HJLR Nov/Dec 2018

Healthcare Journal of LITTLE ROCK I  NOV / DEC 2018 13 training leads to safer, more effective, and compassionate care. It is incredible for pro- viders to have a chance to practice a proce- dure in a true-to-life setting, rather than first encountering the challenges with someone who is sick or hurt. Our simulation educa- tion center uses high-fidelity manikins, like a baby model with an anatomically realis- tic airway that can be changed to represent conditions like a swollen tongue, or even a critical diagnosis that requires a chest tube insertion or thoracentesis. We have also found simulation education using standard- ized patients—specially trained actors—helps teams like Security and Pastoral Care adapt their skills by being exposed to a variety of unusual or difficult situations theymay face in real life. There are opportunities for vir- tually anyone involved in providing health care to refine their skills using simulation training. Editor Children’s Hospital Association claims hospital staffing vacancies are a prob- lem. Is this the case at Arkansas Children’s Hospital? Doderer  Conversations with healthcare executives across the country reveal we have entered another nursing shortage coast-to-coast. The reason is two-fold: We have a wealth of nursing knowledge approaching retirement, meaning a gen- eration is exiting the industry. At the same time there is a restricted number of nursing school student slots, meaning we struggle to meet the need with qualified graduates. Arkansas Children’s is not immune to recruitment challenges. We found we must go beyond the borders ofArkansas to recruit pediatric healthcare talent, particularly in nursing. We don’t see it as critical at this moment in time for us particularly, but that is only because we are working on reten- tion every single day. We work on retention just as much as recruitment so that we can avoid a higher vacancy rate. Without question, finding experienced pediatric nurses is a huge challenge. Our solution has been to grow our own. We invested, as many children’s hospitals have, in a first-hand residency program. This experience helps new grads assimilate into the workforce in a shepherdedway, with extended orientation of both hands-on and didactic learning. The model ensures they feel confident when they step into a nurs- ing role and independently take their patient assignment. We believe by doing that we can fuel our engine with skilled nurses as we go. It has proven to be effective over the last few years, as the number of applicants for our first-hand residency program is growing at a tremendous rate. Editor What are some of the innovative things children’s hospitals are doing to improve the experience of patients and their families? Doderer We recognize that patients have a choice. We want Arkansas Children’s to be the system of choice for anyone needing pediatric health care. Therefore, we strive to provide an exceptional experience for all the patients and families who come to us. We have been impressed by our phy- sicians’ interest in helping us achieve that. We have physicians engaged in our patient experience team. Patients are able to rate our physicians online, and we are transparent with those results on our website, archild- rens.org . Any family wondering what their experience might be like visiting any par- ticular physician can go on our website and see howmany stars they get. We are also lis- tening closely to what patient families want “Without question, findingexperienced pediatricnurses is a huge challenge.Our solutionhas been to growourown.”