Dimensions of critical care nursing : DCCN
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2017
Family Members' and Intensive Care Unit Nurses' Response to the ECG Memento© During the Bereavement Period.
In the United States, 20% of patients die in the intensive care unit (ICU), yet little is known about bereavement strategies to aid grieving families. ⋯ Despite most families reporting high satisfaction with the bereavement experience, nurses reported a low level of patient symptom control; also, families often found the death to be unexpected. This suggests that the bereavement experience is a complex process requiring nurses to implement various interventions during this vulnerable period. Most families responded positively to this novel bereavement tool, which may aid families as they transition from anticipatory grieving to bereaved status. Further studies are needed to evaluate the ECG Memento as an innovation on a wider scale and to develop additional interventions to positively impact the grieving process for families.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2017
Incongruence in Perceptions: Identifying Barriers to Patient Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit.
Patient satisfaction is at the forefront of quality care and patient outcomes. The literature identifies the discrepancy between nurse and patient perceptions in a variety of care settings; few studies have investigated the perceptions of care in a critical care unit. Understanding the perceptions in a critical care unit is necessary to optimize organizational performance related to quality, safety, patient-centered care, and efficiency. ⋯ Nurses' perceptions of positive patient satisfaction in critical care are incongruent with patients' perceptions. Improving nurses' awareness of the patient experience could improve patient satisfaction. Further studies examining patient expectations could be beneficial in improving patient satisfaction in the critical care setting.