American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Nursing and organizational characteristics influence patients' outcomes. Little is known about nursing structure and process supports in the intensive care units of children's hospitals. Objectives To describe and understand nursing and organizational characteristics of cardiovascular care in children's hospitals. ⋯ Cardiovascular intensive care varies widely across children's hospitals. Opportunities exist for support and retention of an intergenerational nursing workforce. These findings may serve as a contemporary benchmarking source and foundation to standardize models of care, support, and resource utilization in pediatric intensive care units.
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Regular pain assessment can lead to decreased incidence of pain and shorter durations of mechanical ventilation and stays in the intensive care unit. ⋯ A substantial proportion of intensive care unit nurses did not use pain assessment tools for patients unable to communicate and were unaware of pain management guidelines published by professional societies.