Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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ENA has supported family presence at the bedside during resuscitation of a loved one since 1993. Limited support from health care institutions has resulted in research that includes few data from hospitals with long-term family presence experience. The study objectives were to (1) describe the benefit and harm of being present during resuscitation to family members, using perceptions of nurses who work in an emergency department with a well-established family presence protocol; and (2) define family presence using perceptions of nurse participants. ⋯ Emergency nurses can embrace family presence and influence benefits for family members when the practice is well established. Behavior modeling rather than written protocol may affect acceptance of family presence during resuscitation efforts among emergency nurses.