title: Nurses, children, and play.
abstract: A child's play is recognized as a useful tool for nurses in the diagnostic process of making judgments about a hospitalized child's compliance with medical procedures, adjustment to the hospital environment, degree of pain, and level of psychosocial functioning. However, the knowledge base that is required to effectively help a pediatric patient "play" in a therapeutic mode appears to be extremely limited for most nurses and is rarely addressed in a substantive manner in nursing education. Educational programs must be willing to incorporate a "developmentally appropriate, culturally sensitive, and family-centered approach" using clinical experiences and professional role models in their nursing curricula. The end product should be nurses who are competent in a much wider range of medical technological and psychosocial issues than has been necessary in the past. In short, nurses must learn to play.
authors.forename: P O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Jessee
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D010988:Play and Playthings