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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore perceptions held by nurses on the use of distraction and the role of a child life specialist in caring for children undergoing painful procedures. Design and Methods:A qualitative focus-group design was conducted with 18 nurses from a 24-bed pediatric unit in New South Wales, Australia; this represented 51% of the staff from the unit. Three focus groups were conducted and transcribed verbatim followed by thematic analysis.Results: Findings revealed five main themes that reflected the perceptions of the nurses' use of distraction and the impact of the child life specialist. The theme "Distraction as part of everyday nursing practice" was viewed by nurses as an integral component of nursing practice. The theme "Influence of child life specialist" revealed that the child life specialist created a feeling of ease during procedures. Differences were acknowledged between the two roles, "Contrast of roles" the child life specialist was seen as positive for children and families, whereas nurses viewed themselves as mean and unkind due to the nature of their work. The theme "The value of collaboration for positive healthcare experiences" acknowledged distraction as a contributing factor in ensuring the child and their family had a positive healthcare experience. The types of "nurses perception of the child's experience with distraction" shared in each of the focus groups identified nurses felt their techniques for distraction were much more simplified than the child life specialist; nurses felt disadvantaged at times in not having access to the same tools.Practice Implications: The findings indicate the positive impact that a child life specialist has on a nurse's role while caring for children undergoing painful procedures. Nurses felt they were able to focus on the procedure, therefore ensuring the physician received the right amount of assistance. This reassured the nurses in knowing the child and their families emotional needs were being taken care of.The child life specialist was viewed as being able to provide a positive healthcare experience for the child and families, nurses felt this added to the value of care provided in the pediatric unit. Recommendations include further exploration of the child life specialist role in the pediatric inpatient setting.

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Background: Nursing and midwifery champions are seen in a variety of clinical settings to drive innovation and implement evidence-based care. They are often referred to as change champions and clinical leaders undertaking quality improvement initiatives aimed to improve healthcare outcomes. Little is known about their journey, why they accept the role, stay in the role and the support needed that enhances their professional development. Aim: To discover the journey of the nursing and midwifery champion. Methods: A qualitative design using narrative analysis. Findings: Four themes were revealed in this study: Walking your own path: becoming a champion; me myself and I: how being a champion relates to me as a person; the journey of a champion: things that happened along the way; foundations to flourish: influences and keys to growth as a champion and what's in it for me: reasons for being a champion. These themes encapsulate the events, actions and occurrences that shaped the journey of champions. Discussion: The evolution of nurses and midwives into champions is an interesting journey, influenced by many factors. Making a difference in the lives of others is the driving force behind their pursuit of becoming champions. They seek professional development opportunities which are supported by influential managers and role models. Conclusion: A nursing and midwifery champion is responsible for influencing, guiding and implementing initiatives to improve healthcare outcomes. Understanding how they become champions, key influences on their development and the reasons they stay in the role is beneficial to those involved in shaping and supporting emerging nursing and midwifery champions.