The floor nurse had just told me that my latest patient – let's call her Marie – wouldn't stop screaming.
Marie ended up within the intensive care unit where I work as a nurse because she was too excited and needed more oxygen. We immediately tried to place a more advanced oxygen mask on her, however the screaming continued and her oxygen levels worsened. No matter how much I comforted her, it wasn't my hand that she desired to hold. She screamed for her daughter April, who was on her way.
April had been Marie's carer at home for the past few years after she was diagnosed with end-stage Alzheimer's. April is Marie's familiar face, her comfort when she loses her bearings. Now Marie had been hospitalized with pneumonia, and April hadn't left her side.
As an experienced bedside critical care nurse, I experience firsthand the advantages that family caregivers bring to patient care within the hospital. I also witness the emotional stress that caregivers experience when their loved one enters the ICU.
After years of helping families and physicians navigate the complicated course of an intensive care unit hospital stay, I even have a few of this Advice for Caregivers to take with you.
Caregivers often struggle with anxiety and depression
From medical decisions to advocating for his or her family members, family caregivers play many necessary roles when their family members are within the hospital. Their presence not only provides a sense of security, but additionally has a robust influence a patient's response to treatment.
For example, Marie refused to go for walks during physical therapy until we discovered starting in April that she felt safest in her pink New Balance shoes that April dropped at the hospital. April's unique knowledge of Marie's specific needs proved invaluable in designing Marie's treatment plan within the hospital.
Involving the family within the patient's treatment plan, also referred to as family-centered care, can help shorten a patient's hospital stay and may even reduce hospital costs. However, caregivers carry heavy emotional burdens while supporting their family members within the hospital.
In fact, family caregivers are at high risk Development of long-term mental health problems. Up to 70% of first-degree relatives of ICU survivors experience anxiety symptoms. greater than a 3rd suffer from depressionand lots of can experience it Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorderor PTSD.
There are ways to alleviate this emotional distress, and most of them depend on consistent and open communication between the patient, their caregivers, and the medical team.
But as a caregiver without extensive medical knowledge, how are you purported to communicate with hospital staff when your beloved can't speak for themselves?
Communication is crucial
First, exchange contact information with the first medical team, which can include a passcode to guard the patient's privacy. This ensures that you just all the time receive the latest information in regards to the patient and offers you the peace of mind that you would be able to call at any time of the day or night to receive up-to-date details about your beloved.
Second, let the medical team know what the patient is generally like at home. This may include the patient's medications, basic functional abilities, any cultural or religious preferences, and, in all cases, their end-of-life wishes. With this information, the medical team can develop an appropriate treatment plan specifically for your beloved, avoid unnecessary and uncomfortable tests, and supply greater insight into the loved one's prognosis and recovery.
While you provide information in regards to the patient at home, the medical team should keep you updated on the patient's condition within the hospital. This is an excellent time for you to jot down a diary Write down essential information and inquiries to ask them.
For effective communication within the hospital, it’s important to know what to ask. First, familiarize yourself with the hospital ward you might be in: ask in regards to the visiting rules, the ward phone number, and even the situation of the cafeteria and toilets.
Once you turn out to be acquainted with your latest surroundings, it’s possible you’ll feel more comfortable and in a position to truly be there for your beloved. Other necessary questions you possibly can ask each day include:
- What happens to my loved one?
- What's the plan for the following day?
- What will the treatment be like for my loved one?
These are good initial inquiries to set the day-to-day expectations of the patient's hospital stay. You also can find answers by attending the patient's clinical visits. Every day, the interdisciplinary medical team visits each patient to debate updates and treatment plans and answer questions from the patient and family. Research has also shown that rounds Alleviate anxiety and stress in caring relatives due to consistent day by day communication and emotional support they supply.
Nurses might be helpful
After the clinical visit, the interdisciplinary team of doctors and nurses creates a day by day care plan on your relative, which is carried out on the bedside by your nurse. The nurse will administer prescribed medications, perform essential clinical tasks, and assess the patient for response to treatment. If you normally take care of the patient's basic needs at home, offer to assist your nurse with feeding or bathing can provide emotional calming for you and your family members.
Nurses are essentially the most accessible resource when your beloved is within the hospital. They can provide emotional support and coping strategies during this stressful time and act as a translator between you and the doctors.
Once you’ve gotten established an excellent relationship together with your caregiver and medical team, you possibly can spend quality time with your beloved. Even if the patient is unresponsive, discuss with them about familiar people of their life, FaceTime other members of the family, play their favorite music or TV show, and all the time remind them of the appointment and that they’re within the hospital.
The importance of routines and familiarity
Since patients easily lose track of the traditional day-night rhythm, they’re at high risk Delirium within the intensive care unitThis is an acute and severe state of confusion. Preventing delirium within the ICU through reorientation and familiar faces will help prevent this serious complication and even shorten hospital stay.
Ultimately, one of the necessary but often neglected tasks for you is self-care.
Research advises caregivers to do that handle their very own health and emotional needs by eating repeatedly, getting enough sleep and taking breaks from hospital stays. You have been strong for others and may proceed to accomplish that, but only in case you also handle yourself.
Most families who come to the hospital describe the support they received from the medical team In a positive way. Your nurses and the remaining of the medical team are all a part of your team, and we wish to attain the perfect possible consequence for your beloved.
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