Patricia A. Hickey

The relationship of nurse staffing, skill mix, and Magnet recognition to institutional volume and mortality for congenital heart surgery.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of nurse staffing, skill mix, and Magnet® recognition to institutional volume and mortality for congenital heart surgery at childrens hospitals. Background: Little is known about how nurse staffing, skill mix, and Magnet recognition influence outcomes in childrens hospitals. Methods: Cases of congenital heart surgery were identified from the 2005-2006 Pediatric Health Information System Database using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. The National Association of Childrens Hospitals and Related Institution database was used for staffing data and verified by chief nursing officers; Magnet recognition was obtained from the American Nurses Credentialing Center Web site. Relationships among nursing characteristics, volume, and mortality were examined. Results: Among children undergoing congenital heart surgery at major childrens hospitals, there was marked variation in intensive care unit (ICU) nursing hours per patient day (14.96-32.31). Variation in ICU nursing skill mix was less extreme (80%-100%); 20 hospitals had 100% registered nurse staffing in ICUs. There was a significant difference in median nursing skill mix between Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals (P = .02). None of the nursing characteristics was associated with mortality. However, higher nursing worked hours was significantly associated with higher volume (rs = 0.39, P = .027). Hospital volume was significantly associated with risk-adjusted mortality. Conclusion: Nursing characteristics varied in ICUs in childrens hospitals treating congenital heart surgery but were not associated with mortality. There was a significant relationship between ICU nursing worked hours and institutional volume. Nursing skill mix was lower in Magnet hospitals.

Reducing Mortality and Infections After Congenital Heart Surgery in the Developing World

BACKGROUND: There is little information about congenital heart surgery outcomes in developing countries. The International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Surgery in Developing World Countries uses a registry and quality improvement strategies with nongovernmental organization reinforcement to reduce mortality. Registry data were used to evaluate impact. METHODS: Twenty-eight sites in 17 developing world countries submitted congenital heart surgery data to a registry, received annual benchmarking reports, and created quality improvement teams. Webinars targeted 3 key drivers: safe perioperative practice, infection reduction, and team-based practice. Registry data were audited annually; only verified data were included in analyses. Risk-adjusted standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and standardized infection ratios among participating sites were calculated. RESULTS: Twenty-seven sites had verified data in at least 1 year, and 1 site withdrew. Among 15 049 cases of pediatric congenital heart surgery, unadjusted mortality was 6.3% and any major infection was 7.0%. SMRs for the overall International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Surgery in Developing World Countries were 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.62–0.81) in 2011 and 0.76 (95% CI 0.69–0.83) in 2012, compared with 2010 baseline. SMRs among 7 sites participating in all 3 years were 0.85 (95% CI 0.71–1.00) in 2011 and 0.80 (95% CI 0.66–0.96) in 2012; among 14 sites participating in 2011 and 2012, the SMR was 0.80 (95% CI 0.70–0.91) in 2012. Standardized infection ratios were similarly reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Congenital heart surgery risk-adjusted mortality and infections were reduced in developing world programs participating in the collaborative quality improvement project and registry. Similar strategies might allow rapid reduction in global health care disparities.

The effect of critical care nursing and organizational characteristics on pediatric cardiac surgery mortality in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored pediatric critical care nursing and organizational factors that impact in-hospital mortality for cardiac surgery patients across children’s hospitals in the United States. BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect and the no. 1 cause of death for infants with a congenital defect. Little is known about the impact of pediatric critical care nursing and organizational factors on pediatric mortality. METHODS: Nursing leaders from 38 children’s hospitals that contribute data to the Pediatric Health Information System data set completed an organizational assessment for years 2009 and 2010. These data were linked with patient-level data. The Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery method was used to adjust for baseline patient differences in patients younger than 18 years. RESULTS: The odds of death increased as the institutional percentage of pediatric critical care unit nurses with 2 years’ clinical experience or less increased. The odds of mortality were highest when the percentage of RNs with 2 years’ clinical experience or less was 20% or greater. The odds of death decreased as the institutional percentage of critical care nurses with 11 years’ clinical experience or more increased and for hospitals participating in national quality metric benchmarking. Clinical experience was independently associated with in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS: These data are the 1st to link clinical nursing experience with pediatric patient outcomes. A cut point of 20% RNs or greater with 2 years’ clinical experience or less was determined to significantly affect inpatient mortality. Participation in national quality metric benchmarking programs was significantly associated with improved mortality.

Capture of Complexity of Specialty Care in Pediatric Cardiology by Work RVU Measures

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the relationship between relative value units (RVUs) and intended measures of work in catheterization for congenital heart disease. METHODS: RVU was determined by matching RVU values to Current Procedural Terminology codes generated for cases performed at a single institution. Differences in median case duration, radiation exposure, adverse events, and RVU values by risk category and cases were assessed. Interventional case types were ranked from lowest to highest median RVU value, and correlations with case duration, radiation dose, and a cases-predicted probability of an adverse event were quantified with the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Between January 2008 and December 2010, 3557 of 4011 cases were identified with an RVU and risk category designation, of which 2982 were assigned a case type. Median RVU values, radiation dose, and case duration increased with procedure risk category. Although all diagnostic cases had similar RVU values (median 10), adverse event rates ranged from 6% to 21% by age group (P < .001). Median RVU values ranged from 9 to 54 with the lowest in diagnostic and biopsy cases and increasing with isolated and then multiple interventions. Among interventional cases, no correlation existed between ranked RVU value and case duration, radiation dose, or adverse event probability (P = .13, P = .62, and P = .43, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Time, skill, and stress inherent to performing catheterization procedures for congenital heart disease are not captured by measurement of RVU alone.

The Nightingale Metrics: Nurses at one institution improved outcomes by putting patients ‘in the best condition for nature to act.’

Staff nurses at Childrens Hospital Boston worked together to identify what was important to the patients and families they cared for, measured how often nurses performed these interventions, and used the data to improve the care they provide. This initiative, the Nightingale Metric Project, can serve as a model for ongoing measurement and improvement of nursing care in all settings.

Exemplary Professional Practice Through Nurse Peer Review

The development and execution of a nurse peer review program to evaluate nursing practice associated with significant adverse events has resulted in systemic changes. Descriptive analyses were conducted for 23 peer-reviewed cases involving 41 RNs and 2 advanced practice nurses from 14 specialties over a 4-year period. Thematic analysis revealed four common event categories: assessment and monitoring, team communication, skin integrity, and vascular access. This approach demonstrates the impact of professional nurse accountability for improving the quality of care and may serve as an exemplar for professional practice.

Implementing a Distraction-Free Practice With the Red Zone Medication Safety Initiative.

Background:The incidence of medication errors remains a continued concern across the spectrum of health care. Approaches to averting medication errors and implementing a culture of safety are key areas of focus for most institutions. We describe our experience of implementing a distraction-free medication safety practice across a large free-standing children’s hospital. Methods:A nurse-led interprofessional group was convened to develop a program-wide quality improvement process for the practice of medication safety. A key driver diagram was developed to guide the Red Zone Medication Safety initiative. Change acceleration process was used to evaluate the implementation and impact of the initiative. Results:Since implementation in 2010, there has been a significant reduction in medication events of 79.2% (P = .00184) and 65.3% (P = .035) (in the cardiac intensive care unit and acute care cardiac unit, respectively), including months with unprecedented zero reportable medication events. There also has been a sustained decrease in the number of events reaching the patient (33.3% in the cardiac intensive care unit and 57.1% in the acute care cardiac unit). Conclusions:The implementation of a distraction-free practice was found to be feasible and effective, demonstrating a sustained decrease in the overall number of medication events, event rate, and number of events reaching patients. This interprofessional approach was successful in a large inpatient cardiovascular program and then effectively transferred across all hospital inpatient units. Additional sites of implementation include other high-risk patient care areas such as procedure/operative units.

International quality improvement initiatives

Across the globe, the implementation of quality improvement science and collaborative learning has positively affected the care and outcomes for children born with CHD. These efforts have advanced the collective expertise and performance of inter-professional healthcare teams. In this review, we highlight selected quality improvement initiatives and strategies impacting the field of cardiovascular care and describe implications for future practice and research. The continued leveraging of technology, commitment to data transparency, focus on team-based practice, and recognition of cultural norms and preferences ensure the success of sustainable models of global collaboration.

Use of a Pediatric Cardiovascular Nursing Consortium for Development and Evaluation of Quality Measures: The C4-MNP Experience

UNLABELLED The evidence linking nursing care and patient outcomes has been globally demonstrated. Thus, it is time for translation and application of this evidence to robust measurement that uniquely demonstrates the value of nursing care and the characteristics of the nursing workforce that contribute to optimal patient outcomes. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify and develop standardized measures representative of pediatric nursing care of the cardiovascular patient for benchmarking within freestanding childrens hospitals. METHODS Using a consensus-based approach, the Consortium of Congenital Cardiac Care- Measurement of Nursing Practice (C4-MNP) members developed quality measures within working groups and then individually critiqued all drafted measures. Final draft measures were then independently reviewed and critiqued by an external nursing quality measurement committee. The final quality measures were also made available to a national parent support group for feedback. OUTCOMES The development process used by C4-MNP resulted in 10 measures eligible for testing across freestanding childrens hospitals. Employing a collaborative consensus-based method plus implementing the criteria of the National Quality Forum and external vetting period provided a strong framework for the development and evaluation of standardized measures. NEXT STEPS The Consortium will continue with implementation and testing of each measure in 9 of our 28 collaborating centers. This activity will support initial development of benchmarks and evaluation of the association of the measures with patient outcomes.

Pediatric critical care nursing research priorities - Initiating international dialogue

Objective: To identify and prioritize research questions of concern to the practice of pediatric critical care nursing practice. Design: One-day consensus conference. By using a conceptual framework by Benner et al describing domains of practice in critical care nursing, nine international nurse researchers presented state-of-the-art lectures. Each identified knowledge gaps in their assigned practice domain and then poised three research questions to fill that gap. Then, meeting participants prioritized the proposed research questions using an interactive multivoting process. Setting: Seventh World Congress on Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care in Istanbul, Turkey. Participants: Pediatric critical care nurses and nurse scientists attending the open consensus meeting. Interventions: Systematic review, gap analysis, and interactive multivoting. Measurements and Main Results: The participants prioritized 27 nursing research questions in nine content domains. The top four research questions were 1) identifying nursing interventions that directly impact the child and family’s experience during the withdrawal of life support, 2) evaluating the long-term psychosocial impact of a child’s critical illness on family outcomes, 3) articulating core nursing competencies that prevent unstable situations from deteriorating into crises, and 4) describing the level of nursing education and experience in pediatric critical care that has a protective effect on the mortality and morbidity of critically ill children. Conclusions: The consensus meeting was effective in organizing pediatric critical care nursing knowledge, identifying knowledge gaps and in prioritizing nursing research initiatives that could be used to advance nursing science across world regions.