research help

Hi TraumaRUs,

Thanks for those links, they're really helpful. There's so little research on this area in the UK it's mainly anecdotal evidence.

Good luck with your thesis,

Banaltra

How bizarre is this? I'm doing my masters thesis on this subject. Here - let me get you some stuff:

American College of Emergency Physicians. (2005). Family presence. Retrieved

April 29, 2005 from http://www.acep.org/webportal/PatientsConsumers/CriticalIssuesInEmergencyMedicine/FamilyPresence

American Nurses Association. (2005). Code of Ethics. Retrieved May 14, 2005 from

http://www.nursingworld.org/ethics/ecode.htm

Emergency Nurses Association. (2004). Family presence at the bedside during invasive

procedures and resuscitation. Retrieved May 14, 2005

from http://www.ena.org/about/position/familypresence.asp

Fallot, M. (2004). Ethical and legal considerations in pediatric surgery. Retrieved

May 1, 2005 from http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2951.htm

King, C. (2001, May). Family Presence During Invasive Procedures And Resuscitation -

positives dominate survey results. American Operating Room Nurses

Journal. Retrieved May 14, 2005 from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FSL/is_5_73/ai_74571589

Medstar. (2001). Family presence in the emergency room. Retrieved April 29, 2005 from

http://www.medstar.com

Midwest Values. (No date). Midwest values. Retrieved May 1, 2005 from

http://www.midwest-values.com/M_BnC.htm

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. (2005). Website. Retrieved May 14, 2005 from

http://www.osfhealthcare.org

Shelton, D. (2000). The American Heart Association tackles a social-ethical issue.

Retrieved April 29, 2005 from

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2000/09/18/hll20918.htm

There have also been other threads on this subject. If you go to the top yellow bar on this page and find search (located three from the right) and type in keywords (family presence at codes, cpr, etc..) you should get some hits with stories and other experiences and thoughts...

There have also been other threads on this subject. If you go to the top yellow bar on this page and find search (located three from the right) and type in keywords (family presence at codes, cpr, etc..) you should get some hits with stories and other experiences and thoughts...

Hey Zambezi,

Thanks for the tip, some really interesting opinions there. Some of the opinions here are somewhat archaic to say the least. One doctor whose opinion I asked looked at me as though I has suddenly taken leave of my senses and replied that we must ensure to keep the mystique of the medical profession! So that's what I'm up against here. The replies to my questionnaire should be interesting! There is one hospital that encourages family members to be present during cpr if they wish and that appears to work well, but there aren't any policies to guide the staff as of yet.

Must get back to my paper.

I found the articles varying, which I think acurately reflects our current recussitation/ family present practices..

I'm a critical care float, er- ccu, micu, cvicu, eieio...! My own personal practice is to being in every single family member on a unit where there is little hope and the family has no CLUE.... you want this done? Have a seat and watch. 5 minutes in... family begs you to stop. no lawsuits... they can barely live with the picture in their heads of what they wanted done.

Suddeness of a previous expected good outcome turned bad... I bring the family in when we're near the end (assuming they want to be there). Let 'em see the heroic measures.. the flat line... the defib... the CPR. They can have peace knowing EVERYTHING was done.

ER- the pure suddeness and crazyness is a case by case basis. We do have a family facilitator who will stand with the family and support them.

long and short, I bring EVERYONE in if appropriate... the other staff really HATES that I do this. It does force everyone to act professional and it really requires a post code meeting... to have a private discussion on your issues.. not able to be aired durring the code.