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on around him as he busily plays in the pre-op bay.
• Stickers show the way. Even in this technology-driven age, strate-
gically placed stickers will get children to do practically anything. For
example, putting brightly colored decals on the scale platform, or
anywhere else you regularly need them to stand still for a moment,
provides you with easy directions ("Go stand on Scooby!") that they'll
be quick to follow.
• Mask merriment. Another benefit of stickers: They
can make frightening things friendly. Mask induction
can be intimidating, but it might be less so if you give
your pre-op peds a disposable anesthesia mask to see
and hold and try on over their nose and mouth, and
then decorate with their choice of stickers while they
wait.
• Anesthesia makes scents. Anesthesia providers who
keep a handful of scented lip balms in their pediatric carts
will become every child's favorite surgical team member
when they ask which flavor they'd like in their mask. Swipe
a small amount of the lip balm inside the mask before
putting it on the patient, and they get the scent of bubble
gum, strawberry or tangerine instead of plastic.
