Nursing in critical care
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Nursing in critical care · Jul 2017
Sleep in the intensive care unit - nurses' documentation and patients' perspectives.
Inability to sleep is one of the most distressing factors for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Sleep is perceived as light and awakenings are numerous. Nurses' documentations of sleep are narrow, mainly concentrating on the quantity and general quality. Nurses should diversely evaluate, document and promote sleep to provide patient centered care. ⋯ Evaluation and documentation of patients' sleep must include patients' own perception to be comprehensive. Nurses' documentation should include all elements of nursing process.
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Nursing in critical care · Jul 2017
ReviewPost-ICU symptoms, consequences, and follow-up: an integrative review.
To determine the symptoms seen in patients after discharge from an intensive care unit (ICU) and the follow-up programmes offered to help patients deal with the problems that arise after an ICU stay. ⋯ ICU staff as well as other professionals should prepare patients and relatives for the fact that they may need various types of help for many months after discharge from the ICU, and an overview of national and local opportunities for help should be offered.
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Nursing in critical care · Jul 2017
Nurses' perceptions of working with families in the paediatric intensive care unit.
Research exploring nurses' experiences working with families in paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is limited. No studies have been undertaken in a mixed adult-paediatric ICU. ⋯ The results highlighted a need for education for both nurses and medical staff who work with families of critically ill children. Additionally, the need for each PICU to have a written policy on family presence and participation is crucial to guide practice and maintain continuity of care.
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Nursing in critical care · Jul 2017
Nursing patients with chronic critical illness and their families: a qualitative study.
chronic critical illness (CCI) is a complex syndrome with a high risk of dying in hospital. Intensive care unit nurses are well-positioned to lead conversations integrating palliative and end-of-life care, yet have reported limited involvement. ⋯ Internal tension, as experienced by participants reflects the challenges of transition from acute to palliation and end-of-life care, made more complex in CCI, because of its poorly defined terminal stage. Nurses' ability to manage the complex process of supporting hope while gradually providing information to build family understanding of CCI highlights their central role in facilitating what and how prognostic information is given, while managing the emotional implications and family response. To better support nurses do this, we advocate for formal structures enabling nurses to participate in decision-making regarding timing of transitions using palliation and end-of-life care.