Don't rely too much on triggers for RRTs
Terry Davis, MD, interim medical director at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH, says the hospital had to clarify some initial misunderstandings about when to call its rapid response team (RRT). At first, the clinicians were confused as to when the RRT should be called, as opposed to calling for a pediatric intensive care consult.
Hospital leaders clarified that the RRT was primarily for the times when someone felt his or her concerns were not being heard or the patient was deteriorating rapidly. A pediatric intensive care consult still was the more appropriate first response when the clinician simply wanted an expert opinion.
Davis says the team at his hospital also has learned not to depend exclusively on objective triggers, such as a certain pulse rate, for calling the RRT. Those can be fine for signaling when the RRT definitely should be called, he says, but people should be reminded that they don't have to wait for those triggers.
"Our policy is, 'If you're worried, so are we,'" he says. "If the nurse or the resident or a parent is worried and not getting a good response from those around them, we want to know about it. We don't want them waiting for a numerical threshold before they feel like they can act."
Terry Davis, MD, interim medical director at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH, says the hospital had to clarify some initial misunderstandings about when to call its rapid response team (RRT). At first, the clinicians were confused as to when the RRT should be called, as opposed to calling for a pediatric intensive care consult.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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