Having a child in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) can cause a large amount of stress and anxiety for the family. Healthcare professionals practice family-centered care to relieve some of that stress and promote health and well-being by involving the parents. Since the child’s health can change rapidly, it can hinder the parent’s ability to support their child and it is the nurse’s responsibility to show the parents how to do so in this intense environment. Studies show that traumatic stress among parents with children in the PICU is common, but the support from the nurses reduces stress symptoms. Just by having the parents assist with bathing, can benefit them from emotional stress (Mortensen et al., 2015). Family-centered care …show more content…
I noticed that every time they returned, even if it was just for an hour, they seemed more relaxed and happy. I asked my preceptor why she encourages them to leave, and she explained to me that anyone that stays in the hospital for a long period of time could experience ICU psychosis. It is a form of delirium that is accompanied by inattention and a change in cognition or perceptual disturbance (Pun & Boehm, 2016, p. 14). She told me that she has experienced this with other parents, where they get so stressed that they take it out on the nurses. Since then, she always discusses ICU psychosis with the parents and how important it is to take a break every once in a …show more content…
My preceptor noticed that the parents felt hopeless and wanted to help, but did not know how. She decided to have them assist her and I in giving their son a bath. Just by having them touch their son, they had a smile on their face and felt like they were doing something. After some time, they wanted to do everything for him like changing his diaper, helping the nurse apply ointment to his lower back, and brushing his hair. Having them participate in his care made them feel important and helped them to
Nurses play a big role in supporting the parents while their child is in the NICU. Showing compassion and demonstrating caring actions when caring for the patient makes it more likely that the parents will trust the nurse and the information the nurse gives them regarding their child’s condition. This trust is important as it helps the parents feel confident in the decisions they are making about their child’s care. When the parents of an ill child in the NICU have decided to terminate treatment palliative care by the nurse and other healthcare providers comes into play. Palliative care is keeping the child comfortable by treating the symptoms and being there for the parents and child physically, emotionally, and spiritually (Eden & Callister, 2010).
Mrs. Farrington was constantly worrying about allowing him out of the house or be with other kids. The hospital constantly kept correcting this behavior by stating that she needs to allow him to be like other kids but sometimes it was her first instinct to prevent hospitalization. Mainly Cody is hospitalized due to weight loss or to clean mucus out of his lungs completely. Unlike Mrs. Farrington who has to deal with the medical treatments daily, her husband is in more denial. When Cody becomes sick he understands to call the hospital but Mr. Farrington has no understanding of Cody’s medicine and such. Though studies have shown that children who are cared by their mother recover faster and are discharged earlier, Mr. Farrington behavior is very concerning (Family-Centered Care and the Pediatrician’s Role, 692). He avoids the topic overall by working constantly. Mrs. Farrington finds this behavior to be strange because if something negative happened to her, Mr. Farrington needs to know these treatments, so they aren’t neglected or performed incorrectly. However, this arrangement between the parents is not very healthy because the stress of Cody condition is completely Mrs. Farrington burden. This makes Mrs. Farrington struggle giving her other children the fair attention they deserve as
At Cook Children’s Hospital, NICU parents are not only seen as the parents of the infants, but they also incorporate them as part of the team. Parents are highly encouraged to spend as much time as they possibly can with their premature infants, to have physical contact with them by giving them kangaroo time, which allows parents to have skin-to-skin contact with their infant, as soon as the infant reaches the stage in which he or she is a suitable candidate to be in physical contact with their parents. Siblings who are over 3 are allowed to visit their siblings at the NICU at specific times of the day, and child life specialists help siblings understand what is going on with their baby brother or sister who is in the NICU. If they have any specific questions, the child life specialist is there to assist them. Families are referred to other institutions that will be able to help them if their facilities aren’t able to fulfill their needs. One of the institutions that...
Heuer, L., Bengiamin, M., Downey, V., & Imler, N. (1996). Focus on children's nursing. Neonatal intensive care nurse stressors: an American study. British Journal Of Nursing, 5(18), 1126-1130.
I appreciate that you have decided to share your personal experience within this post. Pediatric care is an entity within itself within the medical field. Ill children are extremely difficult to manage as patients and have the tendency to have a rapid change in status while patients in the hospital. Providing safe care for pediatrics during hospitalization is an area that I am not too familiar with. Working the ER I have had many pediatric patients, but the parents always remain with the patient. When peds patients are admitted, hospital protocol states that the patient must be present during the transfer of the patient to the admitting floor. So, in my experience the parent always provides the safety aspect of care in the ER, patient are expected
American Academy of Pediactrics. (2003). Family-Centered Care and the Pediatrician’s Role. Available: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/3/691.full. Last accessed 23/01/14.
When a parent has a baby staying in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, they are worried and stressed about the health of their baby. This worriedness and stress can lead to the parents developing Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder. A parent is more likely to develop Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder if they experience a fear of the unknown and fear of death, quality of life, medical interventions in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and stories from other parent’s experiences with the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. A study founded that with parents who have babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit experience suffering in social relationships, this includes marital relationships. The article suggest childbirth educators should prepare parents for the possibility of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder in prenatal classes and teach the symptoms of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder, so parents can recognize if they start to show the symptoms of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder that they can receive the help they need.
Also, the whole family needs to come to term with the health condition, make change in priorities and schedule, and keep the family. For example, it can be much more stressful for a young or a newly married couple because they may have more experience to overcome life's difficulties. As a result, as with individual maturation, family development can be delayed or even revert to a previous level of functioning (Hockenberry, p 762.) Therefore, health care providers need to apply family development theory while planning care for a child and family with chronic health condition. Indeed, family centered care should be a part of that intervention. Parents and family members have huge and comprehensive caregiving responsibilities for their chronically ill child at home or at hospital. Moreover, the main goal taking care of chronic ill child is to “minimize the progression of the disease and maximize the child’s physical, cognitive, psychological potential” (Hockenberry, p 763). Therefore, it is essential to family being part of the child care to give highest quality of care. On the other hand, we are as a part of the health care provider need to give attention to all
Treating the patient and family as one, can have improved outcomes, decrease hospital stays, increased patient satisfaction, and improved reimbursements for the hospital. Developing a relationship with not only the patient, but family as well, can pay off in the long run by providing better communication, better quality of care, and trust. The patient and family can be strong advocates for improved performance improvement efforts. Including family in the treatment of the patient treats the “whole” patient through their hospitalization. Involving the family can enhance the patients care.
Nursing interventions should encourage family members to participate as well as be the ones who care about their child most. Special attention is needed to pay for children who attend day-care facilities and follow-up care is necessary. Word count: 1674.
The societal taboo associated with death and dying is only worsened when death becomes imminent for an infant or child. Pediatric death and dying is a seldom discussed and often evaded topic in healthcare. This topic, although somber and challenging, is relevant for those nurses who encounter pediatric death and dying first hand. The following discussion will define death and dying in a pediatric population, identify the role of the bedside nurse in support of the dying child and parents of child, the bedside nurse’s role in an interdisciplinary team on a floor where death is a common occurrence, and promotion of nursing self-care to combat compassion fatigue and burnout.
1. What is the difference between a. and a. Which K, S, and A pertain to the care you provided to the patient you have chosen? Why do you need to be a member? K- Describe the limits and boundaries of therapeutic patient-centered care. S- Assess levels of physical and emotional comfort.
I have soon come to realize how much more there is to nursing than just helping and healing. Nursing is not taking care of individuals it is caring for them. Caring is not only important when concerning nurse and patient relationships. It is important in every aspect of humanity. The culture of caring involves intervening programs that help to build caring behaviors among nurses. As nurses become stressed and become down on their life it has shown that caring for oneself before others is key in caring for patients. Also, throughout the years many theorists have proven that caring has come from many concepts and ideas that relate directly to ICU nursing. The knowledge I have gained from reading and reviewing these articles has and will help me to become a better nurse. It will help and provide the pathway for caring in my professional
In health care, there are many different approaches throughout the field of nursing. When considering the field of family nursing, there are four different approaches to caring for patients. This paper will discuss the different approaches along with a scenario that covers that approach. The approaches that will be discussed include family as a context, family as a client, family as a system, and family as a component to society. Each of these scenarios are approach differently within the field of nursing.
Nurses are an equally important part of each client’s life. Nurses provide stable care to each client, answers their questions, gives medications and treatments, and assists with medical procedures. They also have the responsibility to explain to clients and family members what they should and should not do as they go through treatment and recovery. Nurses must quickly respond to patients needs. Every individual nurse has his or her own unique way of caring. There are so many ways to show caring that the possibilities are never ending. Nurse’s support, comfort, and help allow the patients to recover to the best of their ability. Their experiences in dealing with different patients that have unique situations on a daily basis helps the nurses become better caregivers. Therefore, every nurse is capable of demonstrating care in their respective environments.