American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Parents need compassionate care when an infant dies. Nurses can provide such care and possibly facilitate grieving, yet often have inadequate preparation in bereavement/end-of-life care. ⋯ Education on bereavement/end-of-life care could affect nurses' comfort with caring for families of critically ill and/or dying infants. Additional education on cultural competence would be helpful. Educators must promote the inclusion of content on bereavement/end-of-life care in nursing curricula. Finally, researchers must focus more attention on factors that promote and inhibit bereavement/end-of-life care of families of critically ill and/or dying infants.
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An accurate and reliable noninvasive method for determining cardiac output/cardiac index would be valuable for patients with acutely decompensated advanced systolic heart failure. ⋯ Determinations of cardiac output and index by both methods were significantly correlated. Mean bias between the 2 methods was small, suggesting clinical utility for bioimpedance in patients with complex decompensated heart failure.
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Information about the contributions of acute care nurse practitioners to medical management teams in critical care settings is limited. ⋯ Responses reflected unique advantages of acute care nurse practitioners as members of medical management teams in critical care settings. Despite perceptions of the acute care nurse practitioner's role as medically oriented, the themes reflect a clear nursing focus.