Telehealth and the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner: Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: Examine the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges of telehealth for the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) in practice and student education. Describe areas for future research and policy development regarding telehealth in PMHNP practice and training during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Review current evidence, standards of practice, and education for the PMHNP. Results: Recent rapid pandemic-related shifts in utilization of telehealth for clinical practice and student education have highlighted the advantages, disadvantages, and areas in need of additional study. Conclusions: Postpandemic telehealth care delivery will likely persist or expand. PMHNPs must advocate for high practice and education standards

Improving the handover and transport of critically ill pediatric patients

The aims of this project were to (a) determine barriers to current handover and transport process, (b) develop a new protocol and process for team-to-team handover, and (c) evaluate staff satisfaction with the new process. The handover and transport of critically ill patients from the paediatric emergency department to the paediatric intensive care unit is a period of vulnerability associated with adverse events. A mixed-methods study using a quasi-experimental design and qualitative approach. Focus groups were conducted to determine the barriers and facilitators of the current handover and transport process. Using these themes, a multidisciplinary team developed and implemented a new process including establishment of eight patient criteria for specialised transport and a standardised, interdisciplinary handover tool for team-to-team handover. Staff satisfaction was examined pre- and postintervention. Content analysis of focus groups revealed five categories: need for improved communication, cultural dissonance among units, defects in system and processes, need for standardisation and ambiguity between providers regarding acuity. Staff members reported improvements in their perceptions of satisfaction, safety, communication and role understanding associated with the new process. Standardisation through the establishment of severity of illness criteria and communication tools creates shared mental models and decreases risks to safety. A paradigm shift of team-to-team handover and transport is recommended. This paper suggests the importance of improving communication during the handover and transport process through establishing standardised patient severity of illness criteria, use of standardised tools and team-to-team handover processes

Building a Safe and Healthy America: Eliminating Corporal Punishment via Positive Parenting

Abstract corporal punishment (CP) is associated with negative short-term and long-term children outcomes. However, many caregivers continue to administer spankings and other forms of CP. Pediatric nurse practitioners are in a unique position to affect change in parental behavior related to CP use and other parenting practices. This article will summarize the research on the dangers of CP and the corresponding benefits of positive parenting. It defines positive parenting and offers resources pediatric health care providers, including pediatric nurse practitioners, can use to educate both themselves and caregivers about specific discipline techniques appropriate to each developmental stage. Finally, it suggests practice strategies pediatric nurse practitioners can use to help caregivers replace CP and other harsh parenting practices with positive parenting to build a safe and healthy America