Journal of Pediatric Surgical Nursing

In the United States, approximately 4 million surgical procedures are performed on children every year. Unfortunately, severe postsurgical pain is common. Patients who still have moderate-to-severe postsurgical pain 1 month after a surgical procedure are at risk for deterioration of their health-related quality of life and the development of chronic postsurgical pain. Despite the magnitude of effects that postsurgical pain can have on a child, it is often inadequately assessed and treated because of the wrong notion that children neither experience or feel pain nor respond to or remember painful experiences to the same degree as adults. PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE (R), PsycINFO, and Google Scholar were searched for current research and literature that examine the use of hypnosis to manage pain for children undergoing surgical procedures during their postoperative recovery period. Although the literature supports a paucity of hypnosis research in children undergoing surgical procedures, four studies were found suggesting that hypnosis may be an effective tool to decrease postsurgical pain for children. The current state of the science leaves many opportunities to improve on the postoperative pain management strategies for children recovering from surgical procedures.

Medical simulation technology as a whole allows the clinical situation to be better understood, controlled, and practiced and is a reproduction of reality that provides a replication of clinical situations through the use of interactive videos, mannequins, and role playing (Cannon-Diehl, 2009). With the use of medical simulation technology, learners are able to practice skills and role-play different scenarios without causing harm to a patient, thus lessening stressful experiences during similar real-life situations (Hebda & Czar, 2013). This practice helps to improve the quality of care given to patients and, in turn, helps to save lives. Simulation also leads to increased confidence and skills of participants.

With an ever increasing importance placed on patient outcomes in regard to reimbursement from insurance companies and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, it is the responsibility of all medical professionals to perform at peak levels during all patient care situations, especially during emergent ones. This harkens back to both the Hippocratic Oath and the Nightingale Pledge in which respondents promise to practice to the best of their abilities and keep the patient's best interest in mind (American Nurses Association, 2012). The opportunity to participate in simulation allows these oaths to be upheld and patients to be cared for by practitioners who are comfortable conducting themselves appropriately and competently within high-stress situations.