Special Interest Groups

The PCICS Advanced Practice Provider (APP) SIG aims to provide a forum for APP networking and sharing of information among pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care APPs. The goals of the APP SIG include:

Create education materials, podcasts, and/or webinars with CEUs in areas of interest for pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care APPs.
Establish a method of outreach to APPs in pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care for discussion of APP role utilization and program organization.
Establish a forum for discussion of variability in APP practice, APP practice challenges, and problem solving.
Create an APP listserv and repository for evidence-based practice information.
Increasing the use of social media for sharing APP SIG work.

To achieve these goals, the APP SIG is engaged in the following activities, offering multiple ways to participate depending upon your interests:

Highlighting a center's APP program during the monthly conference calls.
Moderating discussions on pressing practice/hot topic issues in pediatric CICU/acute care to assist the implementation of practice changes and/or problem solve practice challenges.
Developing continuing education programs using podcasts/webinars on topics specific to APP practice in pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care.
Participating on the Connections Committee to provide outreach to APPs in pediatric cardiac intensive care, both nationally and internationally, and to increase participation in PCICS and the APP SIG.
Creating a national CICU APP mentorship program consisting of experienced CICU APPs, those just beginning their careers, and everyone in between. Mentor topics include preparing abstracts/posters/presentations for national meetings, writing manuscripts, career development and more.

For more information on how you can become involved in the APP SIG, please contact Jessica Mann or Jill Zender.

The PCICS Bedside Nursing SIG recognizes the bedside nurse as an essential part of the cardiac care team, offering a unique perspective in efforts to improve care of the pediatric cardiac patient. The goals of the bedside nursing SIG include:

Provide a forum to share information on evidence-based and best practices relevant to professional bedside nursing care of the pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care patient.
Foster professionalism and recognition of the bedside nurse as a colleague and partner in care.
Develop, implement, and utilize key bedside nursing resources in the creation of tool kits to promote best practice at the bedside.

To achieve these goals, the Bedside Nursing SIG is engaged in the following activities, offering multiple ways to participate depending upon your interests:

Developing a repository of key evidence-based resources and best practices, including books and journal articles.
Developing, testing, and publishing a standardized bedside nursing handoff tool.
Creating a tool kit to promote best practice in nursing shift handoffs.

For more information on how you can become involved in the Bedside Nursing SIG, please contact Meena LaRonde or Sonia Santos.

The PCICS Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)/Educator Nursing SIG includes clinical nurse specialists and education leaders from pediatric CICU/acute care cardiac programs nationally and internationally. The goals of the CNS/Educator SIG are to:

Collaborate with pediatric CICU/acute care clinical and education leaders nationally and internationally to share effective methods to promote excellence in continuing education, onboarding, and preceptor development.
Provide strategies to assist clinical and education leaders to support nurses caring for patients at the bedside.
Develop, initiate, and evaluate effectiveness of new and current evidence-based practice changes in the pediatric CICU/acute care.
Provide strategies for the recruitment and retention of CICU/acute care nursing staff.

To achieve these goals, the CNS/Education SIG is engaged in the following activities, offering multiple ways to participate depending upon your interests:

Developing, testing, operationalizing, and evaluating a simulation program for bedside nurses.
Developing, utilizing, and evaluating a bedside procedure/guideline manual.
Developing, utilizing, and evaluating a pre-and post- curriculum assessment.
Creating and piloting a preceptor development and survival guide.
Defining and implementing strategies for retention and recruitment of CICU/acute care nursing staff.
Participating in the development of PCICS podcasts and webinars

For more information on how you can become involved in the CNS/Educator Nursing SIG, please contact Christina Duelley, or Patricia Lincoln.

One of PCICIS’s strategic goals is to increase physician participation and presence on PCICS committees and in the working groups that result from, and support, the committee work and mission of PCICS.

The Fellow/Early Career Physician Special Interest Group was formed in 2021 to provide support to its dynamic, enthusiastic, and motivated group of trainees in pediatric critical care, pediatric cardiology, fourth-year advanced training, and early career CICU faculty. We are interested in both growing as providers and contributing to the field. The goals of the Fellow/Early Career Physician SIG include:

• Establishing a forum for SIG members to find mentors and grow into their own roles as mentors for junior trainees.
• Providing education and a forum for discussion of a variety of topics of unique interest to early career faculty and fellows.
• Creating opportunities to meet and collaborate with other young members of the field.
• Creating a physician listserv of fellows and early career faculty to facilitate networking and collaboration.

To achieve these goals, the Fellow/Early Career Physician SIG meets for one hour every other month and alternate sessions between offerings for members and opportunities for members to create and collaborate. Current SIG initiatives include:

• Providing outreach nationally and internationally to increase participation in PCICS and the Fellow/Early Career Physician SIG.
• Engaging with mid- and late-career PCICS members to leverage communal wisdom and guidance through discussing topics such as: feedback, mentorship, being an effective teacher, being an effective researcher, clarifying your academic path, conflict resolution, financial knowledge and more.
• Future plans include organization of the 2023 Fellow/Early Career Physician PCICS pre-conference and creation of a white paper or manuscript.

For more information on how to become involved in the Fellow/Early Career Physician SIG, please contact Neha Purkey, Saidie Rodriguez, or Victoria Surma.

The PCICS Interdisciplinary Leadership SIG provides a forum for networking and sharing of information among pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care administrators. The goals of the Interdisciplinary Leadership SIG include:

• Creating educational materials, podcasts, and/or webinars with CEUs in areas of interest for pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care administrators.
• Establishing a method of outreach to administrators in pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care for discussion of program organization.
• Establishing a forum for discussion of variability in administrative practices, challenges, and problem solving.
• Creating of an administrator listserv and repository for evidence-based practice information and an online journal club.
• Increasing the use of social media for sharing Administrator SIG work and communication.

To achieve these goals, the Interdisciplinary Leadership SIG conducts bi-monthly calls and online communication of meeting minutes and SIG activities allows participation in the various Interdisciplinary Leadership initiatives. Current Interdisciplinary Leadership SIG initiatives include:

• Creating an open forum for discussion of real time practice challenges and sharing on bi-monthly calls.
• Establishing an online journal club of evidence-based administrative topics.
• Creating a committee workspace on the PCICS website for member communication and real time conversation between meetings.
• Developing continuing education programs using podcast/webinars on topics specific to administrative practice in pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care.

For more information on how to become involved in the Interdisciplinary Leadership SIG, please contact Sherri Kubis or Justin Yeh.

The PCICS NeuroCardiac SIG aims to provide a forum for networking and sharing of information related to neurologic and neurodevelopmental care among multidisciplinary pediatric cardiac ICU providers.  The goals of the NeuroCardiac SIG include:

• Creation of education materials, podcasts, journal clubs, and/or webinars in areas related to NeuroCardiac care.
• Develop clinical consensus guidelines regarding appropriate neurologic and neurodevelopmental care of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) in the cardiac ICU
• Create research and quality improvement agendas to further the field of NeuroCardiac care, both in understanding the neurologic changes that occur in children with CHD in the cardiac ICU and appropriate neurodevelopmental care of this patient population in the cardiac ICU
• Establish a forum for discussion in variability of neurologic monitoring and neurodevelopmental care across cardiac ICUs worldwide
• Provide a forum to discuss and develop multi-institutional research and quality improvement studies to further the field of neurocardiac care

To achieve these goals, the NeuroCardiac SIG is in early stages of development and plans to conduct monthly conference calls and online communication of minutes and SIG activities allowing participation in various proposed NeuroCardiac SIG initiatives, including:

• Developing educational materials, practice recommendations, and consensus guidelines regarding NeuroCardiac care
• Developing continuing education programs using podcast/webinars on topics specific to NeuroCardiac care in the Pediatric CICU
• Discussion and multi-disciplinary collaboration regarding evolving neurologic and neurodevelopment care interventions and best practices leading to potential practice changes at local centers
• Opportunities to host and participate in journal clubs focused on neurologic care of the patient with CHD and appropriate neurodevelopmental care of the patient with CHD in the cardiac ICU

For more information on how to become involved in the PCICS Nutrition SIG, please contact Sherrill Caprarola or Chetna Pande.

The PCICS Nutrition SIG aims to provide a forum for RD networking and sharing of information among pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care RDs. The goals of the Nutrition SIG include:

• Recruiting dietitians to both PCICS and RD SIG.
• Establishing a forum for sharing of information in the form of expert opinion panels, case presentations, and QI presentations to encourage learning and discussion surrounding practice variation and best practices.
• Creating an RD listserv and repository for evidence-based practice information.
• Creating educational materials, guidelines and/or webinars with CEUs in areas of interest for pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care RDs.
• Including nutrition-focused topics in upcoming PCICS Annual Meetings.

To achieve these goals, the Nutrition SIG conducts monthly conference calls and online communication of meeting minutes and SIG activities allows participation in various Nutrition SIG initiatives, including:

• Discussing evolving nutrition-related interventions in pediatric CICU/acute care and best practices leading to potential practice changes in local centers.
• Reviewing Nutrition SIG meeting minutes, expert opinion discussions, and center highlights online.
• Developing continuing education programs using webinars on topics specific to RD practice in pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care.
• Utilizing PCICS multidisciplinary SIG groups to collaborate on nutrition-focused interventions in the CICU/acute care settings.
• Creating a national RD mentorship program consisting of experienced CICU/acute care RDs, those just beginning their careers, and everyone in between. Mentor topics include preparing abstracts/posters/presentations for national meetings, writing manuscripts, career development and more.

For more information on how to become involved in the PCICS Nutrition SIG, please contact Lindsay Lock or Kristi Fogg.

The PCICS OT/PT/ST/Child Life Specialist SIG aims to provide a forum for networking and sharing of information among pediatric cardiac CICU/acute care OT, PT, ST, and CLS groups. The goals include:

• Recruiting therapists to both PCICS and SIG.
• Establishing a forum for sharing of information in the form of expert opinion panels, case presentations, and QI presentations to encourage learning and discussion surrounding practice variation and best practices.
• Creating a listserv and repository for evidence-based practice information.
• Creating educational materials, guidelines and/or webinars with CEUs in areas of interest for pediatric CICU/acute care therapists.
• Inclusion of therapy-focused topics in upcoming PCICS Annual Meetings.

To achieve these goals, the OT/PT/ST/CLS SIG conducts monthly conference calls and online communication of meeting minutes and SIG activities allows participation in various OT/PT/ST/CLS SIG initiatives. Proposed initiatives include:

• Discussing evolving interventions in pediatric CICU/acute care and best practices leading to potential practice changes that can be taken to local centers.
• Reviewing meeting minutes, expert opinion discussions, and center highlights online.
• Developing continuing education programs using webinars on topics specific to therapists' practice in pediatric cardiac intensive care unit/acute care.
• Utilizing PCICS multidisciplinary SIG groups to collaborate on best practice and multidisciplinary care for patients in the cardiac intensive care unit / acute care.

For more information on how to become involved in the OT/PT/OT/CLS SIG, please contact Mandana Fisher or Christy McKinney.

The PCICS Pharmacy SIG provides provide a forum for networking and sharing of information among pediatric CICU/acute care pharmacists. The goals of the Pharmacy SIG include:

• Recruiting pharmacists to both PCICS and the SIG.
• Establishing a forum for sharing of information in the form of expert opinion panels, case presentations and QI presentations to encourage learning and discussion surrounding practice variation and best practices.
• Creating a list-serve and online repository for evidence-based practice information.
• Creating education materials, guidelines and/or webinars with CEUs in areas of interest for pediatric CICU/acute care therapists.
• Including pharmacological focused topics in upcoming PCICS Annual Meetings.

To achieve these goals, the Pharmacy SIG conducts monthly conference calls and online communication of meeting minutes and SIG activities allows participation in the Pharmacy SIG initiatives. Current Pharmacy SIG proposed initiatives include:

• Discussing evolving interventions in pediatric CICU/acute care and best practices leading to potential practice changes in local centers.
• Reviewing Pharmacy SIG meeting minutes, expert opinion discussions and center highlights online.
• Developing continuing education programs using webinars on topics specific to pharmacological practice in pediatric CICU/acute care.
• Utilizing PCICS multidisciplinary SIG groups to collaborate on best practice and multidisciplinary care for patients in the CICU/acute care.

For more information on how to become involved in the Pharmacy SIG, please contact co-chairs Ashley Wester or Esther Bae.

The PCICS Respiratory Therapy (RT) SIG recognizes the RT as an essential part of the cardiac care team, offering a unique perspective in efforts to improve care of the pediatric cardiac patient. The RT SIG meets monthly via conference calls and communicates online.

The goals of the RT SIG include:

• Providing a forum to share information on evidence-based and best practices relevant to care provided by the RT in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit and / or acute care patient.
• Fostering professionalism and recognition of the RT as a colleague and partner in care.
• Developing, implementing, and utilizing key RT resources in the creation of tool kits to promote best practice at the bedside.

To achieve these goals, the RT SIG is in the early stages of development and plans to meet every other month. The SIG will use online communication of meeting minutes and SIG activities. Proposed initiatives include:

• Discussing evolving interventions in pediatric CICU/acute care and best practices leading to potential practice changes that can be taken to local centers.
• Reviewing meeting minutes, expert opinion discussions, and center highlights online.
• Developing continuing education programs using webinars on topics specific to respiratory therapy practice in pediatric cardiac intensive care unit / acute care.
• Utilizing PCICS multidisciplinary SIG groups to collaborate on best practice and multidisciplinary care for patients in the cardiac intensive care unit / acute care.

For more information on how to become involved in the RT SIG, please contact Susanne Dean or Justin Raper.