, antibiotic hours of therapy (HOT), and length of stay (LOS) pre- and post-CPG implementation. Among 274 low-risk infants with EV meningitis, we compared HOT and LOS pre- and post-CPG implementation. RESULTS: Among low-risk RSV-positive patients, the proportion of infants undergoing LP, the proportion of infants receiving antibiotics, HOT, and LOS were unchanged post-CPG. Among low-risk infants with EV meningitis, HOT (79 hours pre-CPG implementation versus 46 hours post-CPG implementation, P < .001) and LOS (47 hours pre-CPG implementation versus 43 hours post-CPG implementation, P = .01) both decreased post-CPG. CONCLUSIONS: CPG implementation is associated with decreased antibiotic exposure and hospital LOS among low-risk infants with EV meningitis; however, there were no associated changes in the proportion of infants undergoing LP, antibiotic exposure, or LOS among low-risk infants with RSV. Further studies are needed to determine specific barriers and facilitators to effectively incorporate diagnostic viral testing into medical decision-making for these infants.

Rates of ICU Transfers After a Scheduled Night-Shift Interprofessional Huddle.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a scheduled interprofessional huddle among pediatric residents, nursing staff, and cardiologists on the number of high-risk transfers to the ICU. METHODS: A daily, night-shift huddle intervention was initiated between the in-house pediatric residents and nursing staff covering the cardiology ward patients with the at-home attending cardiologist. Retrospective cohort chart review identified high-risk transfers from the inpatient floor to the ICU over a 24-month period (eg, inotropic support, intubation, and/or respiratory support within 1 hour of ICU transfer). Satisfaction with the intervention and the impact of the intervention on team-based communication and resident education was collected using a retrospective pre-post survey. RESULTS: Ninety-three patients were identified as unscheduled transfers from the ward team to the ICU. Overall, 21 preintervention transfers were considered high risk, whereas only 8 patients were considered high risk after the intervention (P=.004). During the night shift, high risk transfers decreased from 8 of 17 (47%) to 3 of 21 patients (14%) (P=.03). Interprofessional communication improved with 12 of 14 nurses and 24 of 25 residents reporting effective communication after the intervention (P<.0001) compared with only 1 nurse and 15 residents reporting a positive experience before the intervention. Overall, all 3 provider groups stated an improved experience covering a high-risk cardiology patient population. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of an interprofessional huddle may contribute to decreasing high-risk transfers to the ICU. Initiating a daily huddle was well received and allowed for open lines of communication across all provider groups.

Asthma Care Quality Measures at Children's Hospitals and Asthma-Related Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: The Joint Commission requires hospitals to report on Children's Asthma Care (CAC) measures, although their relationship to outcomes is not clear. The objective of this study was to (1) characterize metrics hospitals use for asthma, and to (2) determine if the number and type of metrics used is associated with readmission rates. STUDY DESIGN: Pediatric hospital quality leaders were asked to identify asthma metrics utilized by their respective organizations via an online survey. "Use" of metrics was defined as periodically measuring data regardless of performance. Linear regression was used to determine if the number or domain of metrics grouped by topic used was associated with 7-, 30-, and 90-day same-cause readmission rates obtained from the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS). RESULTS: Among respondents (n = 27, 62.7%), the mean number of metrics used was 20.5 (SD = 9.1, range = 4-38). There was no association between the number or domain type of metrics used and 7-, 30-, or 90-day readmission rates. CONCLUSIONS: Despite using a wide variety of asthma metrics, there was no association between use of any metric or domain of metrics and asthma-related readmission rates. Additional work should identify asthma process measures that are associated with meaningful outcomes.

Discrepancies in physician-patient agreement in reporting ocular history.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of agreement between physicians and patients in reporting ocular history and to determine whether there are any predictive factors for physician-patient consensus. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. PARTICIPANTS: Between June and September 2014, adult patients undergoing cataract surgery were recruited for the study. METHODS: Before surgery, patient demographics and self-reported ocular history were extracted from a prospectively collected database. Medical charts were retrospectively examined to retrieve physician-reported ocular history. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-eight patients participated. Mean cohort logMAR visual acuity was 0.46 ± 0.34 (Snellen equivalent of approximately 20/60) and mean age was 74.1 ± 8.3 years. For glaucoma, Cohen's kappa revealed a moderate-to-good concordance between physicians and patients (κ = 0.604), whereas a poor-to-fair level of agreement existed in reporting maculopathy, such as age-related macular degeneration and macular holes (κ = 0.254). The logistic regression model revealed that preoperative visual acuity (p = 0.223), sex (p = 0.736), age (p = 0.910), and education (p = 0.738) were not significant predictors of physician-patient agreement. CONCLUSIONS: The accuracy of patient-reported ocular history varies by pathology. Self-reported glaucoma history is consistent between patients and physicians; however, patients under-report the diagnosis of maculopathy. Age, sex, and level of education do not appear to influence patient-reported accuracy of ocular comorbidities.

Predictors of functional vision changes after cataract surgery: the PROVISION study.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain whether time-to-treatment, sex, age, preoperative functional vision scores, education, and ocular comorbidities predict change in functional vision pre- to postoperatively in patients receiving cataract surgery. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred and forty-three cataract patients at the Hamilton Regional Eye Institute. METHODS: Participants 18 years or older scheduled to undergo cataract surgery completed the Catquest-9SF functional vision questionnaire on the day of their surgery and were mailed a survey 2-3 months postoperatively. Multivariate linear regression was used to determine the ability of predictors to explain variability in functional vision change between questionnaire administrations. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-six patients completed both baseline and follow-up questionnaires. Mean age of the cohort was 73.8 ± 8.1 years. Most patients were female (59.6%), had cataract surgery performed for the first time (66.9%), and had spent a mean time of 20.3 ± 20.7 weeks waiting for surgery. Functional vision improved in 83.7% of patients. The mean baseline Catquest-9SF score was the only significant predictor of functional vision improvement (adjusted R(2) = 0.47; F1,159 = 144.6; p < 0.001). Controlling for other variables, functional vision improved by 0.74 logits when mean baseline survey score increased by 1 logit. CONCLUSIONS: In most patients, functional vision improved after cataract surgery. Mean baseline Catquest-9SF score was a moderate predictor of the observed improvement.

Optimizing Your Mentoring Relationship: A Toolkit for Mentors and Mentees.

INTRODUCTION: Mentorship is a vital component of academic and professional development. Mentees report positive impacts from mentorship programs, yet institutions and societies may struggle to meet their mentees' needs due to factors such as mentor fatigue and lack of mentor training. To address this in our own professional society, the Association of Pediatric Program Directors, we developed a mentor toolkit in order to utilize a variety of mentoring models, provide faculty development for midlevel mentors, and offer guidance to mentees. METHODS: Most of these tools were designed to be administered in an interactive format such as a workshop or seminar with think-pair-share opportunities. The toolkit begins by providing a definition of mentoring and reinforcing the benefits and the characteristics of effective mentoring relationships. Next, we discuss the important role that mentees have in creating and maintaining effective mentoring relationships (i.e., mentee-driven mentoring). We then introduce a mentoring mosaic activity designed to help mentees examine their professional network and think about how they might expand it to fulfill the spectrum of their mentoring needs. Next, we present guidelines for the implementation of four mentoring models that can be used within one's institution: traditional dyadic mentoring, peer group mentoring, meet the professor mentoring, and speed mentoring. We then provide tools that can be used to help facilitate effective mentoring development. RESULTS: This toolkit has successfully served as a self-guided resource at national meetings for many years, garnering positive feedback from mentors and mentees alike. DISCUSSION: The principles and methods are easily generalizable and may be used to guide mentorship programs within institutional and professional societies, as well as to assist mentors and mentees in optimizing their individual mentoring relationships.

Should we tell parents when we've made an error?

One of the most difficult experiences for any doctor or nurse is when they realize that they have made a mistake that has harmed a patient. In the past, mistakes were seldom disclosed to patients. The prevailing ethos was one of professional silence, secrecy, and shame. That has begun to change. Many professional organizations in both medicine and health law recommend full disclosure of mistakes and apologies for the harm that is caused. An atmosphere of openness and honesty leads to a culture of quality and safety. In this Ethics Rounds, we analyze the complex emotional and ethical issues that arise when doctors recognize that an error has occurred.

Beneficial effects of vasopressin in prolonged pediatric cardiac arrest: a case series.

Children who suffer cardiac arrest have a poor prognosis. Based on laboratory animal studies and clinical data in adults, vasopressin is an exciting new vasopressor treatment modality during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In particular, vasopressin has resulted in short term resuscitation benefits as a "rescue" pressor agent in the setting of prolonged out-of-hospital CPR for ventricular fibrillation in adults. This retrospective series presents the first evidence for resuscitation benefit of bolus vasopressin therapy in the specific setting of pediatric cardiac arrest. All episodes of CPR initiated in a 120-bed tertiary care children's hospital over a three-year period (1997-2000) were reviewed. Four children in the pediatric ICU received vasopressin boluses as rescue therapy during six cardiac arrest events, following failure of conventional CPR, advanced life support, and epinephrine vasopressor therapy. Return of spontaneous circulation for greater than 60 min occurred in three of four patients (75%) and in four of six CPR events (66%) following vasopressin administration. Two of four vasopressin recipients survived >24 h; one survived to hospital discharge and one had withdrawal of supportive therapies following family discussion. Our observations are AHA level 5 (retrospective case series) evidence that vasopressin administration may be beneficial during prolonged pediatric cardiac arrest. Such reports should pave the way for prospective clinical trials comparing vasopressor medications in the setting of pediatric cardiac arrest.