The Icu Guide For Families

This book is for ICU patients’ families, suddenly immersed in an alien and intimidating world. It clearly explains intensive care ranging from the details of the equipment and environment, to decisions about end-of-life care, focusing on how the reader can become an effective advocate for their loved one.

This text is one of the first comprehensive resources on understanding and working with families in the intensive care unit. The text provides a conceptual overview of the Family ICU Syndrome, a constellation of physical morbidity, psychopathology, cognitive deficits, and conflict. Outlining its mechanisms, the book presents a guide to combating the syndrome with an interdisciplinary team. The text represents the full array of the interdisciplinary team by also spotlighting administrative considerations for health care management and approaches to training different members of the health care team. Family voices are featured prominently in the text as well. The book also addresses the complete trajectory of needs of care, including survivorship and end-of-life care. Written by experts in the field, Families in the Intensive Care Unit: A Guide to Understanding, Engaging and Supporting at the Bedside is a state-of-the-art reference for all clinicians who work with families in the ICU.

This text is one of the first comprehensive resources on understanding and working with families in the intensive care unit. The text provides a conceptual overview of the Family ICU Syndrome, a constellation of physical morbidity, psychopathology, cognitive deficits, and conflict. Outlining its mechanisms, the book presents a guide to combating the syndrome with an interdisciplinary team. The text represents the full array of the interdisciplinary team by also spotlighting administrative considerations for health care management and approaches to training different members of the health care team. Family voices are featured prominently in the text as well. The book also addresses the complete trajectory of needs of care, including survivorship and end-of-life care. Written by experts in the field, Families in the Intensive Care Unit: A Guide to Understanding, Engaging and Supporting at the Bedside is a state-of-the-art reference for all clinicians who work with families in the ICU.

Written in a straightforward, readable, and highly informative style, Navigating the ICU: A Guide for Patients and Families is a compact, affordable guide to today’s intensive care unit. This unique, patient-focused handbook is designed to help patients and their families navigate the complexities of the ICU—from the role of each member of staff, to common procedures, medications, and laboratory tests, to what to expect after the hospital stay. Author and ICU nurse Alex Gottsch concisely explains the ICU experience and provides accessible answers to common questions asked by patients and families.

The intention of this book is to provide information to assist families with the care of their family member and to foster good communication with medical personnel. The book is based on a book, developed in part by actual ICU families and the author, as part of a doctoral research study to measure the level of satisfaction with care and communication between family members and the medical personnel who serve them. Results of the study suggested that family satisfaction with care and communication improved because of the information contained in the book. It is hoped that this book will contain valuable information for family members and will provide a resource to answer questions regarding the care of ICU patients with TBI or stroke. It is also hoped that this book will assist families in communicating more effectively with medical staff in order to ultimately benefit the care of the patient and improve patient outcomes.

In collaboration with Consulting Editor, Dr. Cynthia Bautista, Dr. Judy Davidson has put together a comprehensive issue on family and patient experience in the ICU. Expert authors have contributed clinical review articles on the following topics: Humanizing Intensive Care: From Theory to Practice; FiCare; Patient's Own Pets in the ICU; Sleep in the ICU; Implementation of a Patient and Family-Centered ICU Peer Support Program at a Veterans Affairs Hospital; Understanding the Experiences of Patients and Families in the ICU: More than Engagement; Implementing a Patient and Family Communication Bundle in the ICU; Integrating Primary Palliative Care into the ICU: The Critical Care Nurse Communicator Program; Bereavement Care in the Adult ICU: Directions for Practice; A review on the Use of Diaries; Supporting Families of Patients with Rare or Unusual Critical Illnesses; and Meeting the Special Needs of Families of CTICU patients. Readers will come away with the information they need to improve family and patients experiences in the ICU.

It is normal to feel worried or afraid if you know someone who is in the intensive care unit (ICU). This book will help prepare children and youth for what to expect if they have a family member or loved one in the ICU. Simple language and medically accurate images will help explain the ICU setting, including information about: • Why a person may be in the ICU, • Machines, tubes, and other equipment they may see, • The importance of sedation, and • Different medical staff that care for people in the ICU. Whether the young person is planning to visit a patient in the ICU in person or virtually, All About the Intensive Care Unit will help prepare them and their family for what they might see and hear in this special area of the hospital.