American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Professional quality of life is the quality a person feels in relation to work. For critical care nurses, it is composed of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Professional quality of life is affected by work environment. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has identified 6 standards for a healthy work environment. ⋯ Authentic leadership is the strongest predictor of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Therefore, improving leadership should be a priority in intensive care units seeking to improve nurses' professional quality of life.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Delirium on Physical Function in Noncardiac Thoracic Surgery Patients.
The effect of delirium on physical function in patients undergoing noncardiac thoracic surgery has not been well described and may differ from that in other surgical populations. ⋯ Postoperative delirium was not associated with change in muscle strength. Follow-up studies using other muscle measures may be needed.
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Societal attitudes about end-of-life events are at odds with how, where, and when children die. In addition, parents' ideas about what constitutes a "good death" in a pediatric intensive care unit vary widely. ⋯ Conceptual knowledge of what constitutes a good death from a parent's perspective may allow pediatric nurses to care for dying children in a way that promotes parents' coping with bereavement and continued bonds and memories of the deceased child. The proposed conceptual model synthesizes characteristics of a good death into actionable attributes to guide bedside nursing care of the dying child.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Decreasing Delirium Through Music: A Randomized Pilot Trial.
Management of delirium in intensive care units is challenging because effective therapies are lacking. Music is a promising nonpharmacological intervention. ⋯ Music delivery is acceptable to patients and is feasible in intensive care units. Further research testing use of this promising intervention to reduce delirium is warranted.