CODE PINK PACIFIER©: Developing the Postpartum, Intrapartum, Newborn Kits (Pink) for Practicing Acute Care Intrapartum Facts Important for Everyone to Have Right (Pacifier) Program
- Increase knowledge and awareness to improve patient safety
- Meet regulatory compliance based on latest evidence based practice
- Decrease liability by standardizing and regionalizing obstetrical learning and care
Perinatal nurses need to be prepared for emergency events such as shoulder dystocia, placental abruption, emergency Cesarean section, and high epidural. A team of nurse educators from Regions 1 and 2 was formed to create an education program to assist in maintaining nursing skills when providing urgent care in these select situations. The purpose of the program was to improve staff response time, increase staff knowledge and increase confidence in the ability to intervene appropriately in these obstetrical events.
Proposed change:
A team of 12 members met to define the problem. Eleven high risk, low frequency situations were identified for the project which became known as PINK PACIFIER ( Postpartum, Intrapartum, Newborn Kits for Practicing Acute Care Intrapartum Facts Important for Everyone to have Right). The team identified the knowledge and skill required for nurses in each situation. Because the need to respond promptly and use critical thinking was so urgent in these situations, the group decided to use clinical simulation as the education strategy. Simulation is extremely effective, allowing information to be presented while hands-on participation enhances skill development and retention of learning. Simulation can range from high-fidelity, computerized manikins to basic student role playing. Our goal was to meet the needs of any Level 1 to 3 institution regardless of the type of simulation technology available.
Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:
The formats for the various competency forms vary to allow for each facility to determine which format best fits their needs. Each obstetrical event has a section in the kit. The section begins with a reference list of evidence based articles from AWHONN journals and other key sources. Lists of media resources for staff teaching were included. Finally, we created clinical scenarios for simulation. The kits are organized in a portable file inside a designed canvas bag for easy storage. The regional organizations provided each member institution with a bag and now offer the kits for sale to non-member institutions.. We plan to include evaluation of the educational program in the future so that we can revise based on feedback from educators and learners
Implications for nursing practice:
Regions 1 and 2 were able to successfully form a task force from their consortiums that provided quality education for nurses in perinatal and women’s health. This collaboration was efficient and produced the PINK PACIFIER kits that could be used in any size or type of institutions providing inpatient obstetrical care.
Keywords: PINK PACIFIER, Simulation education
