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32 JANUARY 2018 | EMSWORLD.com T he smaller the child, the higher the stress. The sicker the child, the higher the stress. The greater the need for precision, the higher the stress. The less common the situation, the higher the stress. It should be no surprise that for most prehospital and ER professionals, caring for little kids who are crashing or coding is about as stressful as it comes. What could be worse? Try dealing with all that stress and critical work and add math calcula- tions and complex memorization at the same time! Why are pediatric emergencies stressful? Most of us work with big people every day, but we're not asked to care for sick kids very often, and really, really sick kids even less. Kids are special. Every one of us either has a kid, knows someone who has a kid, or was a kid at some point. There's so much stress involved because kids should be cute and cuddly, not critical or crashing. So what's a person to do? Stress can bring out the "fight or flight" response—not a good reaction in our business. To avoid it, start with practice and preparation. Add a little planning and a few products, and you'll be amazed at the reduction in stress and the increase in confidence you'll have in these very difficult situations. Tried and True Some of our more experienced colleagues in healthcare remember the (not so) good old days, before so many of the advances we might take for granted. In those days, if you wanted to remember something, it generally involved paper in a pocket rather than icons on an iPhone. There are still several great nonelectronic pediatric "cheat sheets" out there, and we highly recommend you find one that works for you. Put it in your pocket, hang it from a monitor or IV pole, or even chain it to your crash cart—keep it wherever it can be easily retrieved and referenced. And since our work environments are subject to the occasional liquid exposures, including blood and bodily fluids, protecting these handy helpers from A Broselow color-coded crash cart (Photo: Armstrong Medical) Calm down—it's gotten easier to treat seriously sick kids By Scott DeBoer, RN, MSN, CPEN, CEN, CCRN, CFRN, EMT-P; Emily Dawson, MD; Lisa DeBoer; Julie Bacon, MSN-HCSM, RNC-LRN, NE-BC, CPN, CPEN, C-NPT; and Michael Seaver, RN, BA This is the first in a three-part series. PART 1: FROM NOTES TO WHEELS TO TAPES The Evolution of Excellence in Pediatric Emergency Care