Medical procedures are a common part of life and cause a lot of anxiety among people of all ages. Anxiety is defined as a “widespread apprehension of a vague nature and associated with feelings of uncertainty and helplessness” (Townsend, 2009, p. 15). Children experience high levels of procedural anxiety because they don't understand what to expect and fear the pain they might feel. I was therefore interested in researching whether parental presence during painful procedures decreased anxiety in pediatric patients. My desire to one day work with the pediatric population has intrigued me to further understand the importance of this issue to best meet the needs of the patient and family. Topics to be discussed will include the advantages of parental presence during painful procedures, the disadvantages of parental presence, and the attitudes of doctors and nurses regarding parental presence. The presence of parents is an issue that has been debated for a long time. An important statistic to consider is that currently only 40% of U.S. hospitals have a policy that supports family presence (Chorney & Kain, 2010). Not all situations allow a parent to be present, but research has found that parents prefer to be present during their child's surgery. “Boie et al. (1999) conducted a survey in the United States and found that 97.5% of 400 parents surveyed wanted to be present with their child during venipuncture” (as cited in Gilboy & Hollywood, 2009). Procedures that children may undergo include venipuncture, dental procedures, and minor outpatient procedures. According to Townsend (2009), signs of anxiety in children include crying, trembling, silence, and frightened or frightened behavior (p. 17). Doctors, n...... middle of paper ......the medical procedure. The Journal of the International Association for the Study ofPain, 150(1), 52-58.Meyers, T.A., Eichhorn, D.J., Guzzetta, C.E., Clark, A.P., Klein, J.D., Taliaferro, E., & Calvin,A. (2000). Family presence during invasive procedures and resuscitation. AmericanJournal of Nursing, 100(2), 32-43. Smith, R. W., Vibhuti, S., Goldman, R. D., & Taddio, A. (2007). Caregivers' responses to their children's pain in the emergency department. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine,161(6), 578-582.Townsend, M.C. (2009). Psychiatric mental health nursing: Concepts of care in evidence-based practice. (6 ed., page 15). Philadelphia: F. A. DavisWaseem, M., & Ryan, M. (2003). Presence of parents during invasive procedures in children: what is the doctors' point of view? . Southern Medical Journal, 96(9), 884-887.