Press Release
Four Carteret General Emergency RNs Certified as Pediatric Instructors
In spite of national pediatric trauma statistics, there are a limited number of Emergency Departments (EDs) throughout the country that have specialized pediatric care. Noting the need to educate nurses on caring for acutely ill and injured children and for more instructors in eastern North Carolina to train caregivers, Carteret General Emergency staff has now completed the process to have four Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course (ENPC) instructors.
Registered Nurse Rebecca Steele of Carteret General Hospital’s Emergency Department shares, “ENPC is a course that prepares nurses to recognize symptoms and conditions before they become emergencies as well as react quickly and appropriately when faced with the small window of opportunity presented by pediatric illnesses and injuries.”
The four certified instructors at Carteret General are Deana Hewson, RN, Susan Hastings, RN, Rebecca Steele, RN and Terri Dewees, RN.
Emergency Department Director, Terri Dewees elaborates, “Our goal is for the entire ED staff to attain this certification because it is our responsibility to stabilize patients and prepare them for safe transport to a higher level of care when necessary. There are no ENPC classes taught east of the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel area, and they usually fill immediately because of the number of nurses seeking this training. For example, there was a nurse who travelled from Alabama to attend our first class.”
Trauma is the leading cause of death from infancy to adulthood, accounting for nearly 40% of all pediatric deaths according to the Emergency Nurses Association. While only five percent of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits represent true life-threatening medical or surgical emergencies, acute illness still remains a dominant source of unnecessary pediatric deaths. In many instances, these preventable pediatric deaths are the result of delayed recognition and treatment by emergency department personnel. Proper intervention by educated emergency care professionals may have prevented such deaths and disabilities.
Three additional Registered Nurses, Robin Hibble, Tony Hunter and Angela Cooke are Instructor Candidates and are close to being certified. Once certified as instructors, Carteret General will have seven instructors.
According to Diannne Steele, President, North Carolina Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), the ENA will be recognizing the efforts of CGH on their website and in their next publications. Ms. Steele served as Course Director of the first course on August 12th and 13th in order to allow Carteret County’s director to be trained.
Rebecca Steele notes, “The interest shown by Carteret ED staff and their obvious preparation attests to their commitment to provide excellent patient care for our community. This class and future certifications are possible only because of the recognition of the value of continuing education and the assistance and cooperation of multiple individuals including Katie Orr, Donna Cheek and Carteret Community College, and we sincerely thank them.”
Recognizing the need for a course in pediatric emergency nursing, the Emergency Nurses Association developed the Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course (ENPC). The course teaches participants to recognize the ill or injured child and identify significant, yet subtle changes in the less acute child. Additionally, the course teaches all aspects of pediatric emergency nursing, including, but not limited to pediatric trauma or resuscitation. The ultimate goal of the course is to improve the care of the pediatric patient by increasing the knowledge, skill, and confidence of emergency nurses.
ENPC is the first course of it's kind offered on an international level, and is the only pediatric emergency nursing course written by pediatric nurse experts. It is also the only course that carries the endorsement of a major nursing specialty organization with the purpose of providing a consistent and standardized knowledge base and approach among nurses caring for the pediatric patient.
Individuals interested in participating in an ENPC course should contact the Course Operations Department of the ENA National Office by email at courseops@ena.org or phone (800) 900-9659. Courses will be conducted as determined by need, as related to the number of participants, and by availability of instructors.
Carteret General Hospital is a 135-bed hospital serving Eastern North Carolina. The Hospital offers a full range of acute care, diagnostic and outpatient services at a level that you would only expect at a larger facility. For additional information about Carteret General Hospital, call 252.808.6000 or visit our website at ccgh.org
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