鈥淲e heal for them,鈥� goes the motto at Palm Beach Children鈥檚 Hospital, but a child who鈥檚 been poked numerous times getting an IV line inserted can tell you there鈥檚 pain on the road to healing. Nurse Cody Peters decided to do something about that.
鈥淚 could see firsthand the physical and emotional pain and the stress that not only the patient but the parents went through鈥� during the IV process, he said. Peters, then a pediatric ICU nurse at the hospital, was doing research toward his聽聽degree at 海角在线 and learned about the J-Tip, a device developed to numb the spot targeted for an IV. To study this device for his DNP research project, he turned to his mentor and boss, Ashley Barquin, who is also a graduate of 海角在线鈥檚 DNP program.
鈥淐ody has a true passion for helping pediatric patients as well as nursing in general,鈥� said Barquin, an assistant chief nursing officer at St. Mary鈥檚 Medical Center and Palm Beach Children鈥檚 Hospital. She had hired Peters, and she eagerly agreed to help him plan a J-Tip study.
Instead of a needle, the J-Tip uses a CO2 cartridge to force a numbing agent under the skin. According to the manufacturer, this allows a virtually painless IV insertion. However, many hospitals are not yet using the device. 鈥淥ften, when you need to insert an IV, you want to do it fast, so you can give a kid extra fluids or medications,鈥� Peters said. In those cases, many nurses don鈥檛 want to add an extra step like using the J-Tip.
Additionally, Barquin has observed that someone proposing a new device or technique runs into hospital staff set in their ways. 鈥淚ntroducing change into nursing can be hard,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut with the DNP we often take research that鈥檚 out there and put it into play.鈥� So she guided Peters to get a study approved at the hospital.
After receiving the green light from hospital officials, Peters needed approval from the parents of pediatric patients who would be involved. And Peters went an extra step, also getting assent from each child. Only a few people declined to participate, he said, and the study proceeded with 55 children enrolled.
Peters randomly assigned the children into two groups: a control group that received IVs inserted the conventional way and an intervention group that received their IVs with the help of the J-Tip. Pain scores were assessed for each patient, and the J-Tip group reported significantly less pain, with no severe adverse effects.
As a result of the study, Palm Beach Children鈥檚 Hospital adopted a new policy to use the J-Tip, so Peters achieved his goal: 鈥渆liminating pain for these kids.鈥�
鈥淐ody really wants the best for his patients,鈥� said Barquin. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a fantastic nurse.鈥�
Peters graduated with his DNP in May, and soon afterward moved to New York City, where he now works in the cardiac ICU of the prestigious Mount Sinai Hospital. He earned three , bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚, and DNP, and he looks back gratefully at the experience.
鈥淢y professors, my clinical adjuncts, and all the people who have helped me through nursing school have always been there for me,鈥� said Peters. He recalled the encouraging feedback he often received.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very hard job to be a nurse, and having someone say, 鈥榞ood job,鈥� or 鈥榶ou鈥檙e doing great,鈥� even when you鈥檙e not perfect, boosts your morale and your confidence,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat really helped me as a nurse and as a person in general.鈥� And his fellow DNP grad Ashley Barquin, Peters said, 鈥渨as amazing鈥� as preceptor and mentor.
As an undergraduate nursing major, Peters earned a minor in psychology, and he developed a love for research and skill in writing scientific papers. Now at Mount Sinai Hospital, he鈥檚 already looking for new research opportunities. He hopes to keep working for new evidence-based practices to better serve patients and advance his profession.