title: Optimizing patient care in the pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit.
abstract: In the pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit (PEMU) of a large midwestern hospital, patient care is optimized through the design of the unit, nurse and family education, communication, and medication administration. Four years after the PEMU was developed, the hospital held multidisciplinary discussions and surveyed nurses working in the PEMU to identify areas of nursing confidence. On the basis of the findings, the hospital refined some aspects of patient care, implemented an educational program for nurses who work in the PEMU, and established of a core group of PEMU nurses. Descriptions of the education and communication procedures and of the design features introduced to provide optimal patient care may be useful to other facilities seeking to design and implement PEMUs.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital in Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Perkins
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Buchhalter
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing*; D005190:Family; D006266:Health Education; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008510:Medication Systems, Hospital; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education; D010346:Patient Care Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010362:Patients' Rooms; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014743:Videotape Recording