Pediatric resuscitation: development of a mock code program and evaluation tool.

Effective and efficient resuscitation skills are especially significant for pediatric care providers because of the increased neurologic morbidity and mortality associated with pediatric arrests. A mock code system was initiated to assess and enhance the competency of the medical and nursing staff who respond to pediatric arrests in all areas of an acute care general hospital. Two mock codes are conducted each month using a data collection tool. All of the critical skills involved in a pediatric resuscitation are listed in the tool and each skill is evaluated as met or not met. The tool identifies areas for further education and quantifies improvement in skills over a period of time. In addition, the Pediatric CPR Committee uses the data from the mock codes to initiate systems and equipment improvements.