![]() Patients can authorize which family members or friends they want to receive information from HCPs. How do I communicate with the health care team?Īsk the patient today about his or her desires for health care. Someone from your ICU team can help arrange a meeting for you, or you may feel more comfortable asking a social worker or chaplain about this. If you think the patient is not getting proper care, ask your hospital’s ethics committee to review your case. Most hospitals have social workers and chaplains who can support you. Try to consider the patient’s comfort and wishes when making treatment decisions. Past conversations you and the patient have had.What the patient would want-not what you would want.If you need to make health care choices for the patient, consider: The medical team can help you make a decision and may have options you can choose from. If a patient doesn’t have a living will, doctors may ask the patient’s care partner to make decisions about care. These documents spell out the type of care people do and don’t want for themselves. Ask if the patient has or wants an advance directive or living will. Patients in the ICU may be sedated or too sick to make decisions for themselves. If possible, try to think ahead about treatment before a move to the ICU. Who makes treatment decisions in the ICU? Poor ability to clear their own lung secretions.The patient may need a ventilator to help with: If a ventilator is needed, you’ll have a team of health care professionals who can explain the situation to you. Ventilators are machines that help people breathe or breathe for them. Maybe, but not everyone who goes into an ICU needs a ventilator. People may receive treatment in the ICU for: Intravenous (IV) lines for medications and fluids.Monitors to check heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs.They may also need special equipment, including: Specially trained doctors and nurses provide care in these units. ICUs provide around-the-clock monitoring and care for the most seriously ill patients. This approach facilitates mutual understanding and discussions about treatment decisions. In the ICU, the care team will encourage patients and caregivers to articulate their own understanding of the disease process, and the HCPs will try to use language that patients and caregivers understand. The ICU team will work to understand specific patient health care beliefs in the context of each patient’s cultural and social background. The care team in the ICU will know that some patients may distrust health care institutions because of prior personal or historical discrimination and that this may impact treatment decisions. ![]() HCPs have skills that are applicable to any culture and tradition. Health care providers know that patients are increasingly racially and ethnically diverse. They are experienced, caring professionals who are willing to help. You can also take some of the stress out of your experience by talking with the health care providers (HCPs). ![]()
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