Engaging Families to Participate in Care of Older Critical Care Patients

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya R. Hardin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
American Association ◽  
Significant Others ◽  
Critical Care Nurses ◽  
Older Patient ◽  
Critical Care Units ◽  
Optimal Outcomes ◽  
The Family ◽  
Critical Care Patients

Provision of optimal outcomes for older adults can be understood through the use of the American Association for Critical-Care Nurses Synergy Model. These outcomes can be enhanced if strategies are designed to improve the characteristics of patients and families as described in the Synergy Model. When older adults are admitted to critical care units, spouses, children, and friends are in a position to participate in care. This column examines the Synergy Model’s patient characteristic of participation in care relative to involvement of the family and significant others of the older patient as a method of enhancing optimal outcomes.

Hearing Loss in Older Critical Care Patients: Participation in Decision Making

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya R. Hardin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Critical Care Unit ◽  
Critical Care Nurses ◽  
Noisy Environment ◽  
Optimal Outcomes ◽  
Participation In Decision Making ◽  
Critical Care Patients

Older adults with hearing loss who receive care in the noisy environment of a critical care unit can be disadvantaged in their ability to understand speech, thus limiting their participation in decision making. Providing optimal outcomes for such patients can be understood through use of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Synergy Model. When older adults are admitted to a critical care unit, their spouses, children, and friends are in positions to participate in the patients’ care. The AACN Synergy Model patient characteristic of participation in care is useful in enhancing optimal outcomes for older patients.

American Association Of Critical-Care Nurses’ National Survey of Facilities and Units Providing Critical Care

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin T. Kirchhoff ◽  
Nancy Dahl
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Quality Indicators ◽  
American Association ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Initial Response ◽  
The United States ◽  
Critical Care Nurses ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Critical Care Units

• Background Little information is available nationally about critical care units and nurses. What is known about nurses in hospitals is generally not broken down among all the specialties. • Objectives To describe issues of workforce, compensation, and care specific to critical care units and nurses who work in them. • Methods The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses conducted a survey of randomly selected facilities with critical care units in the United States. Facilities were solicited via e-mail to respond to a survey on the World Wide Web and provide information on operations, evaluations, nursing staff reimbursement and incentives, staffing, and quality indicators. Responding facilities also provided contact information for units in the facilities. Those units were surveyed about operations, acuity systems, staffing, policies on visitation and end-of-life care, administrative structure, documentation, certification, professional advancement, vacancy/floating, staff satisfaction, orientation, association membership, wages, advanced practice nursing, and quality indicators. • Results The initial response rate (120 of 658 eligible facilities) was 18.2%, and 300 of 576 solicited units nominated by the facilities responded, yielding a 52.1% response rate for the second phase. • Conclusions These survey data define the scope and intensity of services offered and provide more specific figures about staffing issues and unit practices than has been accessible before. Healthcare providers may use this information for benchmarking purposes, especially for instances in which the tables provide data for each particular type of critical care unit.

The Importance of Assessing Symptoms and Symptom Clusters in Critical Care Units

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-282
Author(s):  
Karen H. Sousa ◽  
Carrie M. McDermott ◽  
Jason Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Symptom Assessment ◽  
Critical Care Nurses ◽  
Symptom Clusters ◽  
Symptom Experience ◽  
Care Environment ◽  
Technological Environment ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
Critical Care Units ◽  
Critical Care Patients

In the highly technological environment of critical care, a comprehensive symptom assessment from the patient’s perspective is routine. There is a paucity of research related to symptom management in the critical care environment. The lack of understanding of the symptom experience for critical care patients could represent missed opportunities to manage symptoms and minimize suffering. This article discusses the importance of assessing symptoms and symptom clusters in critical care patients and challenges surrounding the assessment of symptom clusters. By understanding symptom clusters, critical care nurses can develop more comprehensive assessments, as well as more tailored intervention strategies.

Compassion Fatigue and the Healthy Work Environment

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesly Kelly ◽  
Michael Todd
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
American Association ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Academic Medical Center ◽  
Compassion Satisfaction ◽  
Critical Care Nurses ◽  
Healthy Work Environment ◽  
Healthy Work

Background:Burnout is a concern for critical care nurses in high-intensity environments. Studies have highlighted the importance of a healthy work environment in promoting optimal nurse and patient outcomes, but research examining the relationship between a healthy work environment and burnout is limited.Objective:To examine how healthy work environment components relate to compassion fatigue (eg, burnout, secondary trauma) and compassion satisfaction.Methods:Nurses (n = 105) in 3 intensive care units at an academic medical center completed a survey including the Professional Quality of Life and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ Healthy Work Environment standards.Results:Regression models using each Healthy Work Environment component to predict each outcome, adjusting for background variables, showed that the 5 Healthy Work Environment components predicted burnout and that meaningful recognition and authentic leadership predicted compassion satisfaction.Conclusions:Findings on associations between healthy work environment standards and burnout suggest the potential importance of implementing the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ Healthy Work Environment standards as a mechanism for decreasing burnout.

scholarly journals Interpersonal Communication among Critical Care Nurses: an Ethnographic Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-64
Author(s):  
Tayebeh Mahvar ◽  
Nooredin Mohammadi ◽  
Naima Seyedfatemi ◽  
AbouAli Vedadhir
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Critical Care Nurses ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Critical Conditions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Critical Care Units ◽  
Effective Care ◽  
High Level ◽  
Communication Culture

Introduction: Interpersonal communication in critical care units is one of the most important factors due to complicated and critical conditions of patients. Nurses’ confrontation with ethical distresses and conflict resolution techniques are often influenced by the culture governing these units. This study aimed to explore interpersonal communication culture among critical care nurses. Methods: A focused ethnographic approach was used to conduct study in Iran. The research method was based on the research evolutionary cycle model recommended by Spradley (1980). Data were collected over six months through purposeful sampling and semi structured interviews (n=18) and participation observation (n=43). The data were obtained over six months of observation and interview with participants. Data analysis was done by Spradley method and was interpreted to discover the meaning units from the obtained themes. MAXQDA10 was used to manage data. Results: Five major domains of observations and high-level consensus were extracted in this study, including grouping, work-life interaction, professionalism, organizational atmosphere and experience. Conclusion: Development of interpersonal communication culture is influenced by various factors. Besides, the working models and nurses’ use of workspace are indispensable components of effective communication at workplace. The findings of this study can be helpful in determining appropriate strategies and practices to resolve communication problems among nurses by specifying challenges, thereby leading to proper communication among nurses, promoting this communication and finally providing high quality and more effective care.

scholarly journals Assessing the caring behaviors of critical care nurses

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samah Anwar Shalaby ◽  
Nouf Fahad Janbi ◽  
Khairiah Khalid Mohammed ◽  
Kholud Mohammed Al-harthi
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Critical Care Nurses ◽  
Affecting Factors ◽  
Caring Behaviors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Critical Care Units ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Objective: To assess the critical care nurses’ perception of their caring behaviors and factors affecting these behaviors.Methods: Participants of this descriptive correlational exploratory study included 277 critical care nurses selected conveniently from nurses worked in all critical care units in King Khalid Hospital, Jeddah. A self-reported questionnaire namely, “Critical Care Nurses Caring Behavior Perception” developed by the researchers after reviewing related literature was used to assess caring behaviors and their affecting factors as perceived by critical care nurses.Results: Seventy percent of the nurses aged between 31 to 50 years old and more than half of nurses had ICU experience ranged from 6 to 10 years, while two thirds of nurses had no previous training about caring behaviors. The study findings revealed that the majority of nurses had high scores of perceived caring behaviors, whereas the mean of their perception was 296.96 ± 18.32. There was a statistical significant positive relationship between nurses’ perception and their work circumstances, workload, job satisfaction, educational background and patient characteristics.Conclusions: It is important to consider critical units’ circumstances, nurses’ educational background, job satisfaction, as well as the nature of critically ill patients in order to promote nurses awareness and implementation of caring behaviors. Moreover, replication of the current study using qualitative approach for in-depth analysis of the impact of factors could affecting caring behaviors on nurses’ perception in various highly specialized critical care units.

Family Presence During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Invasive Procedures: Practices of Critical Care and Emergency Nurses

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L. MacLean ◽  
Cathie E. Guzzetta ◽  
Cheri White ◽  
Dorrie Fontaine ◽  
Dezra J. Eichhorn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ◽  
American Association ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Invasive Procedure ◽  
Critical Care Nurses ◽  
Invasive Procedures ◽  
Emergency Nurses ◽  
Family Presence ◽  
Do So

• Background Increasingly, patients’ families are remaining with them during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and invasive procedures, but this practice remains controversial and little is known about the practices of critical care and emergency nurses related to family presence. • Objective To identify the policies, preferences, and practices of critical care and emergency nurses for having patients’ families present during resuscitation and invasive procedures. • Methods A 30-item survey was mailed to a random sample of 1500 members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and 1500 members of the Emergency Nurses Association. • Results Among the 984 respondents, 5% worked on units with written policies allowing family presence during both resuscitation and invasive procedures and 45% and 51%, respectively, worked on units that allowed it without written policies during resuscitation or during invasive procedures. Some respondents preferred written policies allowing family presence (37% for resuscitation, 35% for invasive procedures), whereas others preferred unwritten policies allowing it (39% for resuscitation, 41% for invasive procedures). Many respondents had taken family members to the bedside (36% for resuscitation, 44% for invasive procedure) or would do so in the future (21% for resuscitation, 18% for invasive procedures), and family members often asked to be present (31% for resuscitation, 61% for invasive procedures). • Conclusions Nearly all respondents have no written policies for family presence yet most have done (or would do) it, prefer it be allowed, and are confronted with requests from family members to be present. Written policies or guidelines for family presence during resuscitation and invasive procedures are recommended.

Current nursing practice of point-of-care laboratory diagnostic testing in critical care units

1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 429-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamb LSJr ◽  
RS Parrish ◽  
SF Goran ◽  
MH Biel
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Laboratory Testing ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Critical Care Nurses ◽  
Point Of Care Testing ◽  
Critical Care Units ◽  
In Vitro Diagnostic

BACKGROUND: The development of user-friendly laboratory analyzers, combined with the need for rapid assessment of critically ill patients, has led to the performance of in vitro diagnostic testing at the point of care by personnel without formal laboratory training. OBJECTIVES: To determine the range of laboratory testing performed by critical care nurses and their attitudes toward this role. METHODS: A survey of critical care nursing consultants was conducted, using a modified Likert scale, to assess objective measures of point-of-care testing practice in critical care units and to determine nurses' attitudes toward the practice of point-of-care testing. Statistical analysis was performed to determine significant trends in responses. RESULTS: Of the units responding to the survey, 35% used critical care nurses exclusively to perform point-of-care testing, 32.5% used laboratory technicians and critical care nurses, and 25% used other personnel. Of critical care nurses performing laboratory testing, 95.5% performed blood glucose analysis; 18.7%, arterial blood gas analysis; 4.5%, electrolyte analysis; 4.5%, hematology profiles; and 22.7%, other testing. Most agreed that stat tests were not reported promptly, thereby necessitating bedside testing. Respondents indicated that they would prefer that laboratory personnel operate in vitro diagnostic equipment and that requirements for critical care nurses to perform laboratory testing detracted from other patient care duties. CONCLUSIONS: Most nurses who perform point-of-care testing responded that it was necessary and helpful in patient management. However, they would prefer, because of their other patient care responsibilities, that laboratory personnel take this responsibility.

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