The quest for family centered care in the critical care environment

An intervention was investigated to promote and educational venue that would enhance Family Centered Care (FCC). The theoretical model that was considered useful throughout the investigational process was the cognitive development, social independence and behavioral learning theories. It was well appreciated throughout the quest that collaboration promotes learning and critical thinking. (Sandal, 2010). The driving force that initiated the quest for and educational venue for FCC was, families faced with the devastation that their newborn infant has a congenital heart defect. These families enter into the hospital setting emotional, distraught, and afraid while lacking knowledge to what congenital heart defects really means. As a critical care nurse in a complex environment, I realized that the culture that was set in our cardiac intensive care unit was not effective in incorporating patients or families in the care of this complex population of patients. Health illiteracy is a reality. Creating venues like Kids Health and Get Well Network is a resource that has been evaluated to provide the resources needed for patients and families that can hopefully delineate confusion and anxiety. Creating the resources for this population can promote and area for educational learning that reaches the Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic (VARK) learners. The overall plan will be to have, handouts, videos and reading contents on Kids Health as well as a systematic orientation to the bedside environment for theses patients and families. The goal is to have a area for patients and families to acquire information at their own pace and in a framework they can understand. Keeping patients and families informed possibly will create a relationship that promotes improved patient understanding and reduction of anxiety or uncertainty.