The PICU Protocol is an intensive care manual that nurses, doctors, and other health care providers use to provide optimal care for patients in the pediatric ICU.
It was written by a group of highly experienced pediatric nurses who were frustrated with the inconsistency of medical standards they witnessed in their professional lives.
In 1999, the American Nurses Association conducted a survey of its members and found that there was considerable variability in ICU protocols among hospitals. As a result, The American Nurses Association developed the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) Protocol and NICU book as a guideline for practice.
The PICU protocol book has been around for over 20 years and is the most complete source of information on the care of critically ill children in the hospital. It is crucial for any person working with critically ill children to have access to this book.
This book is a must-have for any person who works with critically ill children in a hospital setting, including physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists. Its goal is to provide tools for managing sick or injured children and their families during their stay in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
PICU Important Guidelines for Medical Professionals
This list is not exhaustive and is not intended to be used as a sole source of medical care.
1. Warmth and Human Connection:
2. Building Rapport:
3. Visiting Hours:
4. Communication Strategies:
5. Patient Education:
6. Teamwork and Collaboration:
7. Polypharmacy Management:
The following guidelines are for medical professionals in the PICU.
1. All staff members must have a negative TB skin test and chest X-ray within 5 years prior to employment or within 6 months after arrival at the RDH
2. All staff members with an ICD-10-CM diagnosis code of “B19” or “B20” must wear a surgical mask while in the PICU and always use appropriate hand hygiene measures
3. Staff members who are not immune through two doses of the varicella vaccine should not provide care if they have any evidence of chickenpox or when they have been exposed to someone with a chickenpox infection
4. Staff member may not work while symptomatic with virus symptoms, including fever, rash, runny nose, severe headache, malaise, sore throat
5. Staff members may not work until diarrhea has subsided for 3 days; employees working in areas where there is FEC.