Sedation Experiences of Pediatric Intensive Care Nurses: Exploring PICU Nurse Perspectives on Sedative Management and Communication

Objective: This study's purpose is to better understand pediatric intensive care nursing perspectives on sedative management as a precursor to improving aspects of sedation assessment, titration, and communication. Methods/Design: We queried nurses in the pediatric intensive care unit at a 40+ bed quaternary care using an electronic survey about their experiences with sedation management. Data was collected using REDCap and statistical analyses were performed to assess for differences between experience levels in areas. Results: Seventy nurses responded with 42% response rate. More than 95% were comfortable calculating sedation and delirium scores. Those with less than 5 years’ experience were significantly more likely to consider sedation scores helpful (P = .04) and also significant more likely to agree that delirium scores are used effectively (P = .01). Eighty-eight percent of respondents were comfortable raising concerns about sedation to the multidisciplinary team, but those with less than 5 years’ experience were significantly less likely to express concerns to attending (P = .001). Conclusion: Newer nurses are more inclined to support use of standardized scoring systems for sedation and delirium, but less comfortable approaching attending clinicians with their concerns. Intensive care teams should pay careful attention to team dynamics, particularly as they apply to sedative management and work to improve communication, collaboration, and educational interventions to improve patient care. Further work understanding nursing perspectives and further attempts to improve interprofessional communication seems a wise investment and could obviate barriers that may exist.