Around the world, millions of children undergo surgeries requiring general anesthesia; and along with it, the universal and understandable experience of – anxiety. A peak moment of anxiety and stress often occurs during anesthesia induction when a mask needs to be placed on a child’s face. It’s a stressful experience for kids, parents, and staff and studies have shown that high anxiety before surgery is associated with poorer outcomes after surgery.

In this moment of awareness episode, nurse practitioner, researcher, and intrapreneur Abby Hess, APRN, DNP shares her experiences witnessing countless children in distress during the pre-surgery process; her clever and Mary Poppins-level of creativity to rethinking the mask as part of a game; and the collaborators and mentors she learned from and turned to to sustain her commitment to inventing a game that shifts the focus from something scary to something calming and fun and improves the entirety of surgical experience and outcomes.

Find this episode’s resources at www.seeyounowpodcast.com and to find more about the podcast bundles visit ANA’s Innovation Website at www.nursingworld.org/innovation. Have questions for the SEE YOU NOW team? Feedback? Future episode ideas? Contact us at hello@seeyounowpodcast.com.