Pediatricians’ expectations of pediatric nurses on sudden changes in children’s condition

Abstract

 To improve nursing practice in dealing with sudden changes in the condition of pediatric patients, we investigated pediatricians’ expectations of pediatric ward nurses with the aim of identifying possible improvements in nurse education and cooperation with doctors. We conducted semi-structured interviews with ten doctors, qualitatively interpreted and abstracted the interview contents, and extracted the core categories. Relationships identified among the interviews were depicted in a conceptual diagram. We extracted four categories of physician expectation: 1) ability to acquire knowledge which facilitates anticipation of and response to changes in a patient’s condition; 2) ability to perform all examinations and treatments and adjust environmental conditions according to the growth and sudden changes in the condition of pediatric patients, based on the doctor’s instructions and protocols; 3) ability to communicate with the team during urgent situations; and 4) ability to actively listen to complaints and explain the pediatric patient’s condition to family members. These expectations strongly reflect the behavioral elements of nursing practice and the need to adjust the care environment in a manner consistent with the team’s communication practices, based on knowledge about sudden changes in the condition of pediatric patients. Our findings also suggest that pediatric nurses are expected to communicate with the children’s families to help them make the best decisions for the patient.