At Children’s Nebraska, we want your child to feel comfortable during an inpatient stay. One of the ways we do that is through pediatric hospitalist care.
Hospitalists are physicians who focus on treating patients staying at the hospital. You cannot make an appointment with a hospitalist. Once your child is checked into inpatient care, the Children’s staff will get them set up with a hospitalist team.
If your child is hospitalized at Children’s, ask their nurse about meeting the hospitalist who will be working with you and your child.
- When children work with a pediatric hospitalist after surgery, they tend to have shorter hospital stays.
- Hospitalists played a major role in developing the “100,000 Lives Campaign” — a hospital safety program that saved an estimated 122,000 lives in 18 months.
- Hospitals with hospitalist programs have been shown to have reduced patient costs and better-improved communication between patients and their families.
What Sets Children’s Apart?
Children aren’t just miniature adults. They have unique medical and emotional needs and their own way of communicating. Pediatric hospitalists are specially trained in treating a younger population, meaning they can provide care that is specifically designed for children and adolescents.
What Makes Hospitalists Great?
There are many reasons why hospitalists are excellent contributors to your child’s care and the hospital in general:
They Are Team Captains
When your child is in the hospital, they will work with many types of providers. Between the physicians, nurses, child life specialists, chaplains, tutors, and social workers — just to name a few — your child has an entire team behind them.
With so many people on your child’s care team, strong communication and coordination are key.
Hospitalists are like team captains. They facilitate communication between members of the care team, develop game plans, and make sure that everyone is on the same page. They are a central presence, ensuring that your child’s needs are met seamlessly among all those people. When your child leaves the hospital, they give the pediatrician a full report on your child’s hospital stay, as well as recommendations for follow-up care and recovery.
They Are Experts At Inpatient Care
While all of the physicians at Children’s are prepared to treat your child if they are hospitalized, hospitalists play a unique role on your child’s care team. Your child’s pediatrician may visit the hospital, but they spend a lot of time outside of the hospital, in their practice.
Unlike general pediatricians, hospitalists focus exclusively on inpatient care within the hospital. They know the ins and outs of the hospital and have developed strong working relationships with other members of your child’s care team, such as nurses, lab technicians, and child life specialists.
They Improve Quality And Safety
Hospitalists have several jobs that improve both care quality and patient safety, including:
- Identifying safety risks (e.g., medication issues) before they become a problem
- Helping prevent surgical mistakes
- Participating in or leading hospital-wide quality improvement projects
- Anticipating needs of patients so they can be met right away
Hospitalists also improve care for future patients — including your child, if they ever need to come back. By seeing first-hand what happens in the hospital, they can communicate with hospital leaders and staff about what is working well and what can be improved.
Hospital Medicine & Inpatient Care Specialists
Some of the different types of providers your child may receive care from during a hospital stay include:
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Hospitalists
Hospitalists are physicians (MDs, or Medical Doctors) who work solely with patients who are staying in the hospital. If your child is checked into inpatient care, a hospitalist will act as the team captain — facilitating communication between members of your child’s care team, developing treatment plans, and making sure everyone is on the same page.Hospitalists improve safety and quality in the hospital by identifying safety risks (e.g. medication issues) before they become a problem and anticipating your child’s needs so they can be met right away.
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Nurse Practitioners
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are a type of APRN. Although they are not technically considered primary care providers in the state of Nebraska, many NPs offer primary care services. They can diagnose many types of illnesses, manage treatment, and prescribe most medications. -
Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) have advanced education and training, beyond that of the basic requirements for all nurses. Types of APRNs include:- Clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), who are trained in specific fields, such as cancer or heart disease
- Certified registered nurse anesthetists, who are trained in the field of anesthesia
Our Specialists
What To Do Next
For Patients
You don’t need to make an appointment for your child to see a hospitalist. Once they are checked into inpatient care, the Children’s staff will get your family set up with a hospitalist.
For Referring Providers
The Physicians’ Priority Line is your 24-hour link to pediatric specialists at Children’s for emergency and urgent consults, physician-to-physician consults, admissions, and transport services. Call 855-850-KIDS (5437).
Learn more about referring patients.