A Pediatric Critical Care Practice Group: Use of Expertise and Evidence-Based Practice in Identifying and Establishing “Best” Practice

Nursing leaders from 4 different intensive care units (ICUs) at Boston Children’s Hospital noted wide variation in nursing practices. These variations were obvious to nursing staff and the discrepancies in practice created a source of frustration for parents of children cared for in these units. Practice variation that is unnecessary has been linked to patient safety concerns.^1–4  Collaboration to explore discrepancies in nursing practice was needed. Through this initiative, the Critical Care Practice Group (CCPG) was established to determine “best” practice and standardize nursing policy and practice guidelines across the clinical areas (cardiac ICU, neonatal ICU, medical ICU, and medical-surgical ICU).

Clinical nurse specialists and staff nurses from each critical care area were invited to participate. The CCPG sets a yearly strategic plan and meets monthly to move best practices into the clinical setting. Clinical concerns are identified and prioritized for completion. Problems are addressed by using...