5 Ways OR Teams Can Save Seconds—and Lives—in Pediatric Trauma Care

Pediatric trauma in the perioperative setting is high-stakes and time-sensitive. When these cases are infrequent, maintaining readiness for young patients becomes even more challenging, and the consequences even more serious.

Perioperative teams often have little warning before they must rapidly pivot from adult to pediatric trauma care. In those moments, gaps in readiness, communication, and workflow can surface, and directly affect patient outcomes.

Michael Rempel, DNP, RN, CNOR, sees these challenges firsthand.

After transitioning from perioperative educator to pediatric trauma program manager at a combined Adult Level I and Pediatric Level II Trauma Center, he approaches pediatric trauma care through both an educational and system-level lens.

Steps to Bring a Pediatric Trauma Team Together

This perspective has helped Dr. Rempel find opportunities to strengthen perioperative response through standardized workflows, team coordination, and targeted education. He's bringing those insights to colleagues at AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo this April.

Ahead of the conference, he shared proven strategies perioperative teams can use to prepare for pediatric trauma care, before the next high-stakes case arrives.

1. Standardize pediatric trauma roles and expectations.

When circulating nurses, scrub personnel, anesthesia, and support staff understand their responsibilities in advance and together, teams can stay focused on patient care instead of clarifying roles and tasks during critical moments.

2. Maintain trauma-ready operating rooms that support pediatric patients of all ages, weights, and sizes.

Designating trauma-capable operating rooms equipped with pediatric-specific supplies for infants through adolescents helps reduce delays and supports rapid adaptation to each patient's unique needs.

3. Use cognitive aids to support high-stress decision-making.

Checklists, visual algorithms, and reference guides help teams stay organized during high-acuity pediatric trauma events. These tools reduce cognitive overload and promote consistency to prevent critical steps from being missed under pressure.

4. Strengthen communication through closed-loop practices.

Critical information must be clearly stated, acknowledged, and confirmed. Doing this improves situational awareness and supports coordination between perioperative nurses, anesthesia providers, surgeons, and trauma teams.

5. Rehearse through interdisciplinary simulation and drills.

Regular pediatric trauma simulations allow teams to practice workflows, identify system gaps, and build confidence together. This strengthens teamwork, improves response times, and enhances readiness for real-life pediatric trauma scenarios.

For Dr. Rempel, these strategies all point to the same goal: ensuring perioperative teams are ready to respond efficiently and deliver timely, lifesaving care when seconds matter most.

Schedule time at AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo in New Orleans to attend Dr. Rempel's education session "Tiny Patients, Big Impact: Navigating Pediatric Trauma in Perioperative Care." He will share real-world scenarios from a busy trauma center to give attendees insight into system-level outcomes, clinical decision-making, and perioperative nursing interventions.