Prognosis

• Marie landed in the intensive care unit where I am a bedside nurse because she was too agitated and needed more oxygen.
• As a seasoned bedside critical care nurse, I see firsthand the benefits that family caregivers bring to patient care in the hospital.
• I also witness the emotional stress that caregivers experience when their loved one comes to the ICU.

Caregivers often battle anxiety and depression

• From making medical decisions to advocating for their loved one, family caregivers have many important roles when their loved one is in the hospital.
• However, caregivers carry heavy emotional burdens while supporting loved ones at the hospital.
• Up to 70% of first-degree relatives of ICU survivors suffer from anxiety symptoms, more than a third suffer from depression, and many can experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Communication is critical

• As you provide information about the patient at home, the medical team should be giving you updates about the patient’s condition in the hospital.
• Knowing what to ask is essential to effective communication at the hospital.
• Once familiar with your new environment, you may feel more at ease to truly be present for your loved one.

• Every day, the interdisciplinary medical team sees each patient to discuss updates and treatment plans, and answers questions for the patient and their family.
• Research has also shown that rounds relieve anxiety and stress among family caregivers due to the consistent daily communication and emotional support that they provide.

Nurses can be helpful

• After clinical rounds, the interdisciplinary team of doctors and nurses establishes a daily plan of care for your loved one, which will be carried out by your bedside nurse.
• The nurse will give the ordered medications, perform necessary clinical tasks and assess the patient for their response to the treatment.
• Nurses are the most accessible resource you have when your loved one is in the hospital.

The importance of routines and familiarity

• Preventing ICU delirium through reorientation and familiar faces can help prevent this serious complication and can even reduce their hospital stay.
• Most families that come to the hospital describe the support they received from the medical team in a positive way.

Courtney Graetzer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.