485 - Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator Workforce: A Survey Study

Sunday, April 30, 2023

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Poster Number: 485
Publication Number: 485.31

Ashley A.. Foster, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, United States; Joyce Li, Boston Children's Hospital, boston, MA, United States; Michael Ely, Emergency Medical Services for Children Data Center, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; Marianne Gausche-Hill, University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Santa Fe Springs, CA, United States; Craig Newgard, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, OR, United States; Matthew Wilkinson, UT Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, United States; Katherine Remick, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Ashley A. Foster, MD (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
San Francisco, California, United States

Background:

Despite emergency care guidelines highlighting the importance of pediatric emergency care coordinators (PECC) within every emergency department (ED) to enhance pediatric readiness, little is understood regarding the existing PECC workforce.

Objective:

We describe PECC role characteristics by annual pediatric ED volume, position characteristics, PECC responsibilities, barriers to additional pediatric education, and threats to the PECC role.

Design/Methods:

We performed a survey study of PECCs in the United States (US) from 2021-2022. Participants of the Emergency Medical Services for Children PECC Workforce Development Collaborative and Trauma Improvement Sprint that identified as PECCs were surveyed. Annual pediatric ED volume was characterized as: low (< 1800 patients), medium (1800-4999 patients), medium-high (5000-9999 patients), and high (≥10,000 patients). Proportions of PECC responsibilities were calculated to equal 100%. The Kruskal Wallace test, and non-parametric and categorical trend tests were performed to explore the relationship between pediatric ED volume and PECC characteristics. Statistical tests were two-tailed with an alpha at 0.05.

Results:

Sixty-one percent of approached participants completed the survey. The majority (75.2%) identified as an ED nurse and 30.7% reported the role was a volunteer position (Table 1). There was a significant difference in median hours per week of protected time and median hours per week spent on PECC activities by pediatric annual ED volume (p< 0.001, p< 0.001, respectively). The respondents worked in hospitals throughout the US regions: Northeast (14%), Midwest (36.0%), South (13.0%), West (36.0%) and US islands (1.0%). Most respondents reported more dedicated time was needed to fulfill PECC activities (58.4%), and desired additional PECC training (70.8%). Most (74.6%) thought the PECC position should be a paid position. Assigned responsibilities as a PECC were most frequently education of staff (77.2%), oversight of quality improvement efforts (72.8%), and to liaise with other hospital committees/departments (67.5%). The most frequently selected barriers to additional pediatric education and threats to the PECC position are displayed in Figures 1 and 2.

Conclusion(s):

Within the existing PECC workforce, there is variability in PECC role characteristics. Participants report desire for further training and identify competing programs as the most common threat to keeping the PECC role within the ED. Further study is needed to understand if specific PECC role characteristics are associated with enhanced pediatric readiness.