Family caregivers can help shape the outcomes for their loved ones – an ICU nurse explains their vital role | Health & Fitness

But how should you, as the caregiver without much medical knowledge, communicate with hospital staff when your loved one can’t speak for themself?

First, exchange contact information with the primary medical team, which may include a passcode for patient privacy. This will ensure that you receive the most updated information about the patient and will give you the peace of mind knowing that you can call at any hour of the day or night to receive updates on your loved one.

Second, let the medical team know what the patient is normally like at home, which can include the patient’s medications, their baseline functional capabilities, any cultural or religious preferences, and their end-of-life wishes, just in case. With this information, the medical team can develop a reasonable treatment plan specific to your loved one, avoid unnecessary and uncomfortable tests, and provide a better insight into their prognosis and recovery.

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. This is a good time for you to keep a diary to write down essential information and questions to ask them.

Knowing what to ask is essential to effective communication at the hospital. First, get yourself oriented to the hospital unit you are on: Ask about the visitation policy, unit phone number and even where the cafeteria and the bathrooms are.

Once familiar with your new environment, you may feel more at ease to truly be present for your loved one. Other important questions you can ask each day include:

These are good first questions for setting daily expectations for the patient’s hospital stay. You can also find answers by participating in the patient’s clinical rounds. 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.

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. If you normally take care of the patient’s basic needs at home, offering to help your nurse with feeding or bathing may provide emotional reassurance to you and your loved one.

Nurses are the most accessible resource you have when your loved one is in the hospital. They can provide emotional support and coping strategies during this stressful time and can act as a translator between you and the physicians.

Once you establish a good relationship with your nurse and the medical team, spend quality time with your loved one. Even when the patient isn’t responsive, talk to them about familiar people in their life, FaceTime other family members, play their favorite music or TV show, and always remind them of the date and that they are in the hospital.

Since it’s easy for patients to lose track of the normal day-night cycle, they can be at high risk of ICU delirium, which is an acute and severe state of confusion. Preventing ICU delirium through reorientation and familiar faces can help prevent this serious complication and can even reduce their hospital stay.

Finally, one of the most important but often neglected task for you to do is self-care.

Research advises caregivers to tend to their own health and emotional needs by eating regularly, getting adequate sleep and taking breaks from the hospital. You have been strong for others and can continue to do so, but only if you take care of yourself as well.

Most families that come to the hospital describe the support they received from the medical team in a positive way. Your nurses and the rest of the medical team are all on your team, and we want the best possible outcome for your loved one.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Courtney Graetzer, Vanderbilt University

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.